Robservations: Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder launch podcast for Cumulus

Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder

Robservations on the media beat:

Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder, who were forced out as midday co-hosts at Nexstar Media Group news/talk WGN 720-AM in November, just launched a podcast for Cumulus Media Chicago. There are no broadcast plans for "The Bill and Wendy Show" at this time, but it's a foot in the door for the duo at WLS 890-AM, the Cumulus news/talk station. On Monday Leff couldn’t resist taking a shot at WGN for its recently added Sunday morning showcase for Frank Sinatra tunes. "Wendy and I will do a podcast with new episodes coming several times a week,” Leff said. “Our listeners talked us into it. It's going to be crazy fun. Then, on the weekends, we'll play Sinatra music. But not Frank Sinatra. Frank JUNIOR. Maybe some Nancy too. That's still up in the air. Sinatra. All day Sunday."

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh rocked the radio world Monday with news that he has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Limbaugh, 69, recently signed another four-year contract with iHeartMedia's Premiere Radio Networks to continue the talk show he has hosted since 1988. In Chicago, where Limbaugh airs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays on WLS 890-AM, it's still the top-rated show on the station. In the latest Nielsen Audio survey Limbaugh (and fellow conservative talker Chris Plante) tied for sixth among all listeners in middays. WLS morning host Erich Mancow Muller called Limbaugh's disclosure "horrible news." WLS evening host John Howell posted a video wishing Limbaugh a speedy recovery on behalf of the station. “I wish I didn’t have to tell you this,” Limbaugh told his listeners Monday. “And I thought about not telling anybody. I thought about trying to do this without anybody knowing, because I don’t like making things about me."

Bob Stroud

The incomparable Bob Stroud has a new time for his signature “Rock ’n Roll Roots” show. Well, an old time actually. Hubbard Radio classic rock WDRV 97.1-FM just moved the show back to its former hours — from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays (rebroadcast from 9 p.m. to midnight Sundays). Rob Cressman, program director of The Drive, said: "I have received very consistent correspondences from 'The Stroud Crowd' on this topic since arriving here in 2016 and – in no uncertain terms – the show’s fans made it clear: They would prefer a couple of extra hours of sleep on Sunday mornings before waking up to their favorite Sunday radio show. We are happy to return 'Rock ’n Roll Roots' to its original broadcast window every Sunday." During the week Stroud continues to host middays — from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. — on The Drive.

Kyra Kyles

Kyra Kyles, prominent Chicago journalist and media executive, has moved to Oakland, California, to become CEO of YR Media, a non-profit dedicated to fostering young journalists and musicians. A former Red Eye columnist and two-time president of the National Association of Black Journalists-Chicago chapter, Kyles most recently was media and storytelling program officer for the Field Foundation. Earlier she was editor-in-chief and senior vice president of digital editorial at Ebony Media Operations (formerly Johnson Publishing Co.), and a senior editor of Jet magazine. Calling her new mission "a powerful platform for youth at the intersection of media, technology and music," Kyles said: "YR Media will continue to learn, grow, and innovate — always centering the voices and creative vision of our young, diverse content creators in our Oakland headquarters and across the nation.”

Monday’s comment of the day: Bob Jordan: Congratulations, good buddy [Steve Sanders]! Come join me on the park bench feeding the pigeons. I need help solving the problems of the world.