Marking the six-month anniversary of Roger Ebert's passing, Chaz Ebert posted a "Dear Roger" letter Friday on rogerebert.com, reflecting on her loss and his legacy.
"You have made yourself known in other ways that have brought me joy and comfort," she writes. "And you have found ways to let me know that you are in a good place." Continue reading
Brandis Friedman
Brandis Friedman, who's been a part-time news anchor and reporter for all-news WBBM AM 780/WCFS FM 105.9 for two years, has been hired as a full-time correspondent for "Chicago Tonight," the flagship nightly news program on WTTW-Channel 11.
She replaces Ash-har Quraishi, who left the public television station in July to join the startup of Al Jazeera America as Chicago correspondent.
It's a return to television news for Friedman, who previously worked at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C., KARK-TV in Little Rock, Ark., and KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas. She also served for nine months as deputy communications director for the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology. Continue reading
John Barron
Veteran Chicago media executive John Barron, who rose from reporter to publisher in his 17 years at the Sun-Times, is joining Tribune Co. to lead its content marketing unit.
Barron, 55, was hired Thursday as chief content officer of Tribune Content Agency (formerly named Tribune Media Services News and Features Division). In his newly created position, which is separate from the newsroom, he will focus on branded content strategy, including the creation and distribution of sponsored content. Continue reading
Peter Liguori
Peter Liguori didn't mention me by name, but within the opening minutes of his town hall meeting with Tribune Co. employees Wednesday, he did refer to "the elephant in the room."
The pachyderm in question was the fallout from my report last week that the Tribune Co. CEO had ordered executives to come up with $100 million in budget cuts on the publishing side as the company prepares to spin it off from the broadcast side. Liguori called the number "illogical," but failed to offer anything more specific.
My sources for the story were individuals who attended a meeting at which the goals were set. A followup story in the Chicago Tribune also cited plans "to offset a projected revenue decline of $75 million to $100 million." Continue reading
David Roeder
Veteran business reporter and columnist David Roeder is leaving the Sun-Times to join the administration of Governor Pat Quinn.
Roeder told his bosses Wednesday that he has accepted a position as communications manager for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, starting Oct. 21. Based in Chicago, he will work on promoting business development for the state. Continue reading
As talk show topics go, the federal government shutdown is tailor-made for conservative talk-radio stations like WLS AM 890.
Morning, noon and night, the hardline hosts have been downright giddy over the stalemate in Washington. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass opened his midday show Tuesday with unmitigated mockery, declaring: "The world has ended! How are we going to survive?"
Maybe a better question is how will the Cumulus Media news/talk station survive if it doesn't get its act together. Continue reading
On the eve of its 25th anniversary as Chicago’s pioneering urban adult-contemporary radio station, WVAZ FM 102.7 has more to celebrate than its groundbreaking format and illustrious history.
Ratings released Monday by Nielsen Audio (previously known as Arbitron) show V103 leading the market with a commanding 6.2 percent share of all listeners and a cumulative weekly audience of 1,128,600.
And that’s no fluke: The Clear Channel station has been No. 1 overall in 17 of the last 18 books. Continue reading
Joel Daly
In close to 40 years as an anchorman in Chicago, Joel Daly delivered more than a few impassioned commentaries along with his newscasts. But I'm reasonably certain he never uttered the words: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
Now, at long last, he will. The 78-year-old television news legend has been tapped to play Howard Beale, the fictional anchorman and "mad prophet of the airwaves," in a staged reading based on the 1976 film "Network." Beale shouts the "mad as hell" line as he incites viewers from coast to coast to join in venting their anger.
Steve Charlier
The management overhaul of Tribune Broadcasting continued Friday with the departure of Steve Charlier as senior vice president of local media.
Charlier told colleagues he was leaving to launch a multi-platform media company. "That means I can finally experiment with some of my 'less than traditional ideas' as an entrepreneur," he said in an email. "I’m a little scared, very excited and more than anything, thankful for the opportunity to have worked with you all for the past five and a half years." Continue reading
Peter Liguori
Plans to cut costs and reduce staff at Tribune Co. newspapers have been confirmed as the parent company of the Chicago Tribune prepares to spin off the publishing side of the business into a separate entity.
A report here Thursday said Tribune Co. CEO Peter Liguori ordered executives to come up with $100 million in budget cuts at its eight daily newspapers. Slated to begin taking effect Dec. 1, the cuts are expected to affect all areas of operation, including the newsrooms, sources said.
A Tribune Co. spokesman confirmed to the Los Angeles Times that the company has started a budget review process and that newspaper managers have been asked to look for efficiencies. Continue reading