Fox-owned WFLD-TV has hired former WBBM-TV news director Carol Fowler to work in the same capacity. Fowler replaces Andrew Finlayson, who today took a job with News Corp. as director for online content and business for the Fox Television Stations Group. Fowler was news director at CBS-owned WBBM for six years before being fired last fall in a newsroom shakeup. […]
Inauguration ratings; Litton clears Street Court in New York and Chicago; Erica Cobb has a new gig. – The Inauguration of Barack Obama scored in the ratings yesterday, with the most watched swearing-in ceremony since President Reagan in 1981, with a 29.2 rating in the 56 markets metered by Nielsen on an “overnight” basis. In Chicago, here’s how the household […]
Jeff Kiernan has been named the new news director at CBS-owned WBBM-TV (CBS 2), being charged of cleaning up the mess former news director Carol Fowler left. Kiernam is a native of nearby Munster, Ind., and has been in charge of news operations for CBS O&Os stations in Minneapolis (WCCO-TV) and Boston (WBZ-TV.) While at WCCO, Kiernan kept WCCO competitve […]
CBS Television Distribution’s has sold weekend runs of Criminal Minds and Numb3rs into syndication on station groups representing CBS, Gannett, Belo, Meredith, and Cox. Here in Chicago, CBS-owned WBBM-TV will begin carrying the syndicated weekend runs of both crime drama series, beginning in September 2010. They replace the two current CSI shows in syndication: New York and Miami. Minds was […]
Yeah, we knew this was coming: News director Carol Fowler of CBS-owned WBBM-TV was fired today after six years. She was brought in as a stooge of former general manager Joe Ahern, who was fired last month. During her tenure news ratings failed to move upward and still placed behind most of their rivals, including ABC-owned WLS-TV and CW affiliate […]
Arthur Greenwald of TVNewsday reviews CBS-owned WBBM-TV’s new digs in the Loop, which brings the station into the 21st century and a long way from its decrepit McClurg Court headquarters. The new building at 22 W. Washington Blvd. lets the station broadcast its news and local programming in HD and new high-tech equipment – such as Apple’s Final Cut Pro […]
ABC and its O&O in Chicago (WLS-TV) took home the ratings crown on Election Night, a night where Barack Obama was elected the nation’s first African-American president. ABC led all networks on a national basis with 13.6 million viewers. Locally, ABC’s coverage led with WLS-TV leading the 10 p.m. hour (when Obama gave his victory speech) with a 17.6 household […]
In this week’s edition, we have a renewal, a couple of layoffs, and two firings… T Dog’s Fabulous Four Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill. Say what you want about The CW (I know I have), but last Monday’s duo finished second in its time period among women 18-34 (with One Tree finishing first among women 12-24), doing what the […]
More on Joe Ahern’s sudden departure from CBS-owned WBBM-TV in Chicago: – The Sun-Times Robert Feder looks back at the The Life and Times of Joe Ahern – his rise at WLS-TV and his fall at WBBM. It’s a rather critical look at what he accomplished – or actually didn’t accomplish – at the station. – Phil Rosenthal has a […]
One of the deacons at The Church of Tisch has been shown the door. WBBM-TV General Manger Joe Ahern was fired today after six years at the CBS-owned station, this after they moved into new digs on Washington Blvd. in the Loop and started broadcasting their news in HD. Replacing Ahern is Bruno Cohen, who is currently GM at CBS’ […]
As Soul Train rides into the into the rail yard for good (for now, anyway), an article in the Chicago Reader Thursday features a new book that takes a behind-the-scenes look at the dance program’s Chicago days at WCIU-TV in the early 1970’s.Titled A Critical History of Soul Train on Television, author Chris Lehman takes a look at the program’s […]
If you think radio stations in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles are worrying about Arbitron’s Portable People Meters – then you haven’t seen anything yet. Television executives in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Cleveland are sweating it out over the next several months as Local People Meters – or LPMs, become the standard of measurement for television ratings measured by Nielsen. […]
As what Amy Jacobson did a few weeks ago, the Stebic family has now followed “suit” with a suit of their own. Craig Stebic and his family filed suit against CBS and its owned TV station here (WBBM-TV) and a couple of principals involved, including GM Joe Ahern and news director Carol Fowler. Also named in the suit was anchor […]
The Chicago Chapter of The Church of Tisch opens its new location on Monday. CBS-owned WBBM-TV opens its new “block 37” location in the loop on Monday, a new broadcast facility with its newscasts broadcast in HD. The new 22 West Washington St. location is dubbed “Heart of Chicago”. Sun-Times columnist Rob Feder noted today he didn’t get an invitation […]
CBS-owned WBBM-TV has decided to shuffle the anchor chairs again at its low-rated morning newscast – with the return of Roseanne Tellez from maternity leave, she will return anchoring the news at 5 and 11 a.m., paired up with weatherman Don Schwennker. They replace Jim Willams (who goes back to weekends) and Kristyn Hartman. Tellez, who co-anchored the station’s 5 […]
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