The term Chiraq is here to stay. Thank the media. For those who don’t like the word “Chiraq”, let me lay it on thick for you…. it’s here to stay. The term, used to describe the number of shootings and murder in the Chicago area, continues to be a hot topic of debate in the media as Spike Lee films […]
In other news, rushed Ventra card special on WTTW strikes out A lot of people were hating it on social media (including yours truly), but viewers were fleeing into the entrances Thursday night to see Carrie Underwood in a live staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound Of Music Live! on NBC. The three-hour special – the first live network […]
Time to see what’s in this week edition of the Grab bag: – With This TV leaving for WGN-TV November 1, Weigel Broadcasting is replacing it with Bounce, moving from its 23.2 subchannel position to the much stronger 26.5 position, according to an item on WCIU’s website. Bounce is an African-American-targeted subchannel targeted to adults 25-54. The move comes as […]
Yours truly is testing a brand new feature titled Quick Hits and Bits, a quick roundup of the latest and not-so-latest television, radio, and Internet news – along with a few editorial quips. This is not meant to replace “The Grab Bag” column I’ve been writing about for the last few years, but wanted to get more media items on […]
While Friday night television has become a former shell of itself, it still has some decent programming options – though it still have the stigma of the “Death Slot” (Hello, Hawaii Five-O!) All ratings numbers are those for adults 18-49, unless noted otherwise. The premiere of Fox’s Junior Masterchief won its time slot with a 1.6 rating, beating CBS’ Undercover […]
The last time I’ve seen this much hype for a Friday night television show was during the days J.R. Ewing strutting around Dallas in his cowboy hat and Crockett and Tubbs fighting crime in their flashy clothes on South Beach. But give WTTW – yes, that WTTW – credit for making this work to their advantage. After a months-long search […]
On Sunday, New York Times reviewer Rachel Shteir reviewed three Chicago based books. But the reviews were less about the books in question and more about Chicago itself. In her review, Shteir – who is also a professor at DePaul University and moved to Chicago thirteen years ago – talked about “poor Chicago” and used every stereotypical crack associated with […]
What happens when you put a ton of first-run programming on and the only show even remotely interesting to watch is WTTW’s Chicago Tonight: The Week In Review and the hot chick hosting Check, Please? Welcome to Friday night television in 2012. In fact, if we were scoring this among winners and losers, the winners’ list would consist of a whole […]
Wednesday was cable’s turn at The Television Critics Association Press Tour as HBO took center stage for its presentation with the main event – Aaron Sorkin vs. The Critics over controversial new drama The Newsroom. Things were so tense, you wonder if Larry Merchant (HBO’s boxing analyst) should’ve moderated the panel. But first, a few undercards: – HBO executive session: […]
On May 20, yours truly sent out a tweet stating the local stations did a good job on NATO coverage. Well, I’ve re-thought that statement – particularly after reading this brilliant guest commentary from Rich Jasculca at Crain’s Chicago Business’s website, and the feedback section (except for one comment) was also spot on. As Jasculca pointed out, the media coverage […]
The balcony is closing. Again. But it could reopen soon. On his Chicago Sun-Times blog tonight, Roger Ebert posted that production on Ebert Presents At The Movies has been suspended indefinitely due to a lack of funding and an inability to find an underwriter for the PBS show. The move was pretty much expected – Ebert had until November 30 […]
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 […]
The title card of the new Roger Ebert Presents At The Movies. Get your popcorn ready – because the balcony is re-opening and there’s going to be a show. One of the principals behind Sneak Previews/At The Movies is bringing the series back to its original home of PBS. Chicago Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert announced on his website today […]
It’s no longer a rush to get into the 4:30 a.m. news business – it’s a stampede. Consider this – a recent search of TVNewsCheck of “4:30” turned up a whopping 115 items., with most of the stories featuring stations starting 4:30 a.m. newscasts in the past year, or so. This isn’t a rush – it’s a stampede. Get the […]
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 […]
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