NBC 5 (October 13, 2015)

Chicagoans celebrated the Cubs division series-clinching win Tuesday night by turning to television, of course.

Local news viewership peaked at 10 p.m., with more than 830,572 households in the Chicago area tuned to one of the four late newscasts covering the jubilant aftermath of the historic victory at Wrigley Field, according to Nielsen figures. Continue reading →

Orion Samuelson

Robservations on the media beat:

One month after undergoing heart surgery, Radio Hall of Famer Orion Samuelson returns Tuesday to Steve Cochran’s morning show on Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720. Samuelson, 81, will broadcast from his home while recuperating from heart-valve replacement September 14. “Now that I have this recovery time at home to contemplate life, world events, who will win the World Series and college football championship . . . and what our final crop production numbers will be for 2015, I have reached one very firm conclusion. We are very fortunate to live in a time when we have the people and their knowledge to improve our way of life and to make it healthier, safer and more enjoyable if we deal with it responsibly,” the legendary agribusiness reporter wrote Monday. “I know for sure that I do want to live in this world of technology, not in the world of anonymous bloggers.” Continue reading →

Justin Kaufmann

Justin Kaufmann is stepping aside indefinitely as evening host at Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720 to deal with what he called “a private and personal matter.”

Kaufmann, who’s been off the air since October 6, said Monday he hopes to return soon. He declined to comment further on the matter. Continue reading →

Aiyana Cristal

Aiyana Cristal, the Comcast SportsNet Chicago reporter who was at the center of a social media controversy earlier this year, has left the regional sports network.

“After two years of positive contributions, Aiyana Cristal is no longer part of our on-air team,” a Comcast SportsNet spokesman said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard work and professionalism she brought to her role at CSN and wish her the best.” Continue reading →

Tribune Tower

Maybe the current bosses will have better luck than their predecessors, but this isn’t the first time in recent years they’ve slapped a “for sale” sign on Tribune Tower.

Thursday’s announcement that Chicago-based Tribune Media had hired real estate banking company Eastdil Secured to “begin exploring strategic monetization alternatives for Tribune Tower and adjacent land” was reminiscent of a similar declaration by Sam Zell, the real estate magnate who took Tribune Company private and dragged it into bankruptcy. Continue reading →

WBBM Newsradio

CBS Radio Chicago appears to be in no rush to name a replacement for Sherman Kaplan as co-host of the top-rated “WBBM Noon Business Hour” alongside Kris Kridel.

Kaplan retired September 22 after 46 years at all-news WBBM AM 780/WCFS FM 105.9, where he most recently co-anchored Monday-through-Friday midday newscasts, including the station's highly popular and profitable business news report. Continue reading →

Rick O'Dell

Chicago radio veteran Rick O’Dell has been named program director of Weigel Broadcasting’s WRME LP 87.7, the soft rock/oldies station branded as Me-TV FM.

It marks a return to the same frequency he once programmed as Chicago's Smooth 87.7 FM. Although O’Dell is best known as the city’s preeminent authority on smooth jazz programming, no change is expected in the current music format of Me-TV FM. Continue reading →

WGN (Photo: Museum of Broadcast Communications)

This means war: For the first time in 35 years, Chicago has a genuine four-way battle for nightly news viewers straight up at 10 o’clock.

Monday marked an auspicious debut for WGN-Channel 9’s half-hour newscast at 10 p.m., a return to competition the Tribune Media flagship station relinquished in 1980. Continue reading →

Timothy Knight

The future of the Sun-Times appeared more cloudy than ever Monday with the resignation of Timothy Knight as chief executive officer of parent company Wrapports LLC.

Knight, 50, is leaving to become president of the Cleveland-based Northeast Ohio Media Group, which operates cleveland.com and the Sun News, and is responsible for all advertising and marketing for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Continue reading →

Tom Skilling

Robservations on the media beat:

Demetrius Ivory

With superstar weatherman Tom Skilling adding a leading role on WGN-Channel 9’s new 10 p.m. newscast starting Monday, something had to give. In this case, it’s the Tribune Media station’s midday newscast. “We all know there’s only one Tom Skilling, and with his role at 10 p.m., we needed to shift his schedule a bit,” said Greg Easterly, president and general manager of WGN. “He’ll continue his weather reports on the 9 p.m. news, as well as the evening news at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.” The incomparable Skilling, 63, has been WGN’s chief meteorologist since 1978. Replacing him on “WGN Midday News,” which airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., will be meteorologist Demetrius Ivory, who’ll also continue to appear on “WGN Morning News” from 4 to 6 a.m. Continue reading →