Violeta Podrumedic
Robservations on the media beat:
Violeta Podrumedic, afternoon traffic reporter on Tribune Broadcasting news/talk WGN 720-AM, is changing lanes. Starting next month, she’ll join Eric Ferguson’s top-rated morning show on Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary WTMX 101.9-FM. Podrumedic, a Chicago native who began as a newsroom intern at WGN, has been a contributor to the afternoon show hosted by Roe Conn and Anna Davlantes since 2016. Her last day on WGN was Friday. “Violeta provides a whole new perspective and voice to our group,” Ferguson said. “She received great guidance from Roe Conn, who I have always felt is one of the most talented broadcasters in Chicago. We’re lucky to have ownership who supports expanding our show to continue to be successful. Now the goal is to not screw it all up!”
Julia Lepidi
There's a new nighttime personality coming to Entercom Top 40 WBBM 96.3-FM. Julia Lepidi will debut next week from 7 p.m. to midnight weeknights on B96, according to program director Todd Cavanah. Lepidi replaces Corey Bonalewicz (known on the air as Corey B.), who shifted to WNYL in New York in November. Before her brief stint as morning co-host was cut short by a format change, Lepidi worked as nighttime host and promotions coordinator at WDZH in her native Detroit.
Molly Hunter
Molly Hunter, a London-based correspondent for ABC News, has joined NBC News in its Chicago bureau. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area and graduate of Williams College, Hunter joined ABC News as a desk assistant in 2010 and later worked as an assignment editor, digital reporter, foreign desk editor and producer. "Very, very excited to head back stateside and join @NBCNews as a correspondent in Chicago!" Hunter tweeted. "Here we go, America. (Hear it’s been busy in the motherland?)"
Saturday Night Live: The Experience
Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications is offering free admission to “Saturday Night Live: The Experience” to all federal employees during the government shutdown. (Employment IDs or business cards must be shown to gain complimentary admission.) Held over through the end of March, the immersive multimedia exhibition takes visitors behind the scenes of the comedy series. Among the displays are Alec Baldwin’s President Trump costume and the hand-crafted wig worn on an episode of "SNL." The exhibit has been drawing crowds to the museum at 360 North State Street since October 2017.
Wednesday's comment of the day: Mark Mardell: It is clear from the other comments that I am not alone among Sox fans who listen to Cubs broadcasts due to the combination of the magnificence of Pat Hughes and the aural equivalent of a jackhammer in [Ed] Farmer/[Darrin] Jackson.