Javier Baez (Photo: John Starks)

Despite losing to the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central tiebreaker game Monday, the Chicago Cubs came up a big winner for radio flagship on WSCR 670-AM.

Thanks largely to Cubs broadcasts, the Entercom sports/talk station finished first at night in ratings from mid-August to mid-September. The Score was up overall, posting its highest audience share since October 2017. Continue reading →

Chicago skyline

An unprecedented three-way tie for first place in afternoon-drive ratings among classic rock WDRV 97.1-FM, classic hits WLS 94.7-FM and urban adult-contemporary WVAZ 102.7-FM led the top 10 most-read stories here in September.

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

Anne Elizabeth Moore (Photo: WTTW/Chicago Tonight)

Anne Elizabeth Moore, the noted author, artist, cultural critic and comics journalist, has been named editor-in-chief of the Chicago Reader, as the 47-year-old alternative weekly shifts to new ownership and management.

Tracy Baim, new publisher of the Reader, announced the appointment Monday along with the hiring of Karen Hawkins as managing editor for digital. A national search continues for a managing editor for print. Continue reading →

Mary Kay Kleist

Robservations on the media beat:

Mary Kay Kleist has been promoted to 5, 6 and 10 p.m. weekday meteorologist at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2. Kleist, who joined the station’s weather staff in 2002 from WXYZ, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, has been filling in as CBS 2’s top forecaster since Steve Baskerville retired in December 2017. “Mary Kay has done a wonderful job stepping in since Steve’s retirement and stands as yet another example of her hard work and dedication to our station over the past 16 years,” Jeff Harris, vice president and news director of CBS 2, said in a statement. “More importantly, her commitment to folks throughout the Chicagoland area, keeping us safe and prepared with her ability to clarify our complicated weather, is unquestioned.” Kleist is married to Mark Zonca, executive producer of “Good Day Chicago” at Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32. Continue reading →

NBC Sports Chicago

Robservations on the media beat:

NBC Sports Chicago is pulling the plug on its nightly programs "In the Loop" and "Fast Break" after two years. As of Monday, the two will be gone from the network's lineup at 10 p.m. and midnight, respectively, with expanded postgame shows filling the gap. "In addition, we will be announcing new studio programming in the coming weeks that focus even deeper on our pro team partners," said an NBC Sports Chicago spokesman, who noted that no reductions in staff would result from the moves. "In the Loop" and "Fast Break" replaced the network's signature “SportsNet Central” in 2016. Continue reading →

Kelly Clarkson

Robservations on the media beat:

Steve Harvey

Kelly Clarkson, the Grammy Award-winning singer and first winner of “American Idol,” will host a syndicated daytime talk show to debut in the fall of 2019 on NBC-owned stations, including WMAQ-Channel 5 in Chicago. “I love connecting with people, playing games, music and finding ways to help or give back to communities/organizations,” Clarkson said in a statement. “Having my own talk show where I get to do all of these things is pretty much a dream job!” She most recently has been on NBC ’s reality show “The Voice.” Terence Henderson’s T Dog Media Blog reported Clarkson’s show will replace Steve Harvey on NBC 5’s lineup at 2 p.m. weekdays, leading into Ellen DeGeneres. While that seems the most likely move, station officials say it’s too soon to say when the new show will air. “We have not made any programming decisions for the 2019-2020 season,” said an NBC 5 spokeswoman. Also launching a daytime talk show next fall will be ex-Chicago news anchor Tamron Hall. Hers is expected to air on ABC-owned stations, including WLS-Channel 7. Continue reading →

Art & Design in Chicago (Photo: WTTW)

Robservations on the media beat:

A four-part series on “Art & Design in Chicago” will premiere October 5 on Window to the World Communications WTTW-Channel 11, airing at 8:30 p.m. Fridays. Produced and written by Dan Andries as part of the yearlong Art Design Chicago initiative, each episode will focus on an aspect of the city’s creative history — “from the impact of Chicago’s institutions to its importance in the fields of design and advertising; from the history of African-American artists who shaped the city to an in-depth look at the city’s most fiercely independent artists.” An upcoming companion website at wttw.com/artdesignchicago will feature original content, a guide to highlighted works and video. The series is funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. Continue reading →

Felicia Lawrence, Carly Henderson and Jordan Cornette

Robservations on the media beat:

"The Jam"

Can a new co-host help jump-start the ratings for WCIU-Channel 26’s underperforming morning show? Wednesday will mark Carly Henderson's debut on “The Jam,” the Weigel Broadcasting station’s news, talk and entertainment program, airing from 6 to 8 a.m. weekdays. The former Los Angeles entertainment journalist, TV host and video producer will join co-hosts Felicia Lawrence and Jordan Cornette. Henderson replaces Danielle Robay, who left in June. After more than a year on the air, “The Jam” continues to struggle in the ratings. In the latest Nielsens, the two-hour show is averaging a scant 0.2 rating (6,599 households). Among viewers between 25 and 54, it's got a goose egg. Continue reading →

Museum of Broadcast Communications

In order to keep its doors open, Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications plans to sell two floors of its four-story building in River North, according to multiple sources.

The board of the nonprofit museum is close to finalizing a deal with Fern Hill Co., a privately-held real estate development and investment firm, to take over the third and fourth floors of the site, located at the southwest corner of State and Kinzie Streets. Continue reading →

Paddock Publications

Robservations on the media beat:

Chicago Reader

"Local stays local," tweeted WGN news anchor Ben Bradley, minutes after my story broke Thursday about the sale of Paddock Publications, owner of the Daily Herald. In converting the company fully to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, the fourth-generation descendants of founder Hosea C. Paddock assured that the newspaper would remain under local control for the foreseeable future. The same could be said of the day's other big media news — the appointment of Windy City Times founder Tracy Baim as publisher of the Chicago Reader under the new ownership of a local investment group. To borrow the phrase of Doug Ray, chairman, publisher and CEO of Daily Herald Media Group, it was a "win-win situation" for the companies and employees in both cases. And that's rare these days. Continue reading →