Cheryl Scott

Robservations on the media beat:

ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 is teaming with National Geographic to produce a five-part series on the fight to save the Great Lakes. ABC 7 meteorologist Cheryl Scott and scientists from National Geographic will present "So Great, So Fragile" on successive Tuesdays, starting this week. Episodes will stream live on ABC 7’s connected TV Apps on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku. "Whether for recreational use or drinking water, Chicagoans know the value of the Great Lakes, but may be unaware of factors threatening them," Scott said. "In our series with National Geographic, we get the chance to dig deeper on everything from climate change to pollution, revealing the impact on one of our greatest natural resources. We also show how we can work together to protect, save and keep our lakes great." Continue reading →

Walter Cronkite, CBS News headquarters in New York, November 22, 1963

12:40 p.m. “Here is a bulletin from CBS News. In Dallas, Texas, three shots were fired at President Kennedy’s motorcade in downtown Dallas. The first reports say that President Kennedy has been seriously wounded by this shooting. Continue reading →

Bruce St. James

Bruce St. James, who's been a radio talk show host in Phoenix for 10 years, has been tapped to replace Erich Mancow Muller as morning personality at WLS 890-AM.

St. James will join the Cumulus Media news/talk station December 14, according to Marv Nyren, vice president and market manager of Cumulus Media Chicago. Muller's last day on WLS will be Wednesday. Fill-in hosts will substitute in the coming weeks. Continue reading →

Lou Manfredini

Robservations on the media beat:

Lou Manfredini, the handyman extraordinaire known as “Mr. Fix It,” will add a fourth hour to his Saturday morning home improvement show on WGN 720-AM under a four-year contract extension announced today with the Nexstar news/talk station. Starting January 2 “HouseSmarts Radio with Lou Manfredini” will air from 6 to 10 a.m. Saturdays. The additional hour coincides with the retirement of agribusiness icon Orion Samuelson, who now hosts a one-hour Saturday morning show with Max Armstrong. ("Outside the Loop Radio with Mike Stephen" will move to 5 a.m. Saturdays.) “We are excited to continue the legacy that Lou has built at WGN Radio the past 25 years,” Mary Sandberg Boyle, vice president and general manager of WGN, said in a statement. “While his media empire looks a lot different now than when he first started here, one thing remains the same: Lou is here to serve the audience. He is patient and kind with every listener, while keeping his genuine sense of humor. He truly is the definition of the ‘helpful hardware man.’” Manfredini was inducted in the WGN Radio Walk of Fame in 2015. Continue reading →

Geoffrey Baer

Who hasn’t dreamed of soaring like a bird over their surroundings?

Tonight WTTW-Channel 11 makes that timeless wish come true with “Chicago From the Air,” a one-hour special unlike anything you’ve imagined outside of your dreams.

Geoffrey Baer, who's been Chicago’s genial tour guide and unofficial historian at the Window to the World Communications station for more than 25 years, has delivered what may be his most spectacular travelogue yet. Continue reading →

Sasha-Ann Simons (Photo: Tyrone Turner)

Chicago Public Media news/talk WBEZ 91.5-FM has gone out of Chicago to fill the vacancy for a new host on its locally produced midday talk show.

Sasha-Ann Simons, host and national correspondent at American University’s WAMU in Washington, D.C., will start December 14 as host of “Reset,” the flagship news and talk program airing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays on WBEZ. Continue reading →

Alan Krashesky and Cheryl Burton

Robservations on the media beat:

There won't be the traditional procession down Michigan Avenue this year, but that's not stopping ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 from producing its annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival to kick off the holiday season. News anchors Cheryl Burton and Alan Krashesky will host the nationally syndicated special to air on ABC 7 at 6 p.m. Sunday (and repeat at 4 p.m. November 29). Janet Davies will contribute to the one-hour extravaganza, taped on a fantasy winter wonderland set in Pioneer Court. Musical performers will include Jennifer Hudson and Heather Headley. Look for Mickey and Minnie Mouse to give the cue to light up a million twinkling lights along the Mag Mile — just in time for a visit from Santa. Continue reading →

Erich Mancow Muller

Saying he was tired of doing “radio without joy” during a pandemic, Erich Mancow Muller is leaving WLS 890-AM after two years as morning host. His last day on the Cumulus Media news/talk station will be November 25.

“Much of the enjoyment I had left doing radio has been sucked out of it,” Muller, 54, said Monday. “Alone in an office building with no guests and endless rules is not my idea of a creative process. . . . For me, no interaction has been the radio kiss of death. Talking during this political season and hearing endless tales of woe from my listeners has been radio without joy." Continue reading →

Jennifer Lenzini

Robservations on the media beat:

Jennifer Lenzini, a 26-year-old TV news reporter who grew up in northwest suburban Crystal Lake, was killed in a motorcycle accident Saturday in North Port, Florida. Lenzini, a graduate of Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, had just joined NBC affiliate WBBH/ABC affiliate WZVN in Fort Myers, Florida, in July after four years with NBC affiliate KTIV in Sioux City, Iowa. She was riding on the back of a BMW motorcycle Saturday afternoon in Sarasota County when the driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree, according to police reports. “Jenny covered stories that mattered most to our community in Charlotte County and Lee County. She was always diligent in her work and made sure you knew how grateful and thankful she was to be reporting in Southwest Florida,” her station posted Sunday. “She idolized Diane Sawyer growing up and loved being around people.” Continue reading →

Burt Constable, Dahleen Glanton and Laura Washington

Robservations on the media beat:

Three prominent Chicago area columnists are in the running for this year's Dorothy Storck Award from the Chicago Journalists Association. Burt Constable of the Daily Herald, Dahleen Glanton of the Chicago Tribune, and Laura Washington of the Sun-Times and ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 were named finalists Thursday. The prestigious honor, which carries a $1,000 prize, will be presented at the group's virtual awards ceremony November 20. It's named for the late syndicated columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner who died in 2015. (To receive a free Zoom link to the event, respond to: chicagocja@gmail.com.) As reported earlier, David Jackson of the Better Government Association will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and Chris Fusco, former executive editor of the Sun-Times (and now executive editor of Lookout Santa Cruz), will serve as keynote speaker. Continue reading →