Chicago Defender to be weekly only

It looks like the struggling newspaper industry has claimed another victim: The Chicago Defender, the historic African-American newspaper which has struggled for years, is converting from a daily newspaper to a weekly, a move that has been speculated since last summer.The Defender, which drastically scaled back its online presence last year, isn’t laying off employees (which is good) – but […]

The Excellent 10 of 2007 and more

From #10 to #1, the best TV shows of 2007… 10) Chuck (NBC) Computer geek who works at a big-box is also a spy. Great concept. 9) Mad Men (AMC). Realistic look at ad agency business in the 1960’s, far more accurate than what you saw on Bewitched. On Mad Men, nobody becomes impotent from spells cast by Endora. 8) […]

The Toilet Bowl of 2007

There were a lot of forgettable moments in media in 2007, and we have them right here… First, let’s start off with the year’s worst TV, from #10 to #1: 10) The O’Reilly Factor (Fox News): This show still sucks. 9) Around the Horn (ESPN) Ditto. 8. Chicago Sports (various channels) What a great year for Chicago Sports! The Cubs […]

Former WCKG host Terry Armour dies

More sad news: Chicago Tribune columnist and former WCKG co-host Terry Armour has died unexpectedly at the too-young age of 46. Armour was rushed to the hospital this afternoon after falling ill. He died a short time later. Armour worked at the Tribune, covering the Bulls’ championship run in the 1990’s and previously co-hosted a midday talk show with Stan […]

FitzSimons steps down

Dennis FitzSimons is out as President, Chairman, and Chief Executive of the Tribune Co. in wake of the $8.2 billion sale of the company to Sam Zell, who will become a board chairman.

TV Guide sold – again

TV Guide, the once-popular magazine that has fallen on hard times in recent years has been sold again – this time through a merger of its parent, Gemstar, and Macrovision, which the merger valued at $2.8 billion. The transaction is a cash-and-stock deal.

The 2007 T Dog Media Blog Turkey Awards

With the Pumpkin Pie Awards for Excellence Welcome to the second annual T Dog Media Blog Turkey Awards. Once again, we’re here to serve up the disasters in media in 2007. I have nineteen turkeys to hand out… so let’s get gobbling! And this year’s awards go to… – The Chicago Bears. A Super Bowl hangover this year. And especially Rex […]

A message from yours truly

To: Our Readers Over the last fourteen months, I have had the pleasure of writing about TV and radio to you, and we’ve had some fun along the way. But let me tell you something. When people – notably those who hate the media business (radio and TV) and say I’m wasting my time writing this blog, I say to […]

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? […]

More Mariotti = More crap

The Chicago Daily Onion (a.k.a the Sun-Times) is giving so-called sportswriter Jay Mariotti a blog, of sorts, with “Mariotti 24/7”, asking us if we can handle more Mariotti. Of course the answer is no, but the Daily Onion (yours truly has been banned from commenting on their blogs), tries to force junk on their readers that will drive them away. […]

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, […]

Chicago Tribune weighs in on Big Ten-Comcast war of words

They support a la carte programming (which is no surprise given they are staunch supporters of the FCC’s indecency campaign and the war in Iraq.) Of course, when was the last time The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board’s opinion on anything was revelant to anybody? Aren’t newspapers supposed to be dead by now? And since yours truly didn’t go to a […]