November 22, 1963

Among the most fascinating and enduring suspicions of the Kennedy assassination is that organized crime bosses from Chicago somehow played a role in the murder of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

Fifty-two years later that theory is coming to the stage as “Assassination Theater: Chicago’s Role in the Crime of The Century,” a dramatization based on the work of Hillel Levin, an investigative reporter, author and former editor of Chicago magazine. Continue reading →

WGN Radio Walk of Fame

Ten more broadcasting luminaries from the past and present of WGN AM 720 will be honored Friday with induction in the WGN Radio Walk of Fame.

This year’s honorees are late-night radio legends Eddie Schwartz, Franklyn MacCormack, Steve King and Johnnie Putman, newsmen Steve Bertrand and Lyle Dean, sportscaster Dave Eanet, Cubs broadcaster Ron Santo, host Lou Manfredini and executive Ward Quaal. Continue reading →

Ramonski Luv

Chicago radio veteran Ramonski Luv, once the city’s No. 1 nighttime host, is out after six months on WSRB FM 106.3, the Crawford Broadcasting urban adult-contemporary station.

It’s the second time in less than a year Luv has been dismissed for undisclosed personal reasons. Last July he was forced out after 14 years at iHeartMedia urban adult-contemporary WVAZ FM 102.7, where he hosted the top-rated evening show with Joe Soto. Continue reading →

"I Am for Peace"

Cameras were rolling last June when three Chicago public high school students led a massive peace march to protest gun violence in the city. More than 2,000 of their peers from five middle schools and high schools took part.

The result is “I Am for Peace,” an inspiring and empowering documentary that will premiere at 8 p.m. Thursday on public television WTTW-Channel 11. Continue reading →

Jim Unrath

To generations of listeners, Jim Unrath was a familiar voice on classical music WFMT FM 98.7. To the legendary Studs Terkel, he was his right-hand man in the studio.

Unrath, whose career spanned 40 years at Chicago’s fine arts station, died Sunday in Stockton, California, at 78. He had been recovering from surgery to remove his spleen when he suffered heart failure, according to Lois Baum, a longtime friend and colleague at WFMT. Continue reading →

Steve Farber

Tribune Broadcasting won’t be hiring a replacement for its senior vice president of operations after all, sources said Tuesday.

Others in the Tribune Media broadcasting unit are expected to divide the duties of Steve Farber, who resigned in April to become senior vice president of operations at Weigel Broadcasting, overseeing WCIU-Channel 26 and the Chicago-based company’s digital network operations.

Tribune Media spokesman Gary Weitman declined to comment. Continue reading →

Bill Kurtis

What better day to launch a television network that immerses viewers in the past than Memorial Day?

Monday marks the debut of Decades, the new digital subchannel from CBS Television Stations and Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting. Each day’s programming will focus on a different era or theme through vintage series, popular movies and historical news footage. Continue reading →

NBC Tower

By the narrowest of margins — one-tenth of one percent — WMAQ-Channel 5 eked out a first-place finish in key demographics for its 10 p.m. weekday newscast in May.

But it was enough for the NBC-owned station to claim a rare victory Thursday over Chicago’s perennial titleholder, ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7. Continue reading →

Johnnie D

As iHeartMedia Chicago continues to redefine its urban contemporary brands, the company has hired a new assistant program director with old ties to a competitor.

One day after iHeartMedia raided rival Crawford Broadcasting and lured two top personalities from WPWX FM 92.3, it announced the hiring of Johnnie D as assistant program director of urban contemporary WGCI FM 107.5 and urban adult-contemporary WVAZ FM 102.7, effective June 1.

Johnnie D (whose real name is Johnnie Glover), previously held programming positions at Power 92 here as well as at stations in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The Chicago native most recently was music director and morning show producer at WVEE in Atlanta. Continue reading →

Matt Knutson

Matt Knutson, a line producer of “Windy City Live” since its debut in 2011, has been promoted to executive producer of the Monday-through-Friday talk and entertainment show on ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7.

Knutson, whose appointment was announced Wednesday, succeeds Marlaine Selip, the show’s founding executive producer, who voluntarily stepped down in April. Continue reading →