The Mac, Jurko, and Harry show at WMVP-AM ESPN 1000, is now just Jurko, Harry, and some other person. Bosses at the Disney-owned sports radio talk station showed him the door today, not opting to pick up the fifth year of his contract. Replacing McNeil as of Monday on the afternoon show is Carmen DeFalco. McNeil hasn’t been an angel […]
Winners: WLIT-FM (The Lite), WBBM-AM, WVAZ-FM (V103) Losers: Well, since this month’s survey is an anomaly because of Christmas music, let’s give this a pass. WLIT dominated the PPMs in December with the Holiday Lite, a.k.a. Christmas Music. Their success pretty much lowered ratings for other stations in the Chicago market, with The Lite jumping five points from last month […]
Contemporary-hit music outlet WBBM-FM (B96) has named Jamar “J-Niice” McNeil and Julian Nieh as the station’s new morning hosts, replacing Eddie Volkman and Joe Bohannon, who were let go from the CBS-owned radio station on Novemeber 21. McNeil had previously been the station’s midday jock, while Nieh was working on the evening shift. Both men are alums of WIHT-FM in […]
The last bag before Christmas – unfortunately, it contains some not-so-groovy items: – Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who was a part of Star Trek as much as her husband Gene, died last week at the age of 79. Barrett appeared in all five Star Trek shows and did voiceover work on Star Trek: The Animated Series and as the voice of […]
Dr. Jeremy Levitt, we hardly knew ye. WVON-AM’s choice to replace Roland Martin as morning drive-time host was mysteriously replaced last week by fill-in hosts Matt McGill and Perri Small, at least temporarily. According to Chicagoland Radio and Media’s website, the person they hired to replace Martin turned out to be owner Melody Spann-Cooper’s brother-in-law and Pervis Spann’s (Melody’s father) […]
From the bag today: – Comcast SportsNet announced it is splitting its signature sports news show SportsNite into two half-hours at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (Yours truly thought they were already separate.) – It looks like an Obama-led FCC could steer the focus away from indecency, which has been the focus of the agency over the last few years. […]
1500 posts, Yay! Alright, put away the champagne and let’s get down to business… WGN-AM and WLS-AM both have new program directors this evening. WGN hired Kevin Metheny, who previously ran Clear Channel’s cluster of radio stations in Cleveland (including rock outlet WMMS-FM “The Buzzard”), as their new program director. He replaces Bob Shomper, who now moves to the same […]
An extended version of The Bag. Here what’s been going on the last couple of days: – Spike O’Dell signs off: The WGN-AM host wrapped up his eight-year stint in morning drive today with a live show at the Metropolis Theater in Arlington Heights. The building was sold out for the show, as people were lining up as early as […]
Score one for Chicago’s perennial news underdog: Fox-owned WFLD-TV’s coverage of the arrest of Governor Arrogant finished first in the ratings among adults 18-49 and second in adults 25-54 with its continuous coverage from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Moreover, they beat archrival WGN-TV at noon in adults 18-49. Also, all-news WBBM-AM’s website surged on Tuesday with page views jumping […]
(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 […]
The results from November’s PPMs are here, just three days after the radio ratings period ended. Isn’t it great to get results like this so quick? (Just don’t ask WGN-AM…) Borrowing the formula from Marc Berman’s Programming Insider from Mediaweek: Winners: WBBM-AM, WLS (AM and FM), The Drive (WDRV-FM), V103 (WVAZ-FM) Honorable Mention: Lite FM (WLIT-FM), WBEZ-FM, WIND-AM Disappointing (like […]
It’s official: Radio-info is reporting on its front page right now of the promotion of afternoon host John Willams to mornings on WGN-AM after current host Spike O’Dell retires on December 12. Willams take over the following Monday (December 15.) No word yet on who will take over Willams’ spot in the afternoons. More from Phil Rosenthal in his Tower […]
WBBM-FM has a note on their website saying “thanks” to Eddie Volkman, Joe Bohannon, and Erica Cobb for their years of hard work and dedication on their morning show. As you all know by now, the trio were let go Friday. In an interview with Phil Rosenthal of the Tribune, Volkman talked about the harsh realities facing the radio business […]
Note: This is a longer version of a story posted yesterday at 7:01 p.m. Not exactly a shocker (as some would claim), given how the radio business has changed since these two signed a multi-year deal in 2002, but with high-salaries becoming a thing of the past in radio – as well as TV – and so is Eddie & […]
Seventeen years after Jonathan Brandmeier’s syndicated TV show came – and went – quickly, he’s taking another stab at the small screen. NBC-owned WMAQ-TV is set to air two half-hour specials featuring Brandmeier on Dec. 6 at 1:05 a.m. (that’s Saturday morning, not Saturday night) and the other airing a week later on Sunday night, after Sports Sunday. It is […]
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