I've been a fan of the Chicago Jewish News since it started, but this week's cover story on Chicago's Jewish sports talk show hosts may carry its worst headline ever.

Disc Jewkeys? Give me a break.

That unforgivable clunker aside, Pauline Dubkin Yearwood's profile of six prominent local sportscasters offers some unique insights into why talking about sports on the radio seems to attract so many nice Jewish boys (you should pardon the expression).

Here's what some of them told Yearwood about how their ethnic heritage figures into their work: Continue reading →

Walter Cronkite

Each year just before his birthday on Nov. 4, I would send Walter Cronkite a tie. And each year on that day, the anchorman of "The CBS Evening News" would wear the tie on the air before his audience of millions.

Walter and I kept up that tradition all through my high school years and well into college. It was his personal signal to the fan club I had started in his honor when I was 14 years old.

"Cronkite had good reasons for embracing Feder's club," historian Douglas Brinkley wrote in Cronkite, his 2012 biography of the anchorman. "The mimeographed newsletter was an excellent way to build a loyal fan base in those pre-Internet days. It was like a Facebook page or a Twitter account before its time. It was one more confirmation that by 1972, Cronkite had become part of the popular culture."

The Walter Cronkite Fan Club ran its course, but we maintained our friendship for the rest of his life. Today would have been his 97th birthday. Continue reading →

Carol Cooling-Kopp, longtime special events director at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 who died last week, will be inducted posthumously into the Silver Circle of the Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Also named Silver Circle honorees for 2014 were: Jerry Bryant, founder and producer of "JBTV," the longest running music television show in the country; Carole B. Cartwright, former manager of community programs at NBC 5 and former general manager of Chicago City Colleges' WYCC-Channel 20; Rich King, sports anchor at Tribune Broadcasting WGN-Channel 9; Mike Leonard, former Chicago-based reporter for NBC's "Today"; and Larry Yellen, news anchor and reporter at Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32. Continue reading →

Steve Dale

Did you hear the one about the radio host who got stuck in an elevator?

That's what happened to Steve Dale on his way to hosting his Sunday morning "Pet World" show on Tribune Broadcasting news/talk WGN AM 720.

With the help of "Sunday Spin" host Rick Pearson and engineer Bob Ferguson, Dale wound up hosting his full 30-minute show via cell phone while trapped inside his Wrigleyville apartment building elevator. "This is as live and local as it gets," he said.  Continue reading →

Robert Murphy

It's showtime again for Chicago radio veteran Robert Murphy.

The man who defined hip adult-contemporary radio in the 1980s at the former Q101 is about to sign on as afternoon personality at WLS FM 94.7, the Cumulus Media classic hits station. Continue reading →

Even as the Sun-Times is touting "double digit gains" in digital circulation, the newspaper's bosses are gearing up for another round of layoffs early next year, according to insiders.

No specific goals have been set, but sources said staff reductions will target departments throughout Sun-Times Media, including editorial. Continue reading →

A full-time digital television network featuring content exclusively about Native Americans and indigenous people around the world debuts Friday in Chicago.

Coinciding with the start of Native American Heritage Month, the FNX Channel — which stands for First Nations Experience — premieres at 7 a.m. on WYCC-Channel 20.2, the digital tier of the City College of Chicago's public television station. Continue reading →

Studs Terkel

Chicago's world renowned documentary filmmakers Steve James and Gordon Quinn have been named recipients of 2014 Studs Terkel Community Media Awards.

Since its founding in 1966, their Kartemquin Films has been a collaborative mecca for emerging talent and a leading voice for independent media. Their documentaries examining and critiquing society through stories of real people have included such acclaimed films as "The Interrupters," "Hoop Dreams" and "The New Americans." James recently completed a film based on Roger Ebert's memoir, Life Itself.

Also receiving the prestigious awards from the nonprofit Community Media Workshop will be Steve Bogira, reporter for the Chicago Reader, and Alejandro Escalona, Web editor and former political editor for Telemundo Chicago. Continue reading →

Ted Brunson

Ted Brunson, who stepped down last May after more than three years as creator, host and producer of "Chicago's Best," is back on the beat.

Starting Thursday, Brunson will present an online video feature spotlighting notable neighborhood restaurants and bars for DNAinfo.com/Chicago, the hyperlocal news website launched last November. "Good in the Hood with Ted Brunson" will appear several times a month. Continue reading →

Dan McNeil

Never far from drama, Dan McNeil is at it again.

The veteran Chicago radio personality has been off the air since Monday when he called in shortly before the start of his midday show on sports/talk WSCR AM 670 to say he wasn't coming to work.

No explanation has been given to listeners, but colleagues said McNeil, 52, is dealing with personal problems and family issues. It's not clear when he will return to the Score.

Filling in for McNeil alongside co-host Matt Spiegel on the show from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays has been Laurence Holmes.

Continue reading →