The Media Notepad: WBBM Newsradio names Craig Schwalb news director

Also: Mayoral debates scheduled; CBS-owned stations to rebrand news properties Audacy’s all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM announced last week the hire of Craig Schwalb as brand manager and news director of the station effective January 23. He succeeds Ron Gleason, who retired last month.  Schwalb comes from Hubbard’s dominant all-news station WTOP in Washington, D.C., a station who typically leads the country in […]

The Media Notepad: Leila Rahimi heads to NBC 5 as sports anchor and reporter

Also: ESPN 1000 gets new GM; Packers have new Milwaukee radio home; Sinclair still have trouble from ransomware attacks  Leila Rahimi, who joined WSCR-AM/The Score earlier this year as Dan Bernstein’s co-host, is now returning to television as a part-time sports reporter and anchor. The Denton, Tex. native has joined NBC-owned WMAQ-TV/NBC 5’s sports department as part of a rotation […]

ABC, Scripps to launch LAFF

ABC, Scripps stations clear new diginet; ABC to keep LiveWell after all ABC and Scripps Broadcasting announced this weekend they are launching a brand new digital subchannel called LAFF, injunction with Katz Communications beginning on April 15, “tax day”. Details on what the planned comedy network would carry (hint: you can’t go wrong with Mystery Science Theater 3000 reruns) were […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Bill Kurtis joins Decades

– Emmy and Peabody winner Bill Kurtis has a new gig: he’ll host a show on the new Decades network called Though the Decades, a weekday strip recalling the events of historical significance between the 1950s and 1990s, beginning in May. The series plans to draw from the vast resources of CBS News and Entertainment Tonight libraries for material. A […]

Bears win on the field – and in the ratings

After a few lackluster matchups on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, the franchise got back on track with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers meeting up at Lambeau Field – another meeting in the long, storied rivalry between these two popular teams. According to Broadcasting & Cable, ESPN drew 16.1 million viewers, making it the second most-watched MNF telecast this […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: WCIU to replace “This” with “Bounce”

Time to see what’s in this week edition of the Grab bag: – With This TV leaving for WGN-TV  November 1, Weigel Broadcasting is replacing it with Bounce, moving from its 23.2 subchannel position to the much stronger 26.5 position, according to an item on WCIU’s website. Bounce is an African-American-targeted subchannel targeted to adults 25-54. The move comes as […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Bruce Levine out at ESPN 1000

– Talking Baseball host Bruce Levine confirmed via Twitter Saturday he was out as host of WMVP-AM’s (ESPN 1000) Talking Baseball after station bosses declined to renew his contract, ending his 22-year run as host. The move to cancel the show comes as ESPN 1000 continues to slag far behind rival WSCR-AM (The Score) in the ratings. Not helping Levine’s […]

T Dog’s Six Pack is back

A return of a favorite… T Dog Media’s Six Pack is back! The week’s (or in this case, the summer’s) media winners and losers in a nutshell: Winners. Netflix. The investment in original programming seems to be paying off: House Of Cards, Hemlock Grove, and the newly revived Arrested Development each earned Emmy nominations, with Cards becoming the first web series to […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Chicago Tribune on the sales block

The Tribune Co. Unofficially puts its papers on the block; Oscar viewership is up over a year ago; and more Mancow is headed to your TV: – It looks like the Chicago Tribune is up for sale. As first reported by CNBC on Monday, the 166-year old paper and others in the chain are on the block by creditors who […]

Despite loss, Bears still dominate Chicago ratings

While the Chicago Bears (and Jay Cutler in particular) disappointed in their hugely anticipated matchup against the archrival Green Bay Packers, they certainly didn’t disappoint in the ratings department (and for a change, it was Cutler who was nastier than Simon Cowell was.) Last Thursday night’s game locally drew a 31.3/48 household rating/share according to Nielsen. The game aired over […]

“Katie” clears 60% of U.S. for Fall ’12 launch

Disney-ABC Domestic Television Distribution’s new fall 2012 talk show strip featuring Katie Couric has now been cleared in 60 percent of the country. Titled Katie, the series has now cleared though several broadcast groups including Allbritton, Belo, Cox, Hearst, Gannett, and Scripps, in addition to the entire ABC-owned-and-operated station group (including WLS-TV here in Chicago.) To no one’s surprise, most […]

One for the record books – again

The NFL was on fire this season with high ratings and record-breaking performances. And this year’s Super Bowl XLV between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers was expected to set an all-time viewership record – and it did not disappoint (even though most of the commercials and the halftime show did – but that came as no surprise, right?) […]

Bears flop on field, but score in the ratings

On the field in the NFC Championship Game, the Chicago Bears was much like The Cape. But in the ratings, they came up like American Idol (and in fact, outdrew it.) Sunday’s game between the Bears and arch rival Green Bay on Fox-owned WFLD drew an astonishing local household rating of 50.6 and a household share of 80, with more […]

Monday Night Fights

(Courtesy: Chicago Tribune) Bears-Packers, Dancing destroy competition in Chicago – and everywhere else It was a huge face-off on Monday night. Wait, you thought I was just talking the Bears and the Packers? Ratings in Chicago for the game were phenomenal – the Bears beat the Packers 20-17. But Dancing with the Stars was just as phenomenal (in its own […]