Scott Miller (left) and Pete McMurray
You gotta love Pete McMurray. And starting Monday, there’ll be an hour more to love him each night on WGN AM 720.
The veteran Chicago radio personality, who’s been hosting from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. weeknights since September, will now hit the air at 10 p.m. — trimming one hour from David Kaplan’s sports show on the Tribune Broadcasting news/talk station. Continue reading
Dave Savini
CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 was keeping mum Saturday on the arrest of veteran investigative reporter Dave Savini, who faces charges of hit-and-run, driving under the influence, battery and endangering the life of a child.
The Daily Herald reported that police in west suburban Naperville arrested Savini shortly after midnight Saturday after he was reported to have been involved in a traffic accident in the parking lot of a Taco Bell. The driver of the other vehicle said Savini pushed him when he took a photograph of Savini’s license plate, according to police. Continue reading
Randy Michaels (standing, right)
“The end may be nearer than you think for Merlin Media. GTCR, the private equity firm that partnered with CEO Randy Michaels to form the company in July 2011, is actively seeking buyers for all of Merlin Media’s properties, including adult hits WIQI FM 101.1 and classic rock WLUP FM 97.9 here.” — Robert Feder, Time Out Chicago, Sept. 25, 2012
“Merlin is not for sale.” — Randy Michaels, Radio Business Report, Sept. 26, 2012 Continue reading
Cumulus Media, owner of news/talk WLS AM 890 and classic hits WLS FM 94.7, is about to double its presence in Chicago with the addition of classic rock WLUP FM 97.9 and WIQI FM 101.1 (which will revert to modern rock WKQX).
“The addition of WKQX and WLUP will add two legendary radio brands to the two legendary radio brands Cumulus already owns in Chicago,” John Dickey, executive vice president and co-chief operating officer of Cumulus, told Inside Radio. “We are excited to be growing our presence in one of the best media markets in the world.”
Terms of the agreement with Merlin Media announced Friday were not yet known. Continue reading
Big John Howell
WIND AM 560, the Salem Communications news/talk station, kicked off the New Year by unveiling a new lineup that adds two syndicated talkers (Sean Hannity and Bill Bennett) and drops two others (Glenn Beck and Mike Gallagher).
But the big surprise is the expansion of the station’s local morning show to five hours, with Big John Howell and Amy Jacobson starting one hour later and holding forth from 6 to 11 a.m. five days a week. The new schedule begins Monday. Continue reading
Ten things to look for on the media beat in the coming year:
Tom Marker (Photo: Kurt Swanson)
CBS Radio is closing out the year by parting company with two veteran Chicago radio personalities — Tom Marker of WXRT FM 93.1 and Trish Biondo of WUSN FM 99.5.
Marker’s position as WXRT’s evening personality and “Blues Breakers” host is being eliminated after 33 years at the adult album alternative station, according to insiders. Details of his separation agreement are being negotiated. Continue reading
Here’s a blast from the past: A 1983 look at Chicago radio stars Steve Dahl, Jonathon Brandmeier and the late Bob Wall as they battle for young adult listeners.
It’s the third installment of a three-part sweeps series on “Radio Wars in Chicago: Jockeying for Your Morning” by Bob Sirott on WBBM-Channel 2. Just three years earlier, Sirott had left a successful career as a disc jockey to become a reporter for the CBS-owned station. Continue reading
Mike Nichols (1953)
In 1953, a 22-year-old announcer named Mike Nichols started “The Midnight Special,” a weekly program of folk music on WFMT FM 98.7, originating from the ballroom of the shabby Hotel Guyon in West Garfield Park.
Nichols went on to become half of a legendary comedy duo (with Elaine May), an Academy Award-winning director, and the husband of ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer. And “The Midnight Special” went on to become a broadcasting treasure. It’s still going strong, from 9 p.m. to midnight Saturdays on the Window to the World Communications classical station. Continue reading
With completion Friday of its $2.7 billion acquisition of Local TV Holdings, Tribune Co. begins the new year as the largest independent broadcast group and content creator in the United States.
The Los Angeles Times, also owned by Tribune Co., called the move “an important first step in the company's evolution from a company dependent on dwindling revenue from its newspapers and into a formidable broadcast group that reaches an estimated 50 million U.S. homes.” The company plans to shift its newspaper unit, including the Chicago Tribune, to a separate company in 2014. Continue reading