AT&T to purchase TimeWarner for $85 billion Opponents to deal already lining up Bugs Bunny, Sheldon Cooper, and Scooby Doo are getting ready to reach out and touch someone – a lot of people, that is. While Chicago and the rest of America (except in the St. Louis area) was busy celebrating the Cubs’ advancing to the World Series for […]
Chicago news veteran Sylvia Perez is returning to the airwaves this coming week as new weekend anchor for WFLD’s 7-9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday morning newscasts and starting Monday, filing special reports for the station at 9 p.m. Perez was with ABC-owned WLS-TV for 24 years, spending several of them co-anchoring the station’s 11 a.m. newscast with Linda Yu, who […]
Happy anniversary to T Dog Media! It’s a different media world today than it was when I started this. As we mark the ten-year anniversary of T Dog Media this weekend, I would like to take a look back – not at dopey posts from the early years such as these (really bad idea)…or getting involved in feuds (Wil Wheaton and […]
WIND should fire controversial former politician for a tweet featuring racist comments and threatening the President. If not, yank the damn license. Enough is enough. Former politician-turned-talk show host Joe Walsh (not to be confused with the Eagles guitarist) should be terminated for his comments he posted on Twitter calling for President Obama and police brutality protesters to be attacked. As you […]
Huge victory for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler; losers include cable and ISPs. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was handed a major victory by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia over Net Neutrality rules, or Title II. The court in a split decision, upheld the rules 2-1. The FCC passed the rules 3-2 on February 28, 2015 in […]
Local news returns to ABC 7 at 11 a.m.; Dr. Oz returns for three more years; WGN-TV needs a new GM; and more. In a victory for local programming (and yet another defeat for syndicators), ABC-owned WLS-TV (ABC 7) announced Tuesday it was bringing back its 11 a.m. newscast after three years and moving current time slot occupant Windy City […]
Special interest group hijacks and derails plan – a situation we’re all too familiar with in the media business The Lakefront project Star Wars creator George Lucas wanted to build has been zapped by something more sinister than Darth Vader: An organization who claims they serve the “public interest”. On Tuesday, Lucas was dealt a blow to build his new […]
A few weeks ago, President Obama announced he was backing a FCC proposal to unlock cable set-top boxes. Whee. The problem is, those set-top boxes you lease to cable operators are about as obsolete as an 8-track tape player. It’s not the direction the industry is moving in, and this idea would be great – if it was 1992. Generally, you need […]
Chicago is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Donald Trump as he blew through town on March 11 and created a storm of protests – including inside the UIC Pavilion where he was supposed to speak. Instead, the rally was canceled before he even spoke as the Pavilion was declared a disaster area with fighting and chaos not seen […]
With 2015 in the rearview mirror, here are the stories to look for in 2016: 1. The spectrum auction. The upcoming – and complicated – spectrum auction the FCC is holding is likely to change the face of television as we know it. Some over-the-air stations could pack it in and call it a career as the FCC plans […]
FCC fine against Roanoke TV station could invite special-interest groups to influence newsroom content As you recall, the FCC proposed a fine of $325,000 against WDBJ in Roanoke, Va. last March after inadvertently showing a three-second video clip of a porn site with male genitalia during a 2012 news story about nearby Cave Springs, Va.’s effort to prevent a former porn star […]
The latest edition of T Dog’s Media Notepad: – Only in Chicago: if you stream any kind of entertainment and have a paid subscription, you – the consumer- are now going to be subjected to a 9 percent sales tax. This includes any paid subscription to Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Amazon Prime, etc. The so-called “cloud tax” also applies to businesses […]
Illinois broadcasters take the quick cash. But are they driving viewers away from live TV? If you thought 2015 would be free of political advertising – think again. Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner – you know, the one who headed GTCR – the investment firm who funded Randy Michaels’ Merlin Media, and Sam Zell – the one who destroyed the Chicago Tribune – […]
The term Chiraq is here to stay. Thank the media. For those who don’t like the word “Chiraq”, let me lay it on thick for you…. it’s here to stay. The term, used to describe the number of shootings and murder in the Chicago area, continues to be a hot topic of debate in the media as Spike Lee films […]
Investors, Justice department sink deal In what be construed as good news for consumers, Comcast Corp. has called off its takeover bid for Time Warner Cable. The deal unraveled this week as investors started doubting the deal and chances of getting the deal cleared through the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. Comcast and TWC would have created […]
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