The iconic countdown show turns 50 this Saturday and a year-long celebration is planned One of America’s iconic radio shows is turning 50 this Saturday, and the party is going to be one year-long celebration. Premiere Networks announced Tuesday plans to celebrate American Top 40 as it marks its 50th year in radio. (although it did not air in 1996 […]
Man of the People latest to strike out as viewers head to streaming services on weekends (Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to reflect recent changes in programming schedules.) Funny thing as this person was watching the final Man Of The People Monday night via DVR as in the next-to-last segment, Bill Kurtis said “Tonight we look back at […]
WGN adds Wood and Dempster, plus Manley’s idiotic comment Media Life magazine article on iHeart causing a stir Empire roars back BET to add “Soul Train” WGN-AM has recruited former Cubs pitchers Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster to provide weekly baseball analysis on Thursdays for the Tribune Broadcasting-owned radio station. Beginning this week, Ryan Dempster will talk baseball with Steve Cochran […]
TV rank drops to fourth as market’s black population moves out Chicago may be home to the hottest show with TV’s number one show among African-Americans with Empire, set in New York City but filmed here. But when it comes to attracting and keeping blacks in the area, Chicago is in a deep freeze. A recent DMA (designated market area) report issued […]
Plus: LA’s KTTV news director “resigns” after only two years Fox’s WFLD fortified its news anchor lineup late Tuesday, detailing changes being made to its Good Day Chicago morning show and its 9 p.m. newscast. Former WMAQ sports anchor Jon Kelley is being paired with former KDVR/Denver reporter-anchor Melody Mendez for GDC and Natalie Bomke, who joined the show last […]
Cows, bears, and sharks – oh my! If one were to turn on the TV last week, you saw a lot of weird. And Comic-Con hadn’t even begun yet. Here’s the rundown…Rhode Island residents were given tips… on what to do when you come in contact with a bear; cows invaded a Tallahassee, Fla. news set; while computer-generated sharks invaded […]
Howard Shapiro, chairman of Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting, died from pneumonia today at the age of 86. A graduate in electronic engineering from Purdue, Shapiro was a electronics dealer, with a business called C.E.T. (Chicago Engineers of Television) and was one of the first advertisers who bought commercial time on WCIU, which was launched by the Weigel family in 1964, becoming […]
The Jeff Probst Show finally clears Chicago, landing at WBBM-TV Due to a busy schedule covering and analyzing Upfront Week, there were a lot of notable media stories mentioned in the past week: – First mentioned in Robert Feder’s Time Out Chicago blog last week, ABC-owned WLS-TV has acquired Live With Kelly beginning in September 2013, falling in line with […]
The television, music, and radio industries lost a legend today with the passing of Dick Clark. Clark suffered a massive heartattack a day after after an outpaitent procedure in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 82. Born in 1929 in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Clark got his first job at his family-owned radio station in Utica, where he started in the […]
Six-time Grammy-award winning artist Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday afternoon in a hotel room in the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. She was 48 years old. The cause of death has yet to be determined. Whitney Houston burst onto the scene with her breakout debut album Whitney Houston, which produced three number one hits. Houston also set chart […]
Many tributes are being planned this weekend and in the coming week in light of Don Cornelius’ death on Wednesday: – WCIU and new diginet Bounce are both simultaneously airing a seven-hour Soul Train marathon this Saturday night starting with the first syndicated episode from October 2, 1971, which featured musical guest Gladys Knight & The Pips and his final […]
The television and music industries are mourning the death of Soul Train host and creator Don Cornelius. He was found dead in his home in Los Angeles Wednesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Cornelius’ health had been declining for the last few years and was reportedly showing signs of dementia. Cornelius also had brushes with the law; he was […]
The legendary Fontainbleau Resort in Miami, where NATPE is being held The NATPE convention rolls on in South Beach with news on Big Tigger, Daryl Hall and his house, and a new show featuring Fat Albert – whoops, I mean Father Albert – Litton Entertainment announced it was launching a new weekly half-hour syndicated series targeted for weekend late fringe […]
Station group signs Cincinnati radio host to do daily talk show There’s going to be a new Bozo taping at the Old Bozo studio (no, it’s not a new version of Bozo’s Circus, but there might be a circus nonetheless.) With an eye of getting back into the syndication business after a three-year hiatus, Tribune Broadcasting announced today it was […]
The legendary music series Soul Train is back – on DVD. Time-Life has acquired the DVD rights to the Soul Train Library, which it plans to release on home video. The material features artists such as The O’Jays, The Temptations, Al Green, and The Jacksons. Material featuring The Jacksons and specifically Michael Jackson is hot right now, on the heels […]