The Media Notepad: MeTV scares up “BOOnanza” (updated)

Also: Jennifer Hudson’s local time slot set; and the Chicago Blackhawks name new analysts [Editor’s Note: The Blackhawks item has been updated with more information.]  If you are a fan of Svengoolie – and I know there are a lot of you out there, then you have a lot to celebrate this October. Weigel’s MeTV is turning the pumpkin month […]

Rewinding media in 2021: You just can’t explain it

  Popularity isn’t exactly overrated as 2021 ends a wild year in media Like mystery of the sphinx or crop circles, you just can’t explain the continued popularity of certain things despite questionable changes. After the firing of Mark Giangreco and seemingly public disdain for one of her former co-anchors, ABC 7 remains on top of local Chicago news ratings, […]

Byron Allen blasts McDonald’s CEO over comments, calls for his firing

The media mogul takes task with McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski over comments made about parents of Chicago gun violence victims [Editor’s Note: This post was updated at 3:40 p.m.] The controversy over McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski’s comments over how the parents of two Chicago children killed in gun violence failed them crossed over into the media community Friday as a […]

Eric Ferguson out at 101.9 The Mix

Allegations of sexual harassment sink Hall Of Fame career It must be “fall from grace” in Chicago week because we have another case of a success story going down in flames. Eric Ferguson resigned as morning host of Hubbard’s hot adult contemporary station The Mix/WTMX-FM Friday afternoon, stepping down over allegations of sexual harassment at the station. It marks a […]

Chicago Blackhawks: The rise and fall

  Once one of the premier teams in sports, a sex scandal sends the team’s popularity into the toilet  Scandal gives Chicago’s image yet another black eye – one of a lot as the team’s decline also reflects the city’s If you’ve read the blog over the years, this space has devoted quite a bit to Chicago sports and how […]

NHL drops the puck on new season with new TV deals

  New rights holders TNT, ESPN begin new deals The puck dropped on a new NHL season a few days ago, and it also marked a new era in broadcasting rights in the U.S. ESPN and Turner each began separate seven-year deals with the league last week, with ESPN broadcasting their first game in 17 years last Tuesday night from […]

New Bears season, same Bears prime-time result

Same old Sunday Night Football story for Bears I’m not going to bore you whining about why the Chicago Bears keep getting national prime-time TV appearances; I’ve covered the topic aplenty over the years, most recently here and here. But the decision to keep Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace around for another year is one of those “Chicago Way” type […]

NHL rights: NBC’s out, Turner’s in

Surprise bid from WarnerMedia subsidiary ends NBC’s 16-year run In a surprise no one saw coming, WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports skated away with the remaining NHL package in a deal officially announced Tuesday by outbidding NBCUniversal and Fox Sports, one of two put up for bids recently by the league with ESPN and ABC acquiring the other portion several weeks ago.  […]

The fridge pack: The twelve items that made the decade

Even through the 2010s were less impactful than the previous decade was (i.e. no iPod-like devices were invented), the period did provide some historic moments. Hearkening back to an era where T Dog Media was a little more looser than it is now, I present to you The Fridge Pack: The Twelve Items That Made The Decade and its impact […]

The 2019 T Dog Media Turkey Awards

Welcome to the 14th annual T Dog Media Turkey Awards – celebrating the worst in media, sports, and life in general. We have 17 recipients to announce, so let’s get gobblin’: Survivor. The way CBS handled – or mishandled the latest Survivor controversy leaves a lot of be desired. An extra side turkey is given to Jeff Probst for what […]

The Media Notepad: Dish drops NBC Sports Chicago

Also: Fox32/My50 goes up Schitt’s Creek; stunning fall from the top for The Mix; ABC closes Grand Hotel As expected, Dish has pulled the plug on NBC Sports Chicago October 1 as the satellite carrier continues to make life miserable for content providers – and subscribers. With the Cubs leaving the partnership effective October 1 for new upstart Marquee, new […]

The end of the line for WGN Sports

WGN sports vanishes after a 71 year run Saturday night marked an end of an era as WGN-TV aired its final sports telecast featuring a game between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. Many memorable moments were carried by WGN from Sammy Sosa hitting his 62nd home run to Mark McGuire’s 70th; from Ernie Banks’ 500th home run to […]

Chicago Wolves, My50 hook up for games

With the Blackhawks exiting over-the-air television, Wolves step up in a big way Looking for some local sports on broadcast television this season? Don’t worry, the Chicago Wolves got you covered. The AHL team announced Monday a partnership with Fox-owned WPWR (My50) to televise 40 regular-season games for the 2019-20 season, the most games ever carried by the station. In […]