Robert Feder

The luckiest people are those who get to do what they love for a living — and decide when it’s time to stop. I’m one of them.

After 42 years of reporting on Chicago media, I’m stepping away from the beat. My website at RobertFeder.com will continue online, but effective today, I'm concluding the run of my daily column and wrapping up my tenure with the Daily Herald.

I especially appreciate the support of my great colleagues at the Daily Herald, who've made the last five years a highlight of my career. I am pleased that the archive of my columns will continue to be accessible through the Daily Herald's website.

I’m not retiring and I’m not going away. You can still follow me on Twitter and Facebook, where I'll keep you posted on what I'm up to and perhaps break some news from time to time. Continue reading →

Old Post Office

Robservations on the media beat:

Chicago Sun-Times

For the third time in 17 years, the Sun-Times newsroom is on the move. Under the new ownership of nonprofit Chicago Public Media, the newspaper will be downsizing its offices to a 6,000 square-foot space in Chicago's renovated Old Post Office at 433 West Van Buren Street. It will share the space with public radio WBEZ 91.5-FM, which will retain its offices and studios at Navy Pier. Since 2017 the Sun-Times has been leasing 22,000 square feet in a nondescript building at 30 North Racine Avenue on the Near West Side. The new space "will be optimized for flexible work schedules for a staff working remotely since the pandemic," according to a report by David Roeder. Sun-Times CEO Nykia Wright told staffers the company signed a one-year lease and the site should be ready by August. Continue reading →

Bob Sirott and Larry Lujack

So you think you know Chicago radio? Match these phrases with the Chicago radio personalities who made them famous. (Answers appear at the bottom): Continue reading →

StreetWise Chicago

Robservations on the media beat:

StreetWise, the nonprofit weekly magazine spotlighting homelessness, poverty, injustice, inequality and life in Chicago, raised its cover price Monday to $3. The one-dollar increase was the first in almost 15 years and the third in the publication’s 30-year history. StreetWise’s 111 vendors — mostly homeless men and women — will get a 75-cent raise to $1.85 per issue. “Given the inflationary pressures of producing a weekly news magazine and customers’ desire to help the homeless, nearly all stakeholders supported this decision,” Julie Youngquist, executive director of StreetWise, said in a statement. Continue reading →

Oprah Winfrey

A version of this post first appeared on May 17, 2012.

So you think you know Chicago television? Match these phrases with the Chicago television personalities who made them famous. (Answers appear at the bottom): Continue reading →

CBS 2 Chicago, 22 West Washington Street

It's been years since WBBM-Channel 2 dismantled the giant video screen outside its Loop studios overlooking Daley Plaza. But soon it will be back — bigger and better than ever.

Construction is underway on a new jumbotron monitor along the western exterior of the CBS Broadcast Center at 22 West Washington Street.

"If all goes according to plan, we look for the sign to be fully operational by mid to late August," said Jennifer Lyons, president and general manager of the CBS-owned station. "Our 24/7 local news stream, CBS News Chicago, will be the content on the monitor." Continue reading →

Chicago Tribune Freedom Center

Robservations on the media beat:

By this time next year the print edition of the Chicago Tribune may be coming from Wisconsin. Under Alden Global Capital ownership, the sadly diminished daily is expected to be printed on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's former presses in West Milwaukee — 90 miles from the Loop. Gannett produced 11 Wisconsin newspapers from the site before moving them last month to the Peoria Journal Star. Gannett merged with GateHouse Media, the Journal Star's parent company, in 2019. Freedom Center, the Tribune's printing plant (and current newsroom) at Chicago Avenue and the Chicago River, has been sold to Bally's for development of a casino. Sources said the Tribune could begin production from the 20-year-old Milwaukee plant by mid-2023. Par Ridder, general manager of Chicago Tribune Media Group, did not respond to a request for comment. Continue reading →

Erin Kennedy and Megan Glaros

For years two of the brightest morning stars on WBBM-Channel 2 were news anchor Erin Kennedy and meteorologist Megan Glaros. But in 2020 their careers were cut short when the two were among more than a dozen staffers ousted in sweeping layoffs at the CBS-owned station.

Now Kennedy and Glaros are back in the spotlight with their own show on YouTube. While careful to abide by their nondisclosure agreements with CBS, both have plenty to say about the inner workings of the TV news business. Continue reading →

John Records Landecker

Robservations on the media beat:

Museum of Broadcast Communications

Legendary DJs John Records Landecker and Tommy Edwards will reminisce about the golden age of rock radio when they headline a fundraiser for Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications August 14. "Rock Radio Revisited" will be hosted by Wendy Snyder at Ron Onesti's Des Plaines Theater. (Here is the link for tickets.) Also appearing, according to the museum, will be Kris Erik Stevens, Bob Stroud, Connie Szerszen, Steve King, Gary Burbank, Cousin Brucie Morrow and Dyana Williams. “The heyday of rock radio in the '60s and '70s was centered around the booming personalities of DJs like Larry Lujack, John Records Landecker, Yvonne Daniels, Bob Sirott and Steve King," David Plier, chairperson of the museum board, said in a statement. "Every city had their favorite local radio station and the voices behind them. This will be an incredible celebration of the personalities and music that made that era of rock and roll so memorable.” Continue reading →

Dan Bernstein and Laurence Holmes

Longtime Chicago sports talk hosts Dan Bernstein and Laurence Holmes are teaming up to co-host a new four-hour midday show on WSCR 670-AM, the Audacy sports/talk station announced Thursday.

Starting Monday, “Bernstein and Holmes” will air from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. As part of the new schedule, the morning show with Mike Mulligan and David Haugh will move into the 9 a.m. hour, airing from 5:30 to 10 a.m. Continue reading →