Remembering Regis Philbin

Iconic television personality dies at 88 Television fans are mourning the loss of Regis Philbin, who was one of the most beloved hosts in the medium. Not only he successfully re-invented morning television with his Live franchise with Kathie Lee Gifford and later Kelly Ripa, but also “saved ABC” as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. He holds […]

WGN Radio shocker: Cochran out, Sirott in

Sirott returns to morning shift; Cochran canned for second time from WGN In a week filled with numerous Chicago media changes, here’s another one and this turns out to be the biggest one of them all. As first reported by Robert Feder Friday morning, WGN-AM morning personality Steve Cochran was dropped from the station and replaced by a returning Bob […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Enough of the reboots

As the major networks go all in on rebooting familiar television shows – even using the same stars, they risk becoming irrelevant Over the last few weeks, you’d think network television executives were taking cues from those who run Chicago radio: over the last few years, we were treated to “reboots” of Jonathon Brandmeier, Mancow, Steve Dahl, Bob Sirott (and […]

2017: How did we do?

Back a year ago, yours truly did a look ahead into 2017. So how did everything turn out? I have the answers right here! 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 […]

WLS-AM drops Bob and Marianne for Chris Plante

Dropping homegrown talent for syndicated fare; enables Rush Limbaugh to be live again in Chicago As first reported by Robert Feder Wednesday, longtime Chicago media personalities Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano were shown the door (again), this time at Cumulus Media’s WLS-AM as the station canceled their 10 to noon morning show after only one year. WLS had high hopes […]

T Dog Media’s Notepad: ABC 7 leads in social media rankings

Tamron Hall seeking talk show; Hulu strikes deal for Bob’s Burgers, Futurama, and more; DuckTales returns on Aug. 12   Now you can add social media to ABC 7’s dominance: according to Share Rocket data over the last thirty days, the ABC-owned station ranks first in social media usage with an overall share of 33.8, followed by Fox 32’s 31.2, and […]

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. […]

Bob Sirottt, Marianne Murciano head to WLS-AM

It’s a homecoming for Sirott, who was at the Big 89 in the ’70’s Chicago radio and TV personalities Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano are on the move once again, this time being added to WLS-AM’s morning lineup. Beginning January 2, the husband-and-wife duo surfaces in the 10:00 a.m. to noon time slot on the Cumulus Media-owned station. The news […]

Bob Sirott, Marianne Murciano out at WGN

The married duo exits amid a programming squeeze WGN Radio’s early afternoon husband-and-wife team of Bob Sirott and Marriane Murciano were squeezed out of their slot amid programming changes the Tribune-owned station announced Wednesday, resulting in the exit of the duo after just two years. The pair’s final show is Friday. The change is being made to accommodate the expansion […]

WGN Radio changes: Williams in, Meier out

Williams returns to 720; Meier sent to WGN.FM With the season finale of Survivor Wednesday night, Tribune’s WGN-AM decided to play its own version of the popular CBS show earlier in the day with Radio Tribal Council. And at the end, it was Garry Meier who was sent packing and sent to WGN’s version of Redemption Island – WGN.FM. In […]

Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano head to WGN Radio full-time

According to a post on Robert Feder’s Facebook page today, Bob Sirott and his wife Murianne Murciano are joining WGN Radio’s daily lineup. The couple already have a Sunday night program on the station. This is the latest move from program director Jimmy DeCastro’s continuing plan on making over WGN-AM’s schedule. No timetable has been set on where or when […]