Two broadcasters with Chicago connections — Dick Orkin of “Chickenman” fame and Ira Glass of “This American Life” — will be among this year’s honorees in the National Radio Hall of Fame. But their induction won’t be in Chicago.

The 2014 induction ceremony will be held Nov. 9 in Los Angeles, marking its first time outside of Chicago since it began in 1992. The shrine to radio’s great personalities and programs is housed at the Museum of Broadcast Communications at 360 North State Street. Continue reading →

Wade Linder

Wade Linder, a longtime Minneapolis rock radio programmer, has been named operations manager of two Cumulus Media stations — classic rock WLUP FM 97.9 and alternative rock WKQX FM 101.1. He’ll double as program director of the Loop.

Linder’s appointment, announced Wednesday, fills the vacancy left by Jim Richards, who shifted last month to operations manager/program director of Cumulus Media’s KFOG FM and KSAN FM in San Francisco.

Linder, 48, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, has spent his entire career in Minneapolis, first as music director of KQRS FM and KEGE FM and, for the past 17 years, as program director of KXXR FM. Continue reading →

Steve Cochran and Theo Epstein

Calvin Coolidge was in the White House when Chicago Cubs baseball began airing on WGN AM 720. With the exception of just a few odd years, the National League franchise and the Tribune Broadcasting radio flagship have been synonymous since 1925.

But now one of the most enduring partnerships in sports broadcasting is coming to an end. The Cubs and WGN Radio are splitting up after this season, Jimmy deCastro, president and general manager of WGN, confirmed Tuesday night. Continue reading →

Siafa Lewis and Peggy Kusinski

Without fanfare — or even an official announcement — WMAQ-Channel 5 has added former New York sports and lifestyle personality Siafa Lewis to its daily sports lineup. He’s been working as a freelance reporter and sports anchor at the NBC-owned station since May 19.

The closest thing to a formal introduction was this tweet May 21 from sports anchor Peggy Kusinski: "Welcome #NBC5 Chicago's newest sportscaster @SiafaLewisNBC to Chicago!” Continue reading →

Arsenio Hall

No matter what WGN-Channel 9 airs at 10 p.m. weeknights this fall, it’s a pretty good bet it will do better in the Nielsens than “The Arsenio Hall Show.”

Greg Easterly, president and general manager of the Tribune Broadcasting station, said Monday no decision has been made about a replacement for the syndicated talk show, which was canceled Friday after one season. Although production has ceased, the show is expected to continue to air until September. Continue reading →

Here are my picks for the most notable Chicago media stories of the month.

Click on the arrows to advance the photos. To read the original posts, click on the headlines under each photo: Continue reading →

Ira Glass

I’d like to retract my retraction.

On March 22 — two days after Public Radio International announced it was dropping distribution of “This American Life” — I reported exclusively that host and executive producer Ira Glass would be moving the show to Public Radio Exchange. Continue reading →

Alexa Helms

Alexa Helms, who spent three months as an intern at WFLD-Channel 32 in 2008, appears to be headed back to the Fox-owned station as weekend news anchor.

Sources said Helms is expected to fill the 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday anchor slot that’s been vacant since Amara Walker resigned last December to move to Atlanta. Walker subsequently joined CNN International as an anchor. Continue reading →

“Chicago Theatre of the Air” (1940s)

On June 1, 1924, Colonel Robert McCormick transformed his fledgling radio station into WGN, inspired by the motto of his Chicago Tribune as “World’s Greatest Newspaper.”

Ninety years later, WGN AM 720 has come a long way from McCormick’s vision of the novelty as “the little box that picks sounds from the air" and by most estimates still ranks among America’s greatest radio stations. Continue reading →

Jack Minkow

Jack Minkow brokered some of the biggest deals in the annals of broadcast ownership. But his most enduring legacy may have been his role in bringing Steve Dahl to Chicago.

President and CEO of Chicago-based Broadcasting Asset Management Corporation for 30 years, Minkow died Sunday after suffering two brain aneurysms. He was 68.

Before he launched his firm in 1978, Minkow managed radio stations for United Broadcasting Company in Baltimore and for ABC in Detroit and Chicago, including two years as vice president and general manager of WDAI (now WLS FM 94.7). Continue reading →