The Media Notepad: Bears don’t deliver for Amazon Prime

Also: prime-time’s future debated; Pluto takes streaming lead  You wonder if Amazon has a return policy for defective football games: Much like the teams on the field, the October 13 edition of Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football was completely forgettable. The newly renamed Washington Commanders played the Chicago Bears on a 40-degree night and viewers figured the game between two […]

The Media Notepad: WGN-TV scores ratings win in gubernatorial debates

Pritzker, Bailey showdown tops time slot in viewers, demos  Chicago viewers obviously love their politics: according to Nielsen in a press release from Nexstar’s WGN-TV, the first of two Illinois gubernatorial debates between incumbent Democrat J.B. Pritzker and Republican Darren Bailey was a big local ratings hit on October 6, winning the 7-8 p.m. time period with an exact total […]

Local TV stations in the middle of campaign ad controversy

Ad featured a darkened Mayor Lightfoot and violent images, but is it enough to be rejected by local TV stations? For those hoping local TV stations would reject an obviously racist and violent campaign ad running for the past week, it may – or may not happen. In the last week, a Political Action Committee – or PAC, bought time […]

Media Notepad: Sony pulls “Police Patrol” from syndication (updated)

Also: Amy Jacobson gets her press cred back; WGN Radio may bring back Garry Meier; NewsNation hires Joe Donlon and two WGN-TV vets  [Editor’s Note: This post was updated on June 27 at 8:50 p.m.] In a move not unexpected, local stations have dropped episodes of Cops and Live PD: Police Patrol from their schedules as protests have flared across […]

WIND-AM’s Amy Jacobson lands in hot water with Governor

Barred from daily press briefings, but can still submit questions Another embarrassing moment for Chicago radio  In a move many are criticizing, WIND-AM talk show co-host Amy Jacobson was removed from the press pool of the Governor’s daily coronavirus press briefings on Tuesday after she spoke at a “Reopen Illinois” rally in front of the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago […]

Media Notepad: WTTW exec exits after long run

And… James Holzhauer’s final Jeopardy scores in ratings; Gov. Pritzker honors Rockford local show; Viewers skip Red Line. The man who helmed the Window To The World has called it a career. As first reported by Robert Feder, Dan Soles is stepping down from powerhouse public television station WTTW after 24 years on the job. His most recent position was […]

Election 2018: Your viewer and listener guide

Hot-button issues drives viewers to the polls – and election coverage Election night on Tuesday is going to be like Christmas morning for news organizations as viewers are expected to tune in enmasse for the results. In the past, viewers barely tuned into election night as races weren’t exciting or the outcome was expected (re: the 1984 and 1996 Presidential […]

Mark Konkol out as editor of Chicago Reader

Pulitzer-prize winning columnist out after less than two weeks Back some time ago, if there was a TV show so poorly received by critics and the viewing public, it would be off the air in three weeks. Mark Konkol lasted less than two weeks running a newspaper. In a move praised by many, the Chicago Sun-Times fired the Pulitzer-prize winning […]