Oscar ratings hit record low despite epic Best Picture mix-up

The “biggest Oscar flub in history” made history of another kind – one on the wrong side of the ratings ledger  Cubs’ World Series victory drew more viewers locally and nationally  The 89th Academy Awards wouldn’t be best known for boffo ratings – but for an epic screw up at the end. Many expected La La Land – a musical […]

WLS-TV suspends Mark Giangreco for anti-Trump tweet

Second incident in a week where as someone in the media is disciplined for tweeting As first reported by Robert Feder Thursday evening, WLS-TV sports anchor and director Mark Giangreco has been suspended for “multiple weeks” after sending a tweet critical of President Donald Trump. On Sunday, the 35-year veteran of Chicago television responded to a tweet sent by a […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: “All In” special on Chicago violence draws decent numbers

Discussion on Chicago violence draws over a million viewers; also, news on CBS, The Bulls, and Big Bang As gun violence continues to plague Chicago, the national spotlight on the city isn’t dimming anytime soon with MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes the latest television program to come here to discuss the issue. Despite a last-minute scheduling change (originally scheduled […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: America is suffering from Chicago fatigue

Non-Chicagoans tired of hearing about Chicago  Will advertisers bail out of the Windy City because of negative media coverage? During NHL All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, Chicago Blackhawks stars Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, and Corey Crawford were all booed by fans at the Staples Center. Maybe because of the Kings’ rivalry with the Blackhawks? Keep in mind San Jose […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: Good ratings start for APB – but not creatively

Also: The End for Sacramento’s KDND;  ‘The Insider’ canceled; WIND-AM’s Joe Walsh goes national  The latest crime procedural based (and filmed) in Chicago debuted Monday night with Fox’s APB, starring Justin Kirk. The premise: after losing a friend to an armed robbery at a liquor store, millionaire Gideon Reeves (Kirk) decides to take over the high-crime 13th police district using high-tech […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: Funtime is over

The latest news and um…notes: Todd Cavanah, sticking to….stuff not related to politics, a lackluster MTM tribute, and correction to make and more Todd Cavanah takes over programming duties at US99 WBBM-FM and WJMK-FM program director Todd Cavanah is adding another new position in his arsenal – program director of sister station WUSN-FM, according to Robert Feder. He succeeds Jeff […]

2017: A look ahead

With 2016 officially in the books, let’s look ahead on what to expect in the media business in 2017: 1. The FCC under a Trump administration. With a 3-2 FCC majority, issues the FCC championed under Tom Wheeler: net neutrality, preserving the cross-ownership rule, and other issues are going to get a hard look at – and likely change. 2. […]

Updated post: “Winter Classic” slides in ratings

Despite Blackhawks loss, Winter Classic draws viewers in Chicago, St. Louis – but Chicago numbers down significantly from 2015’s game Celebrity Apprentice return disappoints And other ratings news of note (Editor’s Note: Contains spoilers for Monday’s edition of “The Wall”. This post has been updated from earlier today – T.H..) Though the Chicago Blackhawks didn’t win, the ninth NHL Winter […]

2016 in review: The highs and the lows…a lot of lows

“Jessica Jones” tops odd year in media – and life When you look back at 2016, there isn’t much to rave about – way too many celebrity and industry deaths (Prince, Garry Shandling, Carrie Fisher, Grant Tinker, Doug Banks, Herb Kent, etc.), the election of Donald Trump, the rise (again) of Rahm Emanuel, continuing media consolidation, and other awful things. But […]

The 2016 T Dog Media Turkey Awards

(Editor’s Note: This is T Dog Media’s 3,000th post!)  Welcome to the 11th annual T Dog Media Turkey Awards – celebrating the worst in media, sports, and life in general. There were many nominees this year, but I don’t think you want to be here all day. Thus, yours truly whittled it down to nineteen recipients this year. Let’s get gobblin’! […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Disrespect of Chicago’s South Side continues

Despite White Sox World Series Championship in 2005 and native son President Obama making history as first African-American in the White House, the city’s South Side continues to disrespected by the national media Ever since Chicagoan Barack Obama announced he was running for President of the United States in 2006, the Windy City has been under the national spotlight. Mostly, […]

Thursday night showdown: Cubs top Bears locally

But competition came from an unlikely source…The Al Smith dinner? Thursday night television featured a rare matchup between a Bears-Packers game and a Cubs-Dodgers playoff contest. But it was Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton who crashed the party and stole the show. Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers outdrew the […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: What’s wrong with the NFL?

Ratings for the NFL are off this year. Why?  Over the last few weeks, you have read about why the NFL’s ratings are declining, with answers ranging from noncompetitive matchups to national anthem protests. Well, now it’s my turn to weigh in. So what’s wrong with the NFL? Well, let’s start locally as the Chicago Bears continue to drive away viewers […]