Robservations on the media beat:
Carly Henderson, a Los Angeles entertainment journalist, TV host and video producer, has been named co-host of “The Jam,” the morning news, talk and entertainment show on Weigel Broadcasting WCIU-Channel 26. Starting in mid-September she’ll join co-hosts Felicia Lawrence and Jordan Cornette from 6 to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday. Henderson, 28, who's worked for E! News, MTV and Hollywire, was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her work on mtvU's "Half of Us" college suicide prevention campaign. Saying she was "beyond thrilled" to join "The Jam," Henderson said: "All my experiences — whether on the red carpet, reporting from music festivals, or co-hosting in the studio — have prepared me for this exciting opportunity. Six years ago, I connected with the love of my life while walking around the city. So for me, Chicago is where dreams come true.” Steve Bailey, head of local programming and creative for The U, said in a statement: "We are so happy to welcome Carly to 'The Jam' team. Her natural charm, warmth and enthusiasm for life are part of the many reasons why she is a great fit with the team." Henderson replaces Danielle Robay, who left the show in June.
It's been more than a month since a July 16 storm in northwest Indiana damaged the transmitter of WYIN-Channel 56, but the Lakeshore Public Media PBS station remains off the air with no definite date for its return. Efforts to install a temporary low-power transmitter were hampered by numerous technical problems and vandalism discovered at the Cedar Lake site. Delivery of a new transmitter, delayed by a backlog of orders, is now expected September 26. Calling it a “perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances,” Matt Franklin, vice president of TV operations for Lakeshore PBS, said in a statement: “It wasn’t just one thing, it was many — the age of the transmitter, a new engineering team, the [FCC] spectrum auction and the vandalism – all happening at once to keep us off the air so much longer than we ever could have expected.” (While most viewers remain in the dark, service has been uninterrupted for subscribers to Comcast/Xfinity systems, which uses fiber optics as a backup.)
Samantha Bomkamp, a business reporter for the Chicago Tribune, has joined Golin, the public relations and marketing communications firm, as a director of integrated media, working on the McDonald’s account. At the Tribune, Bomkamp covered the restaurant industry as well as the rise of #MeToo and sexual harassment in the workplace. She also served as a digital editor and producer. Before joining the Tribune in 2013, she worked in New York as a travel industry reporter for The Associated Press. “It was a very difficult decision to leave the Tribune but I feel like I’ve made the best move for me,” Bomkamp said.
In an item here Wednesday, I should have noted that Jaz Jackson, new midday personality on Crawford Broadcasting urban adult-contemporary WSRB 106.3-FM, is the woman shown in the ad for interns on the website of 1063 Chicago. (Not that it makes the ad any less suggestive, in my opinion.)
Wednesday’s comment of the day: Dawn Ladislas: Having worked in radio and done an internship before graduation, I can tell that when a radio station advertises for interns it's to take advantage of them. I wasn't taken advantage of, but many of my classmates were by doing jobs interns shouldn't do, such as sweeping floors, washing windows, etc. I was astounded by what some of them did. Many others did actual radio jobs, such as sales, yet received no compensation at all. Radio is an abusive industry that uses interns as free help. I'm now finishing an internship as a drug counselor (completely switched fields) and what I do as an intern is learning based and not being abused.