Steve Cortes

Robservations on the media beat:

Steve Cortes has stepped away after seven months as afternoon host at news/talk WIND 560-AM to join President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign as senior advisor of communications. It’s a return for Cortes, who served as a member of Trump’s Hispanic Advisory Council in the 2016 campaign. A Chicago native and onetime CNN political commentator, Cortes replaced Joe Walsh from 5 to 7 p.m. weekdays on the Salem Media station in January. “While we wish Steve could stay on the air with us during these next few critical months before the election, we also understand the pull that Steve feels to help President Trump,” said Jeff Reisman, regional vice president and general manager of AM 560. “Steve will have a front row seat to history between now and the election, and we look forward to welcoming him back in November and having him share his firsthand account of how this campaign unfolded with our audience.” Filling in until Cortes returns is Shaun Thompson, Sunday night host of “The Liberty Hour.” Continue reading →

Steve Cochran

Longtime Chicago radio personality Steve Cochran is relaunching his podcast today on an array of new platforms — with a little help from two of the most successful local broadcasters of all time.

Ron Magers, who retired in 2016 as Chicago’s top-rated TV news anchor, and Felicia Middlebrooks, who retired in May as Chicago’s top-rated morning radio news anchor, will be featured as Cochran’s guests this week on “Live From My Office.” (Here is the link to subscribe.) Continue reading →

Colin McMahon

After 23 years as the Chicago Tribune’s white male conservative standard-bearer, John Kass is about to lose his coveted spot on Page 2 and his status as the newspaper’s “lead columnist.”

Colin McMahon, editor-in-chief of the Tribune, today announced plans to reorganize the paper’s columnists and separate their work from the news section. Continue reading →

John Kass

John Kass, the Chicago Tribune's most prominent columnist, is under fire from his co-workers for invoking what they called an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory involving billionaire George Soros in a column last week.

A letter from the Chicago Tribune Guild, signed by nine members of the executive board, called on the newspaper and Kass to "apologize for his indefensible invocation of the Soros tropes." Continue reading →

WTTW WFMT

Four full-time employees were laid off and other cost-cutting measures were disclosed Friday at the nonprofit parent company of public television WTTW-Channel 11 and classical music WFMT 98.7-FM.

Representatives of Window to the World Communications Inc. declined to discuss the moves, which were announced in an internal memo to staff. "We don’t comment on personnel matters," a company spokeswoman said. Continue reading →

Marquee Sports Network

Just hours before the start of tonight's Chicago Cubs home opener, Comcast Xfinity finally reached agreement to carry the team’s Marquee Sports Network.

Whether the Cubs would be seen on the Chicago area’s largest cable system had been in doubt right up until early this morning when Comcast added Marquee to its lineup on Channel 202. Continue reading →

Jerry Taft

Jerry Taft, who was a trusted and engaging presence as a top meteorologist on Chicago television and radio for more than 40 years, died Thursday, according to ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7. He was 77.

No cause of death was immediately reported, but Taft was known to have suffered from congestive heart failure for several years. ABC 7 said he died peacefully surrounded by family members. Continue reading →

Jack Taylor, Harry Volkman, Rick Talley and Len O'Connor

Robservations on the media beat:

A note here the other day about the ratings success of WGN-Channel 9's 10 p.m. newscast prompted a gentle correction from Jack Taylor, the legendary Chicago broadcaster who anchored "Chicago's Very Own" throughout the 1970s. It seems this isn't the first time the station finished second at that hour. Taylor, 91, recalled: "In the early '70s, [WGN station boss] Sheldon Cooper called me to congratulate me. He said: 'Our 10 o'clock news has beaten Channel 2 and Channel 5 in the ratings. This is the first time an independent station has topped stations owned and operated by CBS and NBC. We went head to head with them and beat them in the ratings.' We were, however, unable to get a larger audience than Fahey Flynn and his 'Happy Talk' gang at Channel 7. Harry Volkman, Rick Talley and Len O'Connor joined me each night in our effort to present a telecast that had wide appeal and integrity. They are gone now, as is Jack Brickhouse and the other sports people who were on the air when Rick Talley was not available. It is only fair to recognize that WGN News was outstanding in attracting a large audience in the past as well as the present." Continue reading →

Mary Mitchell

Robservations on the media beat:

One year after Mary Mitchell semiretired, the Chicago Journalism Hall of Famer is returning to the Sun-Times as a full-time columnist. Starting in August she’ll write two columns a week and take on a new position as director of newsroom culture and community engagement. In the new role, Mitchell said she will use her “institutional knowledge of the city and of the newsroom to help ensure that we are practicing what we preach when it comes to racial inclusion and equity." In July 2019 Mitchell stepped down after 29 years at the paper and shifted to writing occasional columns and serving as consultant to the editorial board. Announcing Mitchell’s return to the staff, Sun-Times executive editor Chris Fusco said: “She's long given a voice to the voiceless, and her voice is needed now, more than ever.” Continue reading →

Michael Romain and Pascal Sabino

The underserved communities of Austin, North Lawndale and Garfield Park on Chicago’s West Side are the focus of a free twice-weekly newsletter to be launched jointly today by two local newsrooms.

Neighborhood news website Block Club Chicago and the Austin Weekly News are collaborating on the newsletter, which will be delivered to subscribers by email on Wednesdays and Fridays. (Here is the link to subscribe.) Continue reading →