Robservations: Bob Sirott interviews Cubs greats for Marquee; Christian and Liz Jones launch Lymari Media; CBS 2 rehires Kris Habermehl

Bob Sirott

Robservations on the media beat:

Ernie Banks and Bob Sirott

Bob Sirott, morning personality at Nexstar Media news/talk WGN 720-AM and lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, will host a series of in-depth conversations with Cubs legends for Marquee Sports Network. Sirott was hired by the Cubs to tape interviews with Ernie Banks, Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley, Ron Santo and others in 2010 and 2011, but they’ve never been seen until now. Starting this weekend, they’ll air on Marquee’s “Icons of the Ivy” at 7 p.m. Sundays. First up is Sirott’s two-part interview with Banks. (The Hall of Famer known as “Mr. Cub” died in 2015.) “It’s a special thrill to anchor what will be a permanent record of these Wrigley favorites for generations of Cubs fans to enjoy,” Sirott said. “This even tops being the voice of the Museum of Science and Industry’s coal mine!” Additional interviews with Cubs icons are expected to follow. “We’re sure that Cubs fans will enjoy these previously unaired stories and we’re honored to have this opportunity in partnership with the Cubs organization,” said Mike McCarthy, general manager of Marquee.

Christian and Liz Jones

Chicago Bears linebacker Christian Jones and his wife Liz have launched Lymari Media, a Chicago-based multimedia company focused on African history. It will create, produce and distribute media in a variety of formats — from comic books to podcasts, animations, short films and documentaries. Lymari Media’s first project is Queen Amani Renas – Protector of Nubia, a comic book series chronicling the life of Nubia’s monarch. “We love African history and we found it challenging to find dynamic content across formats that is rooted in history and captures your imagination, so we decided to create the content we wanted to see ourselves,” Christian Jones said in a statement.

Kris Habermehl

Kris Habermehl, Chicago's best known helicopter reporter, is back in the air for CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2. News director Jeff Harris announced Habermehl's rehiring Friday as CBS 2's morning traffic reporter. A 30-year veteran of Chicago TV, Habermehl spent more than two decades at CBS 2 before he was grounded in 2013. From 2017 to 2020 he worked for Audacy all-news WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM. In addition to his airborne traffic reporting role, Habermehl was known for his 25-year run as color commentator, co-host and narrator of the Chicago Air & Water Show.

Jim Turano

Chicago radio personality Jim Turano today posts the 300th episode of “Elton Jim” Turano's “Captain Pod-tastic,” his hourlong weekly podcast for WGN Radio. (Here is the link.) To mark the milestone, Turano will recount his experience earlier this month attending his 200th Elton John concert in Detroit — a feat of loyalty John acknowledged from the stage. Turano was 12 years old when he saw John perform for the first time at the old Chicago Stadium in 1976.

Tim McGill

Veteran meteorologist Tim McGill, who joined WFLD-Channel 32 as a freelance forecaster in July, has moved up to full-time status at the Fox-owned station. In addition to working Fox 32's Sunday night newscast he'll do remotes for "Good Day Chicago" Mondays through Thursdays. McGill had a 28-year run at CLTV and WGN-Channel 9 before Nexstar Media Group pulled the plug on CLTV at the end of 2019. He filled in for a year at CBS 2.

Tony Capriolo

Tony Capriolo, executive producer overseeing the 4, 4:30, 5 and 6 p.m. weekday newscasts at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5, has been hired as assistant news director at CBS affiliate WDJT in his hometown of Milwaukee, starting in March. Capriolo worked as a producer for Comcast SportsNet Chicago and Fox Sports Net before joining NBC 5 as sports producer in 2005. He's been daypart manager of afternoon newscasts and special projects since 2016.

Friday’s comment of the day: Scott Smith: Cassie Walker Burke is a great choice for this new BEZ gig. Her work at Chicago magazine and Chalkbeat give her a unique grasp of Chicago.