Pat Cassidy (Photo: Karen Kring)

For the first time since February Audacy all-news WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM was the top-rated radio station in Chicago, according to Nielsen Audio figures released Monday.

WBBM Newsradio bumped iHeartMedia R&B WVAZ 102.7-FM to second place overall and also finished first in mornings with Pat Cassidy, afternoons with Keith Johnson and Lisa Fielding, and evenings with Bob Conway and Andy Dahn. Continue reading →

Justin Kaufmann and Monica Eng

Robservations on the media beat:

Justin Kaufmann and Monica Eng, two former pillars of public radio in Chicago, have been hired by Axios as Chicago-based reporters, starting August 16. As part of the company’s growing local news initiative, they’ll write a daily Chicago newsletter, expected to be launched this fall. "Axios is a great new media company and I'm honored to be a part of their Chicago team," said Kaufmann, who was a producer and host at Chicago Public Media WBEZ 91.5-FM for the better part of the last two decades. The northwest suburban Chicago native and Columbia College graduate also spent five years on the air at Nexstar Media news/talk WGN 720-AM. "I've been itching to get back to telling Chicago stories, so this is a perfect opportunity," he said. "I'm so happy to be reunited with Monica. She's a top-notch journalist and storyteller. Her passion for Chicago is unparalleled and she plays a mean 16-inch softball. Dream come true."

Axios

The feeling is mutual for Eng, who said: "I couldn't be more thrilled to work with Justin. I think our skills and personalities will complement each other. I am glad that Axios chose to invest in experienced journalists. I think it shows the importance they're placing on the Chicago bureau and I'm certain we will deliver." Eng resigned last month after eight years at WBEZ, where she was the station’s “Curious City” reporter and also covered food, health, cultural and environmental issues. A fourth generation Chicagoan and graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eng joined WBEZ after 16 years at the Chicago Tribune. Earlier she worked for the Sun-Times and Daily Southtown. "I've loved working in legacy newsrooms over the last 35 years, but am excited to dive into this whole new model," she said. "I see it as highlighting the great work those outlets still do while breaking stories no one else is covering and doing it in super engaging ways." Continue reading →

Jewish Chicago: The JUF Magazine

Just in time for the upcoming Jewish New Year (for those keeping track it’ll be 5782) Chicago's Jewish United Fund is introducing a new name and a new look to its 50-year-old monthly magazine.

Starting with the September edition, JUF News will be rebranded Jewish Chicago: The JUF Magazine. With a monthly circulation of 40,000 and estimated readership of 200,000, it’s billed as the largest-circulation Jewish community publication in the Midwest. Continue reading →

Jack Rosenberg (Photo: Kristy Vicari/WGN)

Robservations on the media beat:

Bob Sirott

Jack "Rosey" Rosenberg, whose name was synonymous with sports on WGN-Channel 9 and WGN 720-AM for more than 40 years, is being officially honored by the city of Chicago. The southeast corner of East Illinois Street and Cityfront Plaza Drive near Tribune Tower will be designated "Jack Rosenberg Way," thanks to a City Council resolution sponsored by Alderman Brendan Reilly. The tribute culminates a six-month campaign by WGN Radio morning star Bob Sirott to honor the beloved and influential sports editor and producer, who died in December at 94. “Jack was very caring,” Sirott said of his friend and mentor. “The first thing he’d always ask was, ‘Everything all right with you and your family?’ Now we have a permanent memorial that will always remind us of a great journalist and an even greater person.” The dedication is set for August 18 at 10:30 a.m. Continue reading →

Maggie Clennon Reberg

Maggie Clennon Reberg landed her first radio gig in 2015 after she filled out an online application in response to an open call at WFMT 98.7-FM, the Window to the World Communications classical music station.

Now she's headed for San Francisco — the nation's sixth biggest media market — where she will host weekday mornings on KDFC, the noncommercial classical station owned by the University of Southern California. Continue reading →

WBBM Newsradio

Robservations on the media beat:

Dave Marsett

Weekends won’t sound the same on WBBM Newsradio without the authoritative voice and impeccable delivery of Dave Marsett. After 20 years on Audacy all-news WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM the veteran anchorman called it a career Sunday. “It’s time for a change,” said Marsett, 74, on his retirement from radio as well as his other calling as an ordained minister. Marsett’s tenure as a fill-in news anchor at WBBM Newsradio followed a long run as news director at the former Satellite Music Network in Mokena and earlier stops in Buffalo, New York, and Columbus, Ohio, among other places. He began his career out of Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan. Colleagues hailed Marsett as “one of our steady, professional and enduring voices,” in the words of sports anchor Dave Kerner. Continue reading →

Steve Dolinsky

There’s finally some good news on the eat beat in Chicago.

Steve Dolinsky, whose savvy restaurant reviews have been tantalizing viewers for more than 25 years, is about to become a weekly special on the menu of NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5.

The 13-time James Beard Award winner just signed on as food reporter at NBC 5. His new segment, titled “The Food Guy,” will air Thursdays on the 10 p.m. newscast, starting this week. His reports also will air on Friday afternoon newscasts and weekend morning newscasts. Continue reading →

"Windy City Live"

The cancellations of the long-running weekday talk show "Windy City Live" on ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 and the weekly food show "Chicago's Best" on Nexstar Media WGN-Channel 9 led the top 10 most-read stories here in July.

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

Chicago Tribune

Robservations on the media beat:

Weekday print editions of the Chicago Tribune shrank from four sections to three and the newspaper's stand-alone feature section vanished. Those were among this week's noticeable cutbacks as the newspaper continues to downsize under the new ownership of hedge fund Alden Global Capital (and adjust to the sudden loss of more than 40 newsroom employees through buyouts). Under Alden, Tribune Publishing newspapers were ordered to cut local and feature pages by 20 percent, move up editorial deadlines and halt most special sections, according to Crain's Chicago Business. Colin McMahon, editor-in-chief of the Tribune, outlined the newspaper's reorganization this week in an unsigned letter to readers. (Here is the link.) "We hope that these changes, while they may take some getting used to, offer you more consistency and predictability in the makeup and order of the newspaper," it read. "We’ll still have roughly the same amount of news space dedicated to our journalism as opposed to advertising. We measure that in column inches, and that total will be roughly the same." In a meeting with staffers McMahon said none of the columnists who've left the paper will be replaced. Continue reading →

Greg Solk

Greg Solk, the legendary Chicago radio programmer who has guided some of the industry's most iconic brands over four decades, was promoted Wednesday to vice president of programming and operations for the Audacy station group here.

Solk, 59, has been brand manager and program director of WXRT 93.1-FM, the Audacy adult album alternative station, since 2017. Before that he was senior vice president of programming for Hubbard Radio and Bonneville Broadcasting. Continue reading →