Siafa Lewis and Peggy Kusinski
Without fanfare — or even an official announcement — WMAQ-Channel 5 has added former New York sports and lifestyle personality Siafa Lewis to its daily sports lineup. He’s been working as a freelance reporter and sports anchor at the NBC-owned station since May 19.
The closest thing to a formal introduction was this tweet May 21 from sports anchor Peggy Kusinski: "Welcome #NBC5 Chicago's newest sportscaster @SiafaLewisNBC to Chicago!” Continue reading
Arsenio Hall
No matter what WGN-Channel 9 airs at 10 p.m. weeknights this fall, it’s a pretty good bet it will do better in the Nielsens than “The Arsenio Hall Show.”
Greg Easterly, president and general manager of the Tribune Broadcasting station, said Monday no decision has been made about a replacement for the syndicated talk show, which was canceled Friday after one season. Although production has ceased, the show is expected to continue to air until September. Continue reading
Here are my picks for the most notable Chicago media stories of the month.
Click on the arrows to advance the photos. To read the original posts, click on the headlines under each photo: Continue reading
Ira Glass
I’d like to retract my retraction.
On March 22 — two days after Public Radio International announced it was dropping distribution of “This American Life” — I reported exclusively that host and executive producer Ira Glass would be moving the show to Public Radio Exchange. Continue reading
Alexa Helms
Alexa Helms, who spent three months as an intern at WFLD-Channel 32 in 2008, appears to be headed back to the Fox-owned station as weekend news anchor.
Sources said Helms is expected to fill the 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday anchor slot that’s been vacant since Amara Walker resigned last December to move to Atlanta. Walker subsequently joined CNN International as an anchor. Continue reading
“Chicago Theatre of the Air” (1940s)
On June 1, 1924, Colonel Robert McCormick transformed his fledgling radio station into WGN, inspired by the motto of his Chicago Tribune as “World’s Greatest Newspaper.”
Ninety years later, WGN AM 720 has come a long way from McCormick’s vision of the novelty as “the little box that picks sounds from the air" and by most estimates still ranks among America’s greatest radio stations. Continue reading
Jack Minkow
Jack Minkow brokered some of the biggest deals in the annals of broadcast ownership. But his most enduring legacy may have been his role in bringing Steve Dahl to Chicago.
President and CEO of Chicago-based Broadcasting Asset Management Corporation for 30 years, Minkow died Sunday after suffering two brain aneurysms. He was 68.
Before he launched his firm in 1978, Minkow managed radio stations for United Broadcasting Company in Baltimore and for ABC in Detroit and Chicago, including two years as vice president and general manager of WDAI (now WLS FM 94.7). Continue reading
Giacomo Luca
Remember Giacomo Luca? He’s the Roosevelt University prodigy who commuted four hours each way between Chicago and Lima, Ohio, where he anchored and produced weekend newscasts for NBC affiliate WLIO-TV.
Now just four weeks after he graduated, Luca, 21, already is moving up in the business: He’s just been hired as a bureau reporter for KFVS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It’s a 106-market jump — from the nation’s 187th market to the 81st. Continue reading
Dick Cavett
Tickets are on sale for “A Salute to Dick Cavett” June 21 at Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications.
Dean Richards, entertainment reporter and critic for Tribune Broadcasting WGN-Channel 9 and WGN AM 720, will emcee the black-tie tribute to the 77-year-old legend who defined sophisticated conversation on television for more than 35 years. Continue reading
Mark Giangreco, Cheryl Burton, Ron Magers, Kathy Brock and Jerry Taft
Back to you, Ron and Kathy.
Chicago news viewers remained faithful to WLS-Channel 7 in the just-finished May sweeps, giving the ABC-owned station a decisive Nielsen victory in all local news time periods from morning to night. Continue reading