Larry Tisch - T Dog Media

August 15, 2024

T Dog’s Think Tank: The White Sox uses the CBS Chicago blueprint for its Fan Alienation Plan

Chicago’s South Side MLB team resembles CBS Chicago’s ratings disasters in every way possible In the early 2000s, then-Chicago Tribune media critic Steve Johnson noted the management at CBS-owned WBBM-TV implemented what he called a “Viewer Alienation Plan”, a series of bad decisions repelling viewers from the station throughout the 1990s, including tabloid newscasts, awful anchor pairings, and a deer-in-headlight […]

0 4 min read

November 10, 2022

The Think Tank: Twitter is in trouble

Twitter’s path under Elon Musk follows those of other media companies In the 37 years I’ve followed media, I have never seen a media company – social or not – that’s been run into the ground quicker than what I’m seeing with Elon Musk and Twitter. In the sixteen years I’ve written this blog, I’ve written about how egotism and […]

0 5 min read

May 18, 2016

ABC overhauls lineup

They’re no fools, ABC retools; ten new shows highlight 2016-17 schedule As expected, ABC has overhauled its schedule for 2016-17, the first under new ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey. Unlike NBC and Fox, who are introducing just three new shows onto their fall schedules and saving the rest for midseason, ABC is going full throttle, adding five new shows to their […]

0 2 min read

July 16, 2015

Think Tank Express: The return of Larry Tisch

Of course he’s dead. But you wouldn’t know it The latest radio cutbacks came from a rather unlikely place – CBS Radio, which hadn’t announced cuts since a company-wide downsizing in 2008. CBS announced earlier this week it was eliminating 200 positions nationwide, including a number of positions in Chicago. Other Midwestern cities were hit just as hard including St. Louis […]

0 2 min read

May 20, 2015

End of an era: David Letterman exits late-night TV

Wednesday not only marks the end of another sweeps period, but also the end of an era. 68 year-old David Letterman hangs up his mic tonight, after 33 years in the late fringe daypart – 22 of those years at CBS, where he moved to in August 1993. The Indianapolis-born comedian went from bagging groceries to a weatherman for the […]

0 3 min read

September 16, 2014

Rihanna rips into The Church Of Tisch

It looks like Rihanna has run afoul of The Church Of Tisch. The award-winning singer wasn’t happy about CBS pulling her cover of Jay-Z’s Run This Town from the intro of Thursday Night Football telecast last week, a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens due to the toned-down atmosphere after the Ray Rice scandal. And so she sent this not-so-nice […]

0 1 min read

December 24, 2013

Local viewers tune out Bears blowout

– But game still tops evening both locally and nationally – Also: Bulls ratings remain strong despite Rose’s injury – The Church Of Tisch does it again The Bears’ performance against the Philadelphia Eagles had to be the most pathetic thing to air on NBC since Do No Harm. Or Animal Practice. Or Welcome To The Family. Or Pink Lady […]

0 2 min read

November 27, 2011

T Dog’s Six Pack: Expanded edition

It’s been awhile, so let’s do an expanded edition of T Dog’s Six Pack – with an extra item in the winners and losers column this week. It doesn’t get any better than that! Okay, yes it can… Winning. Regis Philbin. After 28 years on daytime television. Regis Philbin steeped down as co-host of the popular morning chatfest Live With […]

0 2 min read

July 21, 2011

Merlin vs. CBS in a "Fresh" smackdown

Meet Merlin Media’s new mascot. Don’t let the Florida Marlins garb fool you. Ladies and gentlemen… grab a ringside seat because it’s time for the Chicago radio smackdown between old standby The Church Of Tisch and newcomer Merlin Media! In what promises to be the first of many clashes between CBS and Merlin, the two exchanged not-so-friendly letters to each […]

0 1 min read

December 21, 2009

CBS makes post-Super Bowl slot decision

The Church of Tisch has done it again. CBS announced it will slot Undercover Boss in the coveted post-Super Bowl time slot on February 7. Undercover Boss is a new reality show which features a supervisor who goes undercover to see if can do a real job at his company. This marks the first time in over a decade a […]

2 1 min read

December 6, 2008

Steve Dahl out at Jack FM

(Editor’s note: I apologize for the lateness of this post, as I had Internet connection problems that knocked me offline for awhile this evening. – T.H.) The ax swung again at CBS Radio at a highly-paid radio personality – and this time – and to no one’s surprise – it was Steve Dahl. The venerable and legendary personality left WJMK-FM […]

2 3 min read

October 14, 2008

Ahern out at Channel 2

One of the deacons at The Church of Tisch has been shown the door. WBBM-TV General Manger Joe Ahern was fired today after six years at the CBS-owned station, this after they moved into new digs on Washington Blvd. in the Loop and started broadcasting their news in HD. Replacing Ahern is Bruno Cohen, who is currently GM at CBS’ […]

2 3 min read

Tags