Aqua Fraud? In this edition of the Six Pack: The biggest Oprah Winfrey diss ever, Chicago’s news media possibly aiding and embedding a cover-up by city officials, and a sequel of a series that turned out not to be a sequel after all: Winners WFTV and Bob Jordan. WFTV news director Bob Jordan (no relation to WGN-TV’s Robert Jordan) […]
Twentieth’s game shows canceled, and other news of note For the first time in a long time, it’s time for The Grab Bag – items not good enough for individual posts – but good enough to be written here: – Ricki returns. In a report confirmed by B&C and TVNewscheck, Ricki Lake signed a deal with Twentieth Television to launch […]
Casey is counting them down again – only this time in rerun form. As reported by Robert Feder on his blog at Time Out Chicago Wednesday, WLS-FM will begin running Casey Kasem’s American Top 40: The ’70’s on Sunday mornings from 7 to 10 a.m. from Premiere Radio Networks, effective this weekend. The countdowns are primarily from 1970 (when the […]
Ah, lucky Providence, R.I. They get to see women in bras in the prime access hour. We Chicagoans get Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson. You know, it’s hard to be a bra salesman these days in Providence when you have the Internet… and now you have infomercials running as early as 7 p.m.! Is it no surprise that 25% of […]
Yeah, but not for long…. The axe is waiting to swing on one of CBS Radio’s two struggling properties in Chicago. Industry website Radio Insight reported today that CBS Radio registered a domain under the name KHitsChicago.com, meaning a format flip for WJMK-FM (JACK FM, 104.3 FM) is imminent. Also mentioned as a possible target is WCFS-FM (Fresh 105.9 FM), […]
WLS-AM and WLS-FM have new owners in the form of Atlanta-based Cumulus Broadcasting, Inc., which acquired the troubled Citadel radio group for $2.4 billion in cash and stock, with Cumulus paying $37 a share to Citadel. While Citadel wasn’t officially up for sale, it was being pursued by both Cumulus and Bala Cynwyd, Pa. –based Entercom Communications. Cumulus made several […]
Today not only marks the beginning of a brand new month, but a brand-new channel on Chicago’s television landscape. NBC-owned WMAQ-TV is launching Non-Stop Chicago today on digital subchannel 5.2, Comcast channel 252, RCN channel 130, and other dial positions once occupied by NBC’s now-defunct WeatherPlus network. In the time since, WMAQ had been running a non-stop loop of weather […]
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 […]
The one thing that was good about Bill Cunningham’s daytime stint last week was he proved he can actually host a TV talk show. Too bad it was the only good thing. The four-episode test of Big Willie, which ran on six Tribune Broadcasting-owned stations and one Raycom outlet (Fox affiliate WXIX-TV in Cincinnati) stumbled out of gate. According to […]
Mancow’s shtick is so laughable, it could pass itself off as a pathetic sitcom. Welcome to Everybody Loves Mancow, starring Mancow Mueller! In this show, Mancow thinks the whole world only evolves around him and only him – and everybody who works with him suffers for it. In this latest episode, Mueller talks about Tuesday’s Federal Court ruling on indecency […]
He’s back! Veteran Chicago media personality Bob Sirott is returning to Fox-owned WFLD as an anchor for the station’s signature 9 p.m. newscast on July 19, alongside Robin Robinson. He replaces Jeff Goldblatt, whose contract at the station was not renewed. The station initially denied it was pursuing Sirott, even though Vocalo’s Robert Feder and the Tribune’s Phil Rosenthal said […]
American Top 40 – the legendary radio program which counted down the week’s popular hits from number 40 to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave us the Long Distance Dedication, marks its 40th anniversary on July 4 – the exact day the program was born back in 1970, when it was heard on only seven stations. Two […]
Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Toews hoists the Cup, the Blackhawks’ first since 1961. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Tribune) For the first time in 49 years, the Chicago Blackhawks hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup. And viewers fled into the entrances to see the history making event. Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers drew a […]
The Fly Jock is going to be doing double-duty in Chicagoland beginning this week. As reported by Chicagoland Radio and Media, the Reach Media/Radio One-syndicated radio program is going to be simulcast on both WSRB-FM (Soul 106.3) and WPWX-FM (Power 92). Both stations are owned by Crawford Broadcasting. As you recall, Joyner’s show was dropped by WVAZ-FM in March 2009 […]
Here’s who is scoring goals – and who isn’t – it’s a hockey-themed T Dog’s Four Pack: Lighting the lamp: Family Guy. No, you don’t see this show in the winner’s circle too often, but Sunday’s night episode – despite some rather uncomfortable dialogue in the first act – was the best of the season and perhaps ever, on a […]
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