Larry Yellen and Natalie Bomke

Minutes before air time last Saturday, WFLD-Channel 32 canceled its late newscast because of a glitch in an automated operating system, according to multiple sources at the Fox-owned station.

Weekend news anchors Larry Yellen and Natalie Bomke were on the set and ready to go live when the station abruptly aborted the newscast and shifted to entertainment programming. Viewers were given no explanation for the switch. Continue reading →

Amber "Alabama" Cole

After only three months on the air, iHeartMedia’s upstart country music station has overtaken CBS Radio’s 33-year country franchise in the latest Chicago radio ratings.

Nielsen Audio figures released Monday show iHeartMedia’s WEBG FM 95.5 beating CBS Radio’s WUSN FM 99.5 among listeners between 25 and 54, the group regarded as most desirable to advertisers. Continue reading →

Chicago magazine

Back by popular demand, restaurant listings have returned to the pages of Chicago magazine — but now they’re running only twice a year.

A top-to-bottom redesign in 2013 eliminated the longtime feature from the monthly print publication. While the full capsule reviews of nearly 200 city and suburban eateries continued to appear in the magazine’s tablet version and online, print readers were served only a few new reviews along with updates and additions each month. Continue reading →

Justin Kaufmann

Ready or not, Chicago, Justin Kaufmann is about to deliver “The Download.”

Starting this Thursday, the multitalented radio veteran will double as host and producer of an ambitious new show from 7 to 11 p.m. weeknights on Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720. Continue reading →

WLUP studio

An independent arbitrator has ruled against Cumulus Media over the company’s use of voice-tracking — the practice of recording a disc jockey’s words and playing them back on the air later — at classic rock WLUP FM 97.9 and alternative rock WKQX FM 101.1.

About a dozen current and former employees of The Loop and 101WKQX will be awarded back pay covering the period from last spring to the present, according to the arbitrator’s opinion issued April 2. Continue reading →

Jay Levine

Jay Levine, chief correspondent for CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 and a 41-year veteran of Chicago television news, will be honored for his work by the Chicago International Film Festival and Cinema/Chicago.

Levine will receive the Excellence in Investigative Journalism Award at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival Television Awards Ceremony April 22 at the Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile, 633 North St. Clair Street.

“Jay has long held an important place in Chicago’s broadcasting community, breaking stories that have shaped the lives of every Chicagoan,” Michael Kutza, festival founder and artistic director, said in a statement Wednesday. Continue reading →

Mason Schreader and Zach “Remy” Hoesly

If we’re to believe the ratings, nearly one in four Chicago radio listeners wakes up every morning to Felicia Middlebrooks and Pat Cassidy on WBBM Newsradio, Eric Ferguson and Kathy Hart on The Mix, or Steve Harvey on V103.

Those three shows deliver a combined 23.5 percent share of all morning-drive listeners, totaling a cumulative weekly audience of 2,095,700, according to the latest Nielsen Audio figures. That leaves all the other stations to divide up the rest. Continue reading →

Steve Farber

Steve Farber, a 20-year veteran of Tribune Media broadcasting units and former acting general manager of WGN-Channel 9, has been hired as senior vice president of operations at Weigel Broadcasting, overseeing WCIU-Channel 26 and the Chicago-based company’s digital network operations.

Farber, who most recently was senior vice president of operations for Tribune Broadcasting, succeeds Bob Ramsey, who announced in January that he was stepping down as executive vice president of local media. Ramsey will continue as a consultant with Weigel Broadcasting. Continue reading →

Ron Magers

Look for Ron Magers to turn up in the Wrigley Field broadcast booth alongside Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies when WLS-Channel 7 airs its first Cubs game of the season Wednesday.

The ABC-owned station’s top news anchor is expected to make a special appearance during the fifth inning of the Cubs matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting at 1 p.m., the broadcast also will feature ABC 7 sports anchors Mark Giangreco and Jim Rose, and a weather forecast before the start of the game from meteorologist Cheryl Scott. Continue reading →

Rick Bayless

Chefs from some of Chicago’s hottest restaurants soon will be dishing it out on NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5’s 11 a.m. weekday newscast.

Starting April 15, they’ll appear with news anchors Stefan Holt and Marion Brooks several times a month to show viewers how to prepare their most popular entrees. Continue reading →