T Dog’s Think Tank: Bad times on media row

Journalists under fire from Trump, the left, and even Mayor Johnson as journalism’s prestige continues to sag If you thought the 2024 Chicago White Sox had a rough year, the media had it worse.  Daily attacks on the Fifth Estate have become commonplace in the last few weeks leading up to the Presidential election. And it’s not just coming from […]

The Think Tank: Lightfoot’s decision on journalists forces discussion on racial diversity

Lightfoot’s decision to exclude white journalists sets off firestorm. But it’s a conversation long overdue The latest dustup between the Chicago media and minority communities is unusual because the person behind it happens to be the Mayor of Chicago. On Tuesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot – the first Black woman to be elected to the position in the city’s history, decided […]

What Rahm Emanuel’s decision means for Chicago media

The Rahmfather calls it a career as local stations could reap another political windfall from upcoming mayor’s race It was eight years ago last week when longtime Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley announced he would not seek reelection for a seventh term. Now, Chicago is at the same crossroads with the announcement last Wednesday of current mayor Rahm Emanuel deciding […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Did Journalists cross the line? Nope, they annihilated it

Walter E. Smithe Furniture recently released a two-minute commercial honoring the 22-year legacy of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Among those who appeared in the ad were local celebrities like George Wendt, Eric Ferguson from WTMX’s Eric & Kathy, fictional Alderman Ed Bus (from the 53rd Ward), and a few other Chicago dignitaries. Oh, and there were some local news […]

Sun-Times Chairman Jim Tyree dies (updated)

Photo courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times (Editor’s note: This story was updated on March 19, 2011 due to new information.) Chicago Sun-Times Chairman James C. Tyree, (known as Jim Tyree) passed away Wednesday night at the age of 53.  On Friday, the Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled his death an accident from an air embolism after a dialysis catheter removal. […]

Chicago tunes out election coverage

“I’m CEO of Chicago, b-tch!” Chicago elected new mayor Rahm Emmanuel in a historic election – the first in 22 years without the name Daley on the ballot. But in the end, the ratings for Chicago’s broadcast TV stations looked like what you normally find on a Tuesday night as low voter turnout morphed into a huge viewer tuneout. WGN-TV […]

Chicago stations in for political ad revenue windfall

With Mayor Richard M. Daley’s decision not to run for a seventh term, it could mean good news for local television and radio outlets in the terms of revenue in the form of increased political advertising. While the rest of us will being running to our nearest electronics store to buy Tivos, the announcement would mean a huge influx of […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Unnecessary press conference patrol

Yours truly is pleading to the powers that be – enough with the press conferences. This past week saw the most stupid, contrived, and ridiculous publicity stunts known to man. It reminded yours truly of those phony press conferences the WWE used to have back in the day with Randy “Macho Man” Savage and the Ultimate Warrior nearly coming to […]

T Dog’s Four Pack

The best and the worst in media for the week ending May 9: Winners: – Perfect. The City of Oakland and the word “perfect” often goes together as Playboy models and science-fiction conventions. But the city gets to celebrate for one day as Dallas Breaden pitched a perfect game Sunday for the hometown Athletics against the Tampa Bay Rays. Now […]

T Dog’s Four pack – The Santa edition

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Everyone! Terry Claus is here to deliver some goodies to the good little children… and coal to those who are not-so-good! Who won and who lost… Gifts under the tree – The Doctors. Christmas came early for the one hour medical talk show strip with seasons three and four cleared in 85 percent of the country.  […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: A tribute to Oprah Winfrey

After 25 years on the air, The Oprah Winfrey Show – one of television’s most successful daytime programs – rides into the sunset. Her final show airs on September 9, 2011 as the world gathers around their sets to say so long to one of TV’s most successful shows. So in honor, The T Dog Media Blog honors and salutes […]

Top Chef: Chicago called out for profanity

The usually solid cooking reality show is being criticized for its excessive use of profanity in this current cycle (and ironically, not from the PTC or Rev. Pflager), which forced the lead chef and judge on the show (Tom Colicchio) to apologize on his blog for last week’s salty episode. Maybe we swear a lot in Chicago because, well, let’s […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Can you smell what the mayor is cookin’ ?

Usually, the T Dog Media Blog doesn’t devolve into local politics since this is a media blog (it says that in the name!) and not a political one. But yours truly can’t pass up an opportunity to take this on since it involves the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Last Friday, Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago blasted the Tribune […]

Utah’s version of "Jerry Springer"

Interesting how Fox O&O KSTU labeled a debate between Fox News’ Sean Hannity and Salt Lake City Mayor Democrat Rocky Anderson “Smackdown” – a debate on the Iraq War that turned into a debacle while a similarly-titled show, WWE Friday Night Smackdown, was airing at the same time on the CW on local affiliate KUCW-TV). (Wait a minute. A Democrat […]