Robservations: Columnists Constable, Glanton and Washington vie for Dorothy Storck Award

Burt Constable, Dahleen Glanton and Laura Washington

Robservations on the media beat:

Three prominent Chicago area columnists are in the running for this year's Dorothy Storck Award from the Chicago Journalists Association. Burt Constable of the Daily Herald, Dahleen Glanton of the Chicago Tribune, and Laura Washington of the Sun-Times and ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 were named finalists Thursday. The prestigious honor, which carries a $1,000 prize, will be presented at the group's virtual awards ceremony November 20. It's named for the late syndicated columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner who died in 2015. (To receive a free Zoom link to the event, respond to: chicagocja@gmail.com.) As reported earlier, David Jackson of the Better Government Association will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and Chris Fusco, former executive editor of the Sun-Times (and now executive editor of Lookout Santa Cruz), will serve as keynote speaker.

Peter Nickeas

Chicago Tribune reporter Peter Nickeas has been hired by CNN as a senior writer covering policing, starting Monday. CNN president Jeff Zucker called Nickeas an “expert on covering violence in the city of Chicago,” adding: “He has reported from more than 1,200 crime scenes and told the stories of those closest to street violence across the city. He has also published many candid interviews with the Chicago Police force about their jobs and the role they have in the city.” Nickeas, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Springfield, joined the Tribune in 2011 from the Times of Northwest Indiana. He was awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 2018.

Brooke Taylor

There’s been a happy landing for Brooke Taylor, former afternoon host and assistant program director at Big 95.5, the old iHeartMedia country music station. She’s now hosting middays at iHeartMedia’s WSIX in Nashville, Tennessee. “When I set out to work in country music, one of the first things I prayed for was to be in Nashville one day, and the fact that this is becoming a reality is honestly a dream come true,” she said. In September Big 95.5 flipped to a mainstream rock format as WCHI 95.5-FM.

Chicago Bears

"Monday Night Monsters," a half-hour pregame special on the Chicago Bears produced by ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7, will air at 6:30 p.m. Monday on Weigel Broadcasting WCIU-Channel 26. Featuring interviews with coach Matt Nagy and quarterback Nick Foles, the special will be hosted by ABC 7's Mark Giangreco, Jim Rose and Dionne Miller with Tom Waddle. Starting at 7 p.m. CW26 will air ESPN's "Monday Night Football" with the Bears vs. the Minnesota Vikings.

Thursday’s comment of the day: Mark Mardell: For years now, the White Sox broadcasting team has not come close to the excellence of Pat Hughes and Rons Santo and Coomer. I would hope that signing with a new station provides an opportunity to give fans a better broadcast.