Chicago Tribune

Robservations on the media beat:

Citing pipe bombs sent to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, CNN and others Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune turned away delivery of all packages to its Prudential Plaza headquarters. A memo to staffers from Tim Knight, president of Tribune Publishing, and Bruce Dold, publisher and editor of the Tribune, said: “Out of caution, we suspended package delivery this morning to our Chicago Tribune offices at Prudential Plaza and enhanced our inspection of packages delivered to Freedom Center. No suspicious packages have been received at our offices.” Staffers were advised to report suspicious activity to security. Continue reading →

Dag Juhlin, Steve Dahl and Brendan Greeley

Robservations on the media beat:

The end is near for Steve Dahl on WLS 890-AM. After four years as afternoon host on the Cumulus Media news/talk station, the Chicago radio legend and Radio Hall of Famer has confirmed his final show will air December 21. His announcement followed a report here Tuesday that WLS is planning a major overhaul of its weekday lineup early next year. In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, Dahl's show ranked 25th with a 1.4 percent share. "I would have liked to finish with some better radio ratings, but that didn’t happen," he wrote in an email. "WLS-AM was always going to be an uphill battle, and circumstances just didn’t lend themselves to us being able to breakout like we hoped we would." Dahl, 63, will continue to produce his daily podcast with co-hosts Dag Juhlin and Brendan Greeley at dahl.com. Continue reading →

WLS 890-AM

Now that classic hits WLS 94.7-FM is riding high in the ratings, and alternative rock WKQX 101.1-FM is looking up, Cumulus Media is finally zeroing in on its chronically underperforming AM station — news/talk WLS 890-AM.

Plans are in the works for a major overhaul of the station’s Monday-through-Friday lineup early next year under operations manager and program director Peter Bolger. Once among the top-rated stations in Chicago, the 50,000-watt AM giant never recovered after the loss of longtime morning star Don Wade, who died in 2013. Continue reading →

Jim Kirk

Jim Kirk, the veteran journalist and former publisher and editor-in-chief of the Chicago Sun-Times, has been named publisher and executive editor of Crain’s Chicago Business.

KC Crain, president and chief operating officer of Detroit-based Crain Communications, announced the appointment Monday. Continue reading →

CBS 2 Chicago

WBBM-Channel 2 could be facing a substantial fine or other penalty from the Federal Communications Commission for illegally broadcasting emergency warning tones in a news promo.

The CBS-owned station aired the Emergency Alert System Attention Signal in the opening of its 5 p.m. newscast Thursday. It was used to tease a story about an Amber Alert child abduction that had been issued — and rescinded — earlier in the day. Continue reading →

Regine Schlesinger

Robservations on the media beat:

Sunday will mark the final broadcast of Regine Schlesinger after 45 years at Entercom all-news WBBM 780-AM/105.9-FM. She stepped down from full-time news anchor in 2016, and now she’s retiring from part-time and weekend duties. Her last scheduled appearance will be in the 6 and 8 a.m. hours Sunday, along with some updates during the Chicago Bears pre-game broadcast, according to Ron Gleason, director of news and programming. Born in France to parents who survived the Holocaust by being on Schindler’s List, Schlesinger came to America at age 2 and grew up on the North Side of Chicago. Straight out of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, she began as a writer and producer at WBBM Newsradio in 1973. Six years later, she moved up to reporter and anchor. Continue reading →

Larry Potash

Larry Potash, longtime anchor of Chicago’s top-rated morning news show, is getting a primetime showcase to share his love for historical quirks and oddities.

“Backstory with Larry Potash” will explore “intriguing tales in history, culture, religion and science from Chicago and beyond.” Starting October 28, it will air at 8:30 p.m. for four consecutive Sundays on Tribune Broadcasting WGN-Channel 9. Additional episodes will air as specials throughout the year. Continue reading →

Frank Fontana and Kathy Hart (Photo: WGN Radio)

Robservations on the media beat:

During the six months she was absent from “The Eric and Kathy Show” last year, Kathy Hart says she underwent treatment for headaches, dizziness and “some other unpleasantries that I won’t share.” In the first of three guest-hosting appearances on Tribune Broadcasting news/talk WGN 720-AM, Hart disclosed that she had been suffering from Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) caused by water-damage mold. “So basically what I had to do was detox my body from all of these symptoms,” she said. But Hart continued to stonewall when WGN weekend host Frank Fontana asked why she walked out of Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary WTMX 101.9-FM after 21 years as morning co-host with Eric Ferguson. “It’s none of your business,” she said. “It’s really difficult to answer that. It certainly was an unorthodox way to leave a show. Usually I’m not a woman of mystery, but I have to say that it was kind of fun having the little bit of mystery out there.” When a caller asked whether anything at The Mix contributed to her leaving, Hart said: “Well, there’s a loaded question,” adding: “They were very respectful of what was going on with me — the personal leave that I took at the time — they were very, very respectful for all that. Because I didn’t even know what was going on with me at that time. So, yeah, it was a crazy, crazy time. When you think about how a show is going to end, never in my dreams — anybody’s wildest dreams — saw it coming the way that it did.” You can hear Fontana and Hart together from 1 to 3 p.m. today on WGN. Continue reading →

Matt Peck, David Watson and John Sabine

Robservations on the media beat:

A trio of die-hard Chicago Bulls fans has been hired to host "Bulls Outsiders," an interactive talk show to air live after every Bulls game this season on NBC Sports Chicago. Matt Peck, David Watson and John Sabine — all Chicagoans in their 30s — will offer analysis and commentary from the fan's perspective. The three were chosen from among dozens of candidates who submitted one-minute video auditions shot on their cell phones. Starting Thursday, "Bulls Outsiders" will air immediately after "Bulls Postgame Live" at about 10 p.m. Kevin Cross, vice president of content for NBC Sports Chicago, called the show “a fresh and fun new program that not only speaks to Bulls fans, but one that directly involves them in the dialogue.” Continue reading →

Rick Telander and Rick Morrissey (Photo: Rich Hein)

It was only last February that the Sun-Times hired Jennifer Schulze, the former Chicago TV news director and wife of Sun-Times CEO Edwin Eisendrath, with "really big plans" in mind.

As executive producer/new media, Schulze was put in charge of new content development, including production of an ambitious series of weekly podcasts to be hosted by Sun-Times columnists and reporters. "The best podcasts by some of the most interesting Chicagoans," was how the paper promoted them. Continue reading →