Bears talk boosts Score in morning ratings

Interest in the fortunes of the Bears helped propel Chicago’s leading sports/talk station into the top 10 among morning radio shows in the latest monthly ratings released Monday.

Nielsen Audio figures for September 11 to October 8 showed Mike Mulligan and Brian Hanley, the morning team on CBS Radio WSCR AM 670, in seventh place among all listeners — up from 14th the previous month. It was the Score's first top-10 showing since May. Continue reading

Cindy Gatziolis made events special

Cindy Gatziolis

Cindy Gatziolis

If you ever attended the Chicago Blues Festival, Taste of Chicago or the Air & Water Show, you knew the work of Cindy Gatziolis. And if you ever listened to Larry Lujack, Wally Phillips, Fred Winston, Steve Dahl or Jonathon Brandmeier, you knew it too.

Gatziolis, who worked closely with Chicago’s biggest radio personalities for two decades before leading the promotion of the city’s most popular special events, died Saturday after a long battle with cancer. She was 56. Continue reading

Sun-Times reporter McKinney cites ‘chilling effect’ in quitting

Dave McKinney

Dave McKinney

Dave McKinney’s resignation Wednesday after 19 years as a reporter for the Sun-Times is a huge loss for the newspaper and its readers at a time when neither can afford to be without his diligent, uncompromising and vital work.

McKinney’s impassioned public letter of resignation to Michael Ferro Jr., chairman of Sun-Times parent company Wrapports LLC, is a must-read for anyone who cares about ethics and integrity in journalism. Continue reading

CEO tells staff: Wrapports ‘evaluating variety of investments’

While officials of the Sun-Times parent company won’t comment on plans to sell their suburban newspapers to Tribune Publishing, the chief executive officer of Wrapports LLC says he’s “evaluating a variety of investments” to strengthen the company.

A report here Tuesday said Wrapports has agreed sell all of its suburban daily and weekly newspapers to Tribune Publishing, while retaining the Sun-Times daily tabloid and the Reader free weekly, according to sources. Continue reading

Stop the presses: Tribune buying Sun-Times suburban newspapers

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Sun-Times

In a blockbuster deal that could change the Chicago journalism landscape, the parent company of the Sun-Times plans to sell all of its suburban daily and weekly newspapers to Tribune Publishing, sources said.

Once the sale is completed, Wrapports LLC would continue to publish only the Sun-Times daily tabloid and the Reader free weekly, according to insiders. Tribune Publishing, parent company of the Chicago Tribune and nine other newspapers nationwide, would acquire the Aurora Beacon-News, the Elgin Courier-News, the Lake County News-Sun, the Naperville Sun, the Northwest Indiana Post-Tribune, the SouthtownStar, and the 32 weekly newspapers published by the Pioneer Press. Continue reading

Break in the weather: ABC 7 has sunny forecast for Cheryl Scott

Cheryl Scott

Cheryl Scott

Cheryl Scott, the hottest free agent in Chicago media, is close to accepting an offer from WLS-Channel 7, where she eventually would succeed Jerry Taft as the ABC-owned station’s top meteorologist, sources said.

Finalizing the deal has been delayed by Scott’s former employer, WMAQ-Channel 5, which could exercise its right to match ABC 7’s offer, raising the slim possibility that she would return to the NBC-owned station. But insiders said they don’t expect that to happen. Continue reading