Dave Eanet

Robservations on the media beat:

WGN AM 720 will continue to be the broadcast home of Northwestern University football and men’s basketball through the 2019-20 season, under a four-year renewal to be announced Friday. The Tribune Media news/talk station also just signed the great Dave Eanet to a new four-year contract to continue as WGN sports director and the voice of the Wildcats. “We’re proud to present Northwestern basketball and football, anchored by Dave ‘Mr. Cat’ Eanet,” Jimmy de Castro, president and general manager of WGN, said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing our listeners the excitement of Chicago’s Big Ten team in the years to come.” Eanet, a graduate of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, has been the play-by-play voice of Wildcat Football since 1990 and Wildcat Basketball since 1996. He’s also sports anchor on Steve Cochran’s WGN morning show. Continue reading →

Tom Doerr, who did nothing to improve ratings, reporting or morale as news director at last-place WFLD-Channel 32, is leaving after three years at the Fox-owned station.

Doerr cited “personal family reasons” for returning to Florida at the end of April. Continue reading →

Alan Krashesky, Linda Yu and Jim Rose (ABC 7, February 24, 2016)

If you were watching WLS-Channel 7 news Wednesday afternoon, you’d have thought it was snowing like crazy downtown. A panorama of slowly falling snowflakes filled the Chicago skyline behind the anchor desk throughout the ABC-owned station’s newscasts.

But it was all fake. Continue reading →

Studs Terkel (Photo: Christopher Walker)

A sizable donation from actor/director David Schwimmer helped put a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Studs Terkel Radio Archive over the top this week.

WFMT Radio Network surpassed its goal of raising $75,000 three days before the February 25 deadline. As of early Wednesday, more than $84,000 had been pledged. Continue reading →

Tribune Tower

Robservations on the media beat:

Michael Ferro

“The Future of Print Media” will be the incredibly timely topic of Monday’s sold-out luncheon at the City Club of Chicago. Billed as headliners are Tony Hunter, publisher and CEO of Chicago Tribune Media Group, Jim Kirk, publisher and editor of the Sun-Times, and David Snyder, publisher of Crain’s Chicago Business. Undoubtedly the unseen elephant in the room will be Michael Ferro, who continues to upend Chicago’s newspaper world by the day. On Tuesday, Ferro replaced Tribune Publishing CEO Jack Griffin with longtime associate Justin Dearborn. Who knows who’ll still be around Tribune Tower by next week? Continue reading →

Jack Griffin

Well that didn’t take long.

Nineteen days after Michael Ferro took over as board chairman and largest shareholder of Tribune Publishing, he has forced out Jack Griffin as chief executive officer of the Chicago-based parent company of the Chicago Tribune.

Justin Dearborn, a longtime associate of Ferro and former CEO of Merge Healthcare, has replaced Griffin, who held the job since April 2014. Sources said Ferro also is expected to replace most of the top executives who worked with Griffin. Continue reading →

Walter Jacobson in disguise (1991)

Twenty-five years ago this week, Walter Jacobson wandered the streets of Chicago disguised as a homeless man. Cold, hungry, sleep-deprived and depressed, the millionaire news anchor uttered the immortal words: “I’m miserable. I am really, really miserable.”

“Mean Street Diary,” which ran six successive nights on CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 in February 1991, became a career-defining event for Jacobson. If not the most infamous local sweeps stunt of all time, it’s undoubtedly among the most widely remembered. Continue reading →

Bruce Dold

On his first day as editor of the Chicago Tribune, Bruce Dold challenged his staff to do a better job of presenting and distributing the news.

“Don’t just accept change,” he told editorial employees Thursday. “Drive it.” Continue reading →

Ann Dwyer

Robservations on the media beat:

Craig Newman

Crain’s Chicago Business editor Michael Arndt fortified his staff Thursday with the promotion of Ann Dwyer to managing editor and the hiring of Craig Newman as assistant managing editor. Dwyer, a 21-year veteran of Crain’s, most recently was deputy managing editor, overseeing digital operations. She succeeds Steve Reiss, who resigned last month to join ESPN’s The Undefeated. Newman, who takes over digital and daily news operations from Dwyer, had been managing editor of the Sun-Times before his position was eliminated last August. Continue reading →

Robert Feder

Now hear this: For readers of my blog, there’s been a change for the better.

Chicago Tribune announced Thursday it was introducing a new “metered” approach that will give nonsubscribers access to up to 10 articles each month on chicagotribune.com before being asked to subscribe. That includes robertfeder.com and other premium stories previously designated as “digitalPlus” content. Continue reading →