WLS 890 AM

Robservations on the media beat:

Bruce St. James

Cumulus Media, parent company of conservative news/talk stations nationwide including Chicago's WLS 890-AM, has ordered its talk show hosts to refrain from spreading lies about the presidential election. In an internal memo first reported by Jerry Del Colliano's Inside Music Media, Cumulus Media content chief Brian Philips threatened to fire any host who questions the legitimacy of the 2020 vote. “Cumulus and Westwood One will not tolerate any suggestion that the election has not ended,” Philips wrote on the day of the U.S. Capitol riot. “The election has resolved, there are no alternate acceptable ‘paths.’ Please inform your staffs that we have ZERO TOLERANCE for any suggestion otherwise. If you transgress this policy, you can expect to separate from the company immediately. There will be no dog-whistle talk about ‘stolen elections,’ ‘civil wars’ or any other language that infers violent public disobedience is warranted, ever.” Marv Nyren, vice president and market manager of Cumulus Media Chicago, confirmed the memo's content, adding: "Bottom line: We want our talent on all Cumulus stations to deal with facts and not conjecture. No issues with our local talent." Bruce St. James, who succeeded inveterate conspiracy monger Erich Mancow Muller as WLS morning host last month, said: "We all received the local version of the memo which reminded us of the responsibility we have to our community to be honest, truthful and factual. Thankfully, our show does not, has not and will not peddle in conspiracy theories, nor lie to the audience to gain favor. In that vein, this directive won’t impact us at all." The big question is whether the company's syndicated hosts also will obey the edict. Hello, Mark Levin? Continue reading →

Kristie Graybill

WKSC 103.5-FM is adding a new voice to Christopher "Fred" Frederick's morning show on the iHeartMedia Top 40 station known as Kiss FM.

Kristie Graybill, just in from St. Louis, has been named a full-time contributor to “The Fred Show,” which airs from 5 a.m. to noon weekdays. Her hiring is effective immediately. Continue reading →

Len Walter

Robservations on the media beat:

Len Walter, dean of Chicago business reporters and the first journalist to broadcast regularly from the Midwest Stock Exchange, has announced his retirement after 52 years at Entercom all-news WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM. His last day on the air as financial editor will be January 22. The Elmhurst College graduate joined WBBM Newsradio from Detroit's WJR in 1969. Walter, 82, said he plans to move with his wife to their home in Naples, Florida. “To be able to work as a journalist for the bulk of my career has been a blessing," he told me. "It’s what I wanted to do since I was a youngster and was fortunate to be able to gear my education toward that end. In this era of world turmoil, it’s critical that listeners hear the unvarnished truth presented without bias. That is what they get at WBBM from an amazing staff of principled professionals." Calling Walter "synonymous with Chicago business," Ron Gleason, brand manager of WBBM Newsradio, said: "We will miss his authoritative voice, his business acumen, and his love of radio reporting." Continue reading →

Toony and Bill Leff

Robservations on the media beat:

History will note that Bill Leff took his first pie in the face on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. Undoubtedly there are more to come. “Toon In With Me,” the hourlong cavalcade of sketch comedy and Looney Tunes cartoons at 6 a.m. weekdays on MeTV, is off to a sensational start. With Leff joined by talking fish sidekick Toony and human castmates Kevin Fleming and Leila Gorstein, the show's premiere Monday was seen by more than 500,000 viewers nationally. In Chicago “Toon In With Me” beat CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 and tied NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 and Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 in key adult demographics, according to Nielsen numbers. Neal Sabin, vice chairman of Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting and creator of “Toon In With Me,” and Leff will make a joint appearance Sunday with Fred Weintraub and Hannah Stanley. “The Hannah and Fred Show” airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays on Evanston Broadcasting news/talk WCGO 1590-AM/95.9-FM. Calling Sabin and Leff "two of the smartest minds in television who aren’t afraid to stretch the limits of creativity," Weintraub said: "I can only imagine what they’ll do on the show and what voices we might hear." Continue reading →

Todd Ganz and Stephani Young

Among the dozen or so employees who lost their jobs in mass layoffs at Hubbard Radio Chicago last spring in the wake of the pandemic, few could claim the talent or the tenure of ace production director Todd Ganz.

