Robservations on the media beat:
Chicago public television viewers will be seeing less of Phil Ponce in the new year. The longtime host of “Chicago Tonight” confirmed that he’ll reduce his workload at WTTW-Channel 11 to three days a week in 2018 and two days a week in 2019. “The station is graciously letting me transition away from full-time status,” Ponce, 68, said in an email Wednesday. “Tempus fugit and we’ve got a great bench that deserves more time in the saddle (am I mixing metaphors?) I don’t know what will happen after year two and will play that by ear. In any case, I do not want to stay on the air so long that I start scaring the horses.” Except for a four-year break, Ponce has hosted the flagship nightly news program for the Window to the World Communications station since 1999. Continue reading