Robservations: Morgan Kolkmeyer weathers WGN computer snafu

Morgan Kolkmeyer (Photo: WGN)

Robservations on the media beat:

One more reason you gotta love Morgan Kolkmeyer: When WGN-Channel 9's weather center graphics computer failed Tuesday morning, the Tribune Broadcasting station's plucky meteorologist didn't miss a beat. She simply delivered the forecast the old-fashioned way — on white paper with a couple of markers. (Here is the link.) "Things I didn't think I'd do when I made it to Chicago," she joked. Kolkmeyer joined WGN in May 2017 from WREX, the NBC affiliate in her native Rockford.

Jennifer Lyons

Tuesday night’s bombshell news that Jennifer Lyons was returning to Tribune Broadcasting as news director of WGN-Channel 9 and CLTV after just three weeks away drew this observation from assistant news director Sandy Pudar: “It’s like that time Bobby came back from the dead on ‘Dallas.’ It was all a bad dream! Welcome home!!” Another friend compared it to the “Seinfeld” episode where George asks for his job back after quitting. Some were speculating that the move was related to collapse of the Sinclair Broadcast Group deal to buy Tribune Media. But knowledgable insiders insisted there was no connection. Lyons didn’t decide to leave until well after the sale fell apart.

Hosea Sanders and Buddy

It's been a tough week for Hosea Sanders, the veteran news anchor at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 who's been off the air since June. For the second time this year he underwent intestinal surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "My surgeon says the procedure went well," he told Facebook friends. "Now we wait to see how it all works." (Last year Sanders underwent surgery for prostate cancer.) On Saturday, his dog and "best friend" Buddy died after surgery to remove tumors from his liver. Sanders adopted the dog from the Anti-Cruelty Society in 2014 after a "Bark in the Park" segment on ABC 7's morning news.

WBBM Newsradio

Current and former employees of WBBM 780-AM will gather tonight to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Entercom station's all-news format. Following the lead of CBS Radio stations in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, WBBM Newsradio's actual launch date was May 8, 1968. "It was a learning experience getting into it and getting it all set up," recalled news anchor John Hultman, who joined the station three months earlier. "The format has changed a little over the years, but we are telling people what they need to know — about traffic and weather, about sports, about the stock market, about the breaking stories." Tonight's 50th anniversary celebration at the new Chicago Architecture Center is by invitation only.

Vincent Goodwill

Vincent Goodwill, who covered the Chicago Bulls beat for NBC Sports Chicago, has resigned to join Yahoo Sports in New York as a national NBA writer. The Detroit native covered the Pistons for the Detroit News before joining the regional sports network in 2015. "It's been a great ride and I'll always be appreciative of my time here as I move onto the next step in my career," Goodwill tweeted. NBC Sports Chicago expects to fill his position.

Erik Logan

Erik Logan, the former Chicago radio executive who became president of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, has resigned after seven years to join the World Surf League. “Erik has been a great leader and was the driving force in the network’s turnaround,” Winfrey said in a statement. “Everyone who knows Erik knows he has a passion for surfing and this is a perfect opportunity for him.” Succeeding him as general manager is Tina Perry, who was promoted from executive vice president of business and legal affairs. Logan, who once worked as operations manager of country WUSN 99.5-FM under Infinity Broadcasting, joined Harpo Productions in 2008 and later moved with Winfrey to OWN. At the World Surf League he’ll serve as president/content, media and WSL Studios.

The Chicago Lighthouse

“The Unseen Show,” a new weekly podcast covering trending topics and day-to-day experiences of people with vision loss and other disabilities, has been launched by The Chicago Lighthouse. (Here is the link.) Produced, uploaded and archived by CRIS Radio each Wednesday, it's hosted by Brett Shishkoff, Sandy Murillo, Jose Martinez and Michael Kolleng, who take turns as moderator. (Shishkoff, Murillo and Martinez are blind.) “We wanted to provide a lively forum in which members of the disability community could weigh in on the issues of the day and share their insights with a mass audience,” Shishkoff said in a statement.

David Eigenberg and Christian Stolte

Two stars of NBC's "Chicago Fire" — David Eigenberg and Christian Stolte — will join David Plier as co-hosts of "WGN Nightside" at 11 p.m. Friday on Tribune Broadcasting news/talk WGN 720-AM. “I get asked to do stuff, but it’s usually best to be contained and formal," Eigenberg said. "But now I can be a loose cannon for the first time.” In response, Stolte said: “I reckon someone has to be there at WGN Radio to keep David [Eigenberg] from being too David.”

Tuesday’s comment of the day: Bruce DuMont: Congratulations to AM 1000 on 20 years of sports talk. Before going on the air in Chicago, I spent several hours with Mike Golic and his first co-host driving around the city and suburbs in the backseat of a stretch limousine explaining some Chicago history — favorite local restaurants — including how to pronounce certain city streets. I remember we stopped  for corned beef in Highland Park at a local deli. To my knowledge Mike has never been required to pronounce the name Narragansett.