His 24-year run with the three-station group included award-winning stints as a part-time on-air personality, morning show executive producer and, for the last 13 years, manager of content production.

But there turned out to be a silver lining for Ganz. Losing his job at Hubbard allowed him to shift full attention to completing an ambitious podcast he'd been planning to produce independently with his partner, Stephani Young, a former part-time host at hot adult-contemporary WTMX 101.9-FM. Continue reading →

Window to the World Communications

Robservations on the media beat:

Window to the World Communications, parent company of WTTW-Channel 11 and WFMT 98.7-FM, alerted employees this week to the discovery of a data breach in its computer system believed to have occurred over nearly a two-year period. Investigations by a law firm and forensic accounting firm determined that emails and personal information of approximately 40 staffers were hacked between December 2018 and August 2020. On Tuesday a company representative confirmed there was "unusual activity relating to an employee email account that may have impacted current and former employee information," adding: "There is currently no evidence that this information has been misused as a result of this activity." A data security company has been retained to provide employees with identity monitoring at no cost for two years. Continue reading →

Ashleigh Banfield

Just four months after launching “News Nation” as a three-hour primetime newscast, WGN America is cutting the third hour in favor of a nightly talk show hosted by cable news veteran Ashleigh Banfield.

Originating from a studio in Connecticut, “Banfield” will air at 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, starting March 1. “News Nation” will continue to air from 7 to 9 p.m. from the Chicago base of WGN America and flagship WGN-Channel 9, both owned by Nexstar Media Group.

The retreat in the third hour comes in response to dismally low ratings for the news startup, which branded itself as an antidote to the opinionated talking heads of other cable networks in primetime. According to Nielsen figures for December, “News Nation” averaged only 54,000 viewers for the full three-hour block, with viewership in the third hour falling to 38,000. Continue reading →

Kid Kelly (Photo: Radio Hall of Fame)

Robservations on the media beat:

Danny Lake

After months without a host on weeknights, classic hits WLS 94.7-FM has signed Kid Kelly, a longtime New York-based disc jockey and former vice president of pop programming at SiriusXM Radio. Starting this week, the Radio Hall of Famer's syndicated show airs from 7 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday on the Cumulus Media station. Kelly will customize the music on his show to conform with the station's playlist, according to program director Wade Linder. Weeknights had been jockless on the station since Brian Peck shifted to weekends over the summer. In what was said to be an unrelated move, 94.7 WLS cut weekend and fill-in host Danny Lake Monday after a nearly 13-year run. Lake, whose real name is Bob Worthington, said he plans to continue to operate his voiceover/production company. "Who knows?" the Chicago radio veteran told Facebook friends. "We may be back on another station soon!" Continue reading →

Leila Rahimi and Dan Bernstein

Leila Rahimi broke a 29-year gender barrier Monday by being named full-time midday co-host at WSCR 670-AM, the Entercom sports/talk station.

As the first woman to host a Monday-through-Friday daytime shift at The Score, Rahimi teams with Dan Bernstein from 9 a.m. to noon. Rahimi, a fill-in host and occasional contributor since 2017, has been co-hosting middays with Bernstein once a week since September. Continue reading →

Tribune Publishing

Robservations on the media beat:

Terry Jimenez

The year is opening on a sour note for employees of the Chicago Tribune, now that Alden Global Capital, the New York-based hedge fund that owns a 32 percent stake in Tribune Publishing, is seeking to purchase all outstanding shares and take the company private. Terry Jimenez, CEO of Tribune Publishing, told staffers in a New Year's Eve email that the company's board formed a committee to evaluate the bid. "The special committee is under no commitment to accept or decline the proposal," Jimenez wrote, adding: "The leadership team and I recognize that this news may be a source of distraction as we progress into the new year. But I can assure you we will remain focused on our core business, on our civic mission and on our digital growth. And I encourage you to remain focused on controlling what is in your control. No matter the outcome of the proposal, our mission remains serving our communities." Those assurances offer little hope to worried journalists. In a petition to the board in December 2019, hundreds of Tribune editorial employees called Alden a “destroyer of newspapers,” noting the hedge fund's "well-documented history of extracting short-term profits from already-lean operations by cutting newsroom jobs and denying fair wages and benefits." Continue reading →