Michael Savage

Robservations on the media beat:

Jonathon Brandmeier isn’t the only host whose time is up at Cumulus Media news/talk WLS AM 890. Michael Savage’s syndicated talk show also has been dropped, effective at the end of the month. Sources said Westwood One is seeking another Chicago outlet for “The Savage Nation,” which currently airs from 9 p.m. to midnight weeknights on WLS. Savage was inducted last month in the National Radio Hall of Fame. The decision to drop the show after three years comes as WLS prepares to revamp its lineup with the addition of as many as three new shows and adjustments in time slots for others, starting in January. Continue reading →

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh will continue to hold forth on news/talk WLS AM 890 through the end of 2019, thanks to a three-year renewal announced Wednesday by Cumulus Media and Premiere Networks.

The Cumulus Media station here was one of 33 nationwide covered by the renewed and extended affiliation agreement for “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” billed as the most-listened-to national radio talk show in America. Terms of the multimillion-dollar deal were not disclosed. Continue reading →

Jazz Network hosts John Hill, Neil Tesser, Dee Alexander and Dave Schwan

WFMT Radio Network, the global radio syndication division of Chicago-based Window to the World Communications, announced plans this week to launch a new national jazz music network.

Starting January 10, the newly branded Jazz Network will originate from Chicago and feature four new hosts — John Hill, Neil Tesser, Dee Alexander and Dave Schwan. For 63 hours each week, they will showcase a wide range of jazz recordings, “including more new releases, complemented by unique anecdotes and insights into the music,” according to the network. Continue reading →

Jonathon Brandmeier

Another one bites the dust for Jonathon Brandmeier.

Monday marked the last original broadcast of “The Jonathon Brandmeier Show” after less than two years of syndication for the Chicago-based radio personality. Continue reading →

Bill Kurtis

Robservations on the media beat:

The golden pipes of Bill Kurtis soon will be heard as the signature voice of WGN AM 720. The Chicago broadcasting legend has been hired to record all station identifications and promos for the Tribune Media news/talk flagship, starting in January. “It’s the perfect mashup with Bill [combining] that voice of authority and voice of play,” said Todd Manley, vice president of content and programming at WGN. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Though generations of Chicagoans know Kurtis, 76, as the quintessential purveyor of hard news, millions more recognize his voice from Will Ferrell’s “Anchorman” movies, NPR’s “Wait, Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!” and countless commercials and documentaries. He also hosts the daily series "Through the Decades" on the digital broadcast network Decades. Continue reading →

Tony Hunter

Tony Hunter, a straight-shooting Chicago guy who rose from circulation manager to publisher of the Chicago Tribune, is leaving the newspaper’s parent company — now known as tronc — at year’s end.

Hunter, 55, will step down as president of national revenue and strategic initiatives of tronc subsidiary Tribune Publishing, effective December 23, according to a filing Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “He will be eligible for severance benefits in accordance with the terms of his employment agreement,” the filing stated. Continue reading →

Jerry Taft, Hosea Sanders, Cheryl Burton and Jim Rose

ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 will continue to produce primetime news for Weigel Broadcasting’s WCIU-Channel 26 for at least another year.

Although ratings for the one-hour newscast have been lackluster to say the least, the unusual arrangement has proved beneficial to both stations since "ABC 7 Eyewitness News on WCIU The U" launched in January 2014. Continue reading →

US99 — Chicago's Hottest Country

Declining revenues and intense competition from a formidable new challenger have claimed the program director of CBS Radio country WUSN FM 99.5.

Jeff Kapugi was cut Tuesday after six years with CBS Radio, including the last five as program director of US99. Continue reading →

“The Chicago Cubs Win the World Series!”

Robservations on the media beat:

Pat Hughes

The ideal holiday gift for any Chicago Cubs fan: Pat Hughes, radio voice of the World Champions on CBS Radio sports/talk WSCR AM 670, has just released “The Chicago Cubs Win the World Series!” It’s a 70-minute CD featuring the 2016 season’s greatest moments as broadcast on The Score by Hughes and color commentator Ron Coomer. “If you love the Cubs, you will love this CD,” promises Hughes. It’s available online for $19.95 at baseballvoices.com. Continue reading →

Gene Siskel

Gene Siskel, the late, great Chicago journalist who redefined film criticism in America along with dueling colleague Roger Ebert, will be honored this spring with induction into the Silver Circle of the Chicago Television Academy.

Siskel’s long-overdue recognition will acknowledge his work as film critic for CBS 2 news and "CBS This Morning,” and his legendary 24-year partnership with Ebert on their nationally syndicated movie-review show. Siskel, who also was a critic and columnist for the Chicago Tribune, died in 1999. (Ebert, who was inducted into the Silver Circle in 2005, died in 2013.) Continue reading →