Bob Sirott

I know it sounds like a punchline, but it's true: Fox 32 News is replacing Bob Sirott with some guy from Wichita.

After three years as 9 p.m. weekday news anchor, the veteran Chicago broadcaster will sign off from Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 on Sept. 3.

The move paves the way for Sirott and his wife, Marianne Murciano, to work full time for WGN AM 720. Last month the couple joined the Tribune Broadcasting news/talk station with plans to co-host a midday or afternoon show, starting in early September. Continue reading →

Tom Skilling

Thirty-five years ago today — Aug. 13, 1978 — meteorologist Tom Skilling joined WGN-Channel 9. Chicago's weather has never been the same.

Arguably the most popular figure in local television, Skilling, 61, last year signed a 10-year multimillion-dollar renewal to continue as chief meteorologist for the Tribune Broadcasting station. Though believed to be the highest paid local weatherman in the country, he remains as humble and down-to-earth as anyone who's ever stood in front of a camera. Continue reading →

Fahey Flynn

Thirty years ago — on Aug. 8, 1983 — Fahey Flynn died at age 67, leaving a 42-year legacy in Chicago broadcasting that included a pivotal role in two first-place newscasts and the distinction of winning the market's first Emmy Award ever presented for best newscaster.

"All local television is based on the local markets, local moods and local problems of the moment," the anchorman told me in an interview two months before his passing. Continue reading →

Ash-har Quraishi

Ash-har Quraishi, former correspondent for WTTW-Channel 11's "Chicago Tonight," has been named Chicago correspondent for the new Al Jazeera America.

Quraishi, 38, joined the public television station part-time in 2010 and doubled as a staff reporter for the short-lived Chicago News Cooperative. He moved up to full-time status with "Chicago Tonight" the following year and also contributed to the "PBS NewsHour." He previously served as chief investigative reporter for KCTV-TV in Kansas City, Mo., and as Islamabad bureau chief and correspondent for CNN. Quraishi was born in Chicago and graduated from Von Steuben High School and the University of Illinois.

Continue reading →

Torey Malatia

Torey Malatia, a visionary public radio programmer and controversial leader who transformed WBEZ 91.5 FM in his 20 years with parent company Chicago Public Media, resigned Friday as president and chief executive officer.

Sources said Malatia, 61, met with the board of directors of the nonprofit institution Friday morning to finalize details of his departure. A WBEZ staff meeting has been called for 1 p.m. Friday, at which the official announcement is expected to be made.

Although the news was unexpected, Malatia's relations with the board had become increasingly difficult in recent years, according to insiders. While a search for Malatia's successor is under way, Alison Scholly, chief operating officer of Chicago Public Media, is expected to serve as interim CEO. Continue reading →

Antonio Mora

Antonio Mora, the former Chicago television news anchor, has been hired by Al Jazeera America as host of "Consider This," a Monday-through Friday night current affairs talk show.

The program debuts Aug. 20, coinciding with the launch of the cable news channel. Backed by the Bedouin oil billionaires of Qatar, Al Jazeera America will have access to 49 million households previously served by Current TV, which the new network acquired earlier this year. Continue reading →

Tuesday's edition of the Chicago Sun-Times unveiled a redesigned weekday features section — all under the brand name of Splash.

Jim Kirk, publisher and editor-in-chief of the Sun-Times, said the move reinforces Splash as a franchise of the paper while eliminating the clutter of other features titles (including Pulse and Chatter). Sunday Splash, the Sun-Times' stand-alone weekly magazine, incorporated additional entertainment features with the demise earlier this month of the Sunday Show section. Continue reading →

Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo

Chicago's top-rated Spanish language radio personality was abruptly fired from his syndicated morning show — but no one who knows why is telling.

Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo, whose Univision Radio morning show aired on regional Mexican WOJO 105.1 FM in Chicago and more than 50 other stations nationwide, was pulled off the air effective immediately. No reason was cited for the cancellation, which was announced to his affiliates in a conference call Monday. Continue reading →

Despite promises that Clear Channel Chicago would launch a local morning show on its newly branded 93.9 MY FM, that doesn't appear to be the case.

Paul "Cubby" Bryant, who hosts mornings on Clear Channel's WKTU-FM in New York and also is heard on WMIA-FM in Miami, is expected to add WLIT 93.9 FM to his syndication lineup, sources said Sunday. Continue reading →