Rewinding media in 2023

  A year dominated by labor strife, awful Chicago sports teams, and – oh yeah, Elon  If you watched the WWE, you remember Vince McMahon playing himself as an arrogant CEO and billionaire, ruling over anything and everything – the ultimate heel. It’s a real-life trend we’re seeing as we close 2023. Led by billionaire Elon Musk, CEOs – whether […]

Chicago PPMs: WXRT’s ratings soar after Lin Brehmer’s death

While others collapse with WGCI posting all-time low Chicago’s radio PPM ratings returned to normal after the holidays with a familiar name on top: iHeartMedia’s adult contemporary WLIT finishing on top for the third straight ratings period – even without Christmas music, which propelled them to the top for the last two months. WLIT also maintained their top rating in […]

WXRT personality Lin Brehmer dies at 68

Sudden death stuns fans Longtime WXRT personality Lin Brehmer died Sunday morning, losing a battle with prostate cancer he had fought with for the last year. He was 68. Brehmer announced last July he was taking a sabbatical from WXRT after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and undergoing chemotherapy. Brehmer felt well enough to return to the airwaves on […]

Lin Brehmer returns to WXRT

Starting Monday, he’ll be on from 10-1 After taking time off for chemotherapy treatments, longtime WXRT radio personality Lin Brehmer announced Tuesday he was returning to the Audacy-owned Adult Album Alternative (Triple A) radio station beginning Monday, where he’ll work the 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. midday shift. The news was first reported by Radio Insight.  Brehmer stepped away from […]

WXRT’s Lin Brehmer announces medical leave

  Stunning announcement as longtime beloved personality reveals he has prostate cancer Longtime WXRT radio personality Lin Brehmer announced Tuesday he was taking an undisclosed leave of absence from the Album Adult Alternative (Triple A) station as he is fighting prostate cancer and heading to chemotherapy. WXRT posted a message from the 67 year-old Brehmer on its website and on […]

What to look for in 2020

What’s on the media agenda in the first year of the new decade The new decade brings us things to look forward to in the world of media. So here’s are the ten things to keep your eye on in Chicago and in general for 2020. We’ll check back in at the end of the year to see how we […]

Mary Dixon heads to WBEZ as new news anchor

Longtime WXRT news person returns at a new station After being let go from Entercom’s Adult Album Alternative rock outlet WXRT, Mary Dixon has quickly landed on her feet at Chicago Public Media’s news/talk WBEZ-FM. Beginning next month, the 54 year-old news veteran becomes the station’s new morning news anchor and local host of NPR Morning Edition. She will be […]

Rewinding 2019 in media

  Disney Plus made the biggest splash of the year 2019 saw the end of several institutions, big media battles, and disappointing sports teams. Let’s start with the huge changes in big media, as Disney closed on its purchase of the 20th Century Fox film studio and Viacom reuniting with CBS again with a new name (ViacomCBS) as the race […]

WXRT moves: Brehmer shifts to middays; news anchor Dixon out

Longtime Chicago rocker makes changes Adult Album Alternative rocker WXRT-FM announced some major changes Wednesday that may not sit well with its fanbase. For one, there is a huge overhaul in the morning – longtime WXRT radio personality Lin Brehmer is shifting out of the daypart and moving to middays beginning sometime in “early 2020”. “Like a veteran centerfielder who […]