CBS unveils 2025-26 lineup

  Dominated by procedurals, the schedule features four comedies on the lineup Despite winning the total viewership crown for the seventeenth consecutive season, the 2024-25 season has one to forget for CBS, which is battling President Trump over whether 60 Minutes defamed him, and the continued limbo the Paramount-Skydance deal is in as the FCC is continuing to investigate the […]

Trump administration ends funding for NPR, PBS in executive order

Chicago area’s public broadcasters to be affected American public networks PBS and NPR are exploring legal options after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday night, eliminating federal funding for both. The moves are certain to impact Chicago’s WTTW and WBEZ, and Merrillville’s Lakeshore Public Media, which consists of WYIN and WLPR-FM (89.1 FM). The order comes as no […]

Trump installs tariffs on movies: “The movie industry is dying”

  Could TV shows be next? Those dreaded tariffs have now been extended to the entertainment industry. President Trump announced Sunday he is imposing a 100 percent tariff on movies made outside of the United States, saying foreign movies are a “national security threat.” Trump claims movies shot overseas not only draw filmmakers away from the U.S., but also bring […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Dr. Phil makes mockery of immigration crisis

Former daytime host “rides along” with officials to boost his fledgling TV network This space in September 2023 jokingly suggested Dr. Phil McGraw should come to town and give a hardened pep talk to the Chicago Bears after the Kansas City Chiefs blew out the team in front of millions of viewers and Taylor Swift, who was at the game. […]

The Media Notepad: Chicago Public Media to offer buyouts to selected employees of WBEZ, Sun-Times

Also: Meteorologist loses job due to social media post; new game show announced; Trump Country returns to SW Florida With revenues falling short of expectations, WBEZ and Sun-Times owner Chicago Public Media announced Wednesday it was offering buyouts to certain employees, including journalists at the paper and business employees from the radio station. In a staff meeting Wednesday, newly installed […]

Report: Chuck Goudie out at ABC 7

The longtime investigative reporter was at the ABC-owned station for 44 years Axios Chicago is reporting that Chuck Goudie has been let go from ABC-owned WLS-TV after a four-decade-plus run at the top-rated station.  “Chuck Goudie was a valued member of our ABC7 team for many years and we thank him for his groundbreaking contributions,” a station spokesperson told Axios […]

Election night ratings: Fox News stomps all over competition

Trump returns to the White House in a landslide and made huge gains in traditionally blue Chicago [This article has been updated. See below.] Fox News prevailed over its competitors on election night as Donald J. Trump was re-elected as President after a four-year break.  According to Nielsen’s final national numbers, Fox News led all networks – broadcast, cable, and […]

The Media Notepad: Elon Musk wants to get rid of over-the-air TV

Plus, Chicago radio ratings, Comcast considering the sale or spinoff of cable channels, and the CW returns to a Cleveland station after Nexstar buys it  Elon Musk has finally expressed his thoughts on television, and he is not a fan. The South African billionaire who bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 blasted the major networks on his platform recently, […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Bad times on media row

Journalists under fire from Trump, the left, and even Mayor Johnson as journalism’s prestige continues to sag If you thought the 2024 Chicago White Sox had a rough year, the media had it worse.  Daily attacks on the Fifth Estate have become commonplace in the last few weeks leading up to the Presidential election. And it’s not just coming from […]

Republicans get involved in Venu-Fubo spat

A change in Presidential administration toward Trump could help Venu Is the Venu-Fubo fight becoming politicized? To the surprise of some, it is. As first reported by Awful Announcing on September 28, six Republican Attorney Generals and five Republican Congressmen are filing separate friend-of-the-court briefs with Venu in their fight with Fubo over the right to exist. The Attorneys General […]

The Media Notepad: Report: New CHSN close to deal with DirecTV

Also: WGN-TV’s Jewell Hilary gets promoted; FCC head rejects Trump ABC license revocation request Three months after its official announcement, the Sun-Times reported Thursday the new Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) is close to a deal with DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and U-Verse.  This comes as an email was sent to YouTubeTV subscribers (including me) Wednesday stating NBC Sports Chicago – the […]

NABJ panel with Donald Trump goes off rails quickly

Trump interview a complete, total disaster as former President attacks journalists, Kamala Harris  [Editor’s Note: This post was updated August 3.] On Wednesday, an event in Chicago turned into quite a disaster. No, I’m not talking about the White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field, which was another level of disaster.  It was the opening day of the National Association […]

NABJ convention invites Donald Trump for an Q&A panel – and he accepts

Marks first appearance in Chicago since 2019 The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is coming under fire – including from some within their organization – after they sent an invitation to Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump to be interviewed at a Q&A panel Wednesday at their annual convention in Chicago and accepted, which starts on the same day and […]

The Media Notepad: Stanley Cup Game 7 scores for ABC

Also: Kenya Moore out at Housewives; Fox and Sinclair team up for new syndicated true crime show; Paramount looking to sell assets Even though the recent NBA Finals naturally drew a larger audience on average, the excitement of the Stanley Cup Final was unparalleled as the series lasted seven games with historic implications. The Edmonton Oilers – who won four […]