Jarrett Payton and Harry Teinowitz

Jarrett Payton, former NFL running back and son of Bears legend Walter Payton, has been hired as afternoon co-host at Tribune Broadcasting sports/talk WGWG LP 87.7, station officials confirmed Monday.

Starting Wednesday, he’ll join Harry Teinowitz and Spike Manton from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday on The Game 87.7 FM. Continue reading →

Dan Ponce

If you’re as sick of Chicago’s endless winter as everybody else, check out this video parody of “Let It Go,” the Academy Award-winning song from the Disney movie “Frozen.”

"Let It Go (Chicago),” which debuted Monday, is the work of Chicago’s Very Own Dan Ponce, morning news anchor at Tribune Broadcasting WGN-Channel 9. While a student at Indiana University, Ponce founded the renowned a cappella group Straight No Chaser. Continue reading →

Roger Simon

Roll out the welcome mat for the great Roger Simon, chief political columnist for politico.com, who’s coming home to Chicago this spring.

Simon has been named one of six Fellows in Residence at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, the public policy and public service institute founded and led by David Axelrod.

Starting later this month, Simon will spend the spring quarter on campus interacting with students and faculty, participating in public forums and leading a seminar on “the collision of media mayhem and political stagecraft.” Continue reading →

Here, in my estimation, are the 10 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 →

Rich Miller

Rich Miller, the Illinois political reporter, editor, blogger and pundit whose Capitol Fax newsletter has been a must-read among power brokers for more than 20 years, is joining Crain’s Chicago Business as a contributing columnist.

Starting Friday, Miller’s column will appear twice monthly on chicagobusiness.com and eventually will be seen in Crain’s weekly print publication as well. Continue reading →

Tammy Leitner

Tammy Leitner, a Peabody Award-winning reporter who once appeared as a contestant on “Survivor,” is joining the expanded investigative unit at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 next week.

Her hiring will supplement a growing "NBC 5 Investigates" team that currently includes reporters Rob Stafford, Carol Marin, Lisa Parker, Phil Rogers, Dick Johnson, Marion Brooks and Chris Coffey. Frank Whittaker, station manager and vice president of news at NBC 5, confirmed that Leitner will start Monday.

Continue reading →

Connor McKnight (Photo: Elliott Serrano)

"Hit and Run" baseball show host Connor McKnight just became the latest prize in Chicago’s spirited sports/talk radio competition.

After more than four years as a host, anchor and reporter for CBS Radio sports/talk WSCR AM 670, McKnight has jumped to Tribune Broadcasting’s upstart competitor WGWG LP 87.7, where he’ll become part of the daily lineup. Continue reading →

Niala Boodhoo

It’s been two years since the esteemed Steve Edwards launched “The Afternoon Shift” amid great ambitions and high hopes of a programming renaissance at WBEZ FM 91.5.

As Chicago Public Media’s first new local program in more than five years, the two-hour afternoon talk show was seen as the cornerstone of a grand plan to add “more local service and more local programming” to the station’s daytime lineup under then-president and CEO Torey Malatia. Continue reading →

WMAQ-Channel 5 may be credited with a gold medal in Chicago’s late-news ratings race for February — but it’ll be with an asterisk.

Boosted by its network’s coverage of the Winter Olympics, the NBC-owned station’s 10 p.m Monday-through-Friday newscast appears certain to win the Nielsens when the monthlong sweeps period ends Wednesday. Continue reading →

Tamron Hall

News that Tamron Hall was named co-host of the 9 a.m. hour of “Today” evoked memories of two other Chicago news anchors who'd ascended to the venerable NBC morning show. For Hall’s sake, let’s hope her tenure on “Today” resembles Jane Pauley’s illustrious 13-year reign more than Deborah Norville’s ill-fated 13-month run.

In any case, Monday’s announcement marked a huge career step for the 43-year-old Hall, who spent 10 years at Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 before joining NBC News in 2007. Continue reading →