101 WKQX

Brian Haddad, the former Chicago radio personality known as “Sludge,” is coming back to host mornings on Cumulus Media alternative rock WKQX 101.1-FM.

Starting Monday “The KQX Morning Crew” will feature Haddad, co-host Ali Mattacola and executive producer Justin Nettlebeck from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays. Continue reading →

Lisa Dent

Lisa Dent, one of Chicago radio’s best-known country music personalities, has moved up to middays on WEBG 95.5-FM, the iHeartMedia country station announced today.

Since June, Dent has been hosting weekends at Big 95.5. Effective immediately, she’ll be on from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday. Continue reading →

WGN TV

Robservations on the media beat:

Nexstar Media Group

And the winner of Tribune Media is: Nexstar Media Group. In a $6.4 billion deal announced Monday, the Irving, Texas-based firm agreed to buy the parent company of "Chicago's Very Own" WGN-Channel 9, CLTV and WGN 720-AM along with TV stations in 41 other markets. Nexstar currently owns 174 stations across the country. It's expected to take several months to complete the transaction, which will require approval of federal regulators and the divestiture of some stations to comply with ownership limits. The agreement for Tribune Media comes four months after the collapse of a $3.9 billion deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which ran afoul of the FCC. Incidental info: Chicagoan Dennis FitzSimons, former chairman and CEO of Tribune Co. (and a former vice president and general manager of WGN), is on Nexstar's board of directors. Continue reading →

WGN TV

Buyouts offered to employees of Tribune Media, including those at WGN-Channel 9 and WGN 720-AM, and the passing of longtime CBS 2 news anchor and reporter Mike Parker led the top 10 most-read stories here in November.

To read the full posts, click on the headlines: Continue reading →