Chicago is "Family Guy’s" kind of town

It looks like Family Guy has succeeded where The Simpsons succeeded. According to numbers supplied by Twentieth Television (from a banner ad that appeared on TV Week’s website), Family Guy’s airing at 10 p.m. on WGN-TV finished number one in the time period between Sept. 17 and Sept. 21 among men 18-34 (2.2) and women 18-34 (2.6). It beat not […]

WCKG next in line for format switch?

After a number of format flips of CBS FM Talk stations around the country, it looks like low-rated WCKG-FM could be next. An long-overdue makeover is reportedly in the works. The only question is what to do with Steve Dahl, who has a long-term contract with the station. Gentlemen, start your speculation engines.

Fraud FM is dead

Free FM is almost officially done with the next-to-last Fraud FM station, WKRK-FM in Detroit flipping to sports and simulcasting WXYT-AM. This means that the Opie and Anthony Morning Show is gone from that station, too. Meanwhile, CBS’ Pittsburgh FM Talk outlet is toast as well. The last Free FM station remaining is KLSX-FM, Los Angeles.

Wide Open West, RCN strike deal for Big Ten Network (updated)

In a huge victory for the Big Ten Network, Wide Open West, which serves much of Chicago area (the same territory as Comcast), has signed a deal with the fledging sports net to carry the network on an expanded basic cable package in the eight states where there are Big Ten schools. Later in the day, BTN also struck a […]

Steve & Garry reunite on TV

Current WCKG hosts and radio legends Steve Dahl and Garry Meier (both have separate shows at the station) appeared together on WGN-TV’s morning news today, promoting a charitable event they are co-hosting with the Sun-Times Susanna Hoffman and Gilda’s Club Chicago on Friday called “A Night of a Thousand Noogies” at the Park West (it’s located at 322 W. Armitage.)

A letter to Jay Mariotti

Usually yours truly doesn’t devote a space here to attack someone (yeah, right), but I have to give attention to Jay Mariotti’s latest column from the Daily Onion regarding the death of Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz… From: T Dog To: Jay Mariotti, Chicago Sun-Times Dear Moron: Who do YOU THINK YOU ARE when you tell us how to behave? […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: We are pissed

The FCC came to Chicago last Thursday, for public hearings on media consolidation and diversity. The whole thing was webcast for the world to hear on the FCC’s website, and yours truly hooked it up to listen for eight hours. Eight loooong hours… The FCC was there at Operation PUSH, and if you listed to the webcast- hell, you’d think […]

New weekend anchor at Channel 2

One could wonder if the announcement yesterday hiring of Mai Martinez as the new weekend anchor of WBBM-TV’s weekend newscasts coincided with the FCC hearings on media diversity scheduled on the same day- or the fact that they are broadcasting Saturday’s Mexican Independence Parade (don’t ask about her qualifications.)

Live blogging the FCC hearings

12:30am It’s finally over. Thanks for hanging in with us.12:05 am A Korean television station (WOCH) is now being talked about.12:01 am (now 9/21) Just a thought: Where was Mancow? Too busy filing another lawsuit? 11:46pm Did the author of that book just swear? The FCC will fine him personally. That $8 million for you.11:43pm The corporate shills and charity […]

Schedule set for Chicago FCC hearings

The hearing is taking place at Operation PUSH in the Kenwood nieghborhood at 930 East 5oth Street, near Washington Park on Thursday. Rev. Jesse Jackson is expected to appear, though he is also expected to appear at a rally in Louisiana earlier in the day. To download a schedule for the evening’s events, you can click here (Adobe Acrobat Reader […]

The incredibly shrinking Chicago Reader

The Chicago Reader, sold recently to Tampa-based Creative Loafing, is cutting the size of its free alternative weekly – and cutting back staff as well – they are asking its drivers to become independent contractors. This comes as the newspaper industry continues to struggle with declining revenues thanks to the move of classified ads to the internet portals like Craigslist, […]

Mancow sues Emmis and Q101

Erich “Mancow” Mueller has filed a lawsuit against Emmis Communications, his former employer who dismissed him last year as morning jock at the company’s alternative rock station, WKQX-FM, or Q101. The suit he filed was for $6 million dollars. In the lawsuit, Mueller alleges that Emmis kept him from employing him on another radio station in the market (he nearly […]

Doin’ "The Barz"

Chicagoland Radio and Media titled a post “Dancin’ With the Barz” (clever) on this Feder story, as Mike Barz from WFLD’s Good Day, Chicago was doing some after-hours dirty dancing at a night club with a female staffer last Friday – and he actually won something – not a trophy, but a one-day time out from management. And yes, The […]

Update to WCIU’s fall schedule

Scroll down or click here to read post, with updated information on two shows (Becker, Girlfriends) that are no longer on the schedule (actually, it’s information that I wrote on this blog before – this is WCIU’s explanation of it…)