Mark Guarino

Mark Guarino, veteran journalist and Chicago correspondent for The Washington Post, has been named managing editor and contributing reporter at The Daily Line, the subscription newsletter on state and local politics.

He succeeds Heather Cherone, who joined Window to the World Communications WTTW-Channel 11 last month as a digital news reporter covering City Hall. Continue reading →

Hubbard Radio Chicago

The axe fell Friday at Hubbard Radio Chicago, terminating the jobs of 12 employees, including several on-air personalities.

It marked the latest reduction in staff among Chicago's major broadcast groups attributed to the coronavirus shutdown and its effect on advertising revenue. But unlike the other publicly traded companies, the Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting is a privately held, family-owned business. Continue reading →

Entercom

Layoffs at Entercom Chicago radio stations attributed to the coronavirus shutdown and ESPN 1000 host Marc Silverman's disclosure of a cancer diagnosis led the top 10 most-read stories here in April.

To read the full posts, click on the headlines: Continue reading →

Chuck Schaden and Steve Darnall

Robservations on the media beat:

Fifty years to the day after Chuck Schaden premiered "Those Were the Days," he'll be back to mark the half-century milestone of the nostalgic weekly showcase for the Golden Age of Radio. Joining Steve Darnall, who succeeded him as host and producer in 2009, the Radio Hall of Famer will rebroadcast his entire first show exactly as it aired on May 2, 1970 (featuring "Ma Perkins," "The Thin Man," Frank Sinatra, Eddie Cantor, "Fibber McGee and Molly" and more), and reminisce about the program’s earliest days. "Listening to this first 'TWTD' broadcast today, it's a fascinating snapshot of the time when it was produced and a fascinating document of what radio used to be — which is what our show has been about from the beginning," Darnall said. It will air from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday on College of DuPage’s WDCB 90.9-FM and stream live on wdcb.org. Personally, I can't think of a better way to spend Saturday afternoon. Continue reading →

WBBM Newsradio

The dedicated journalists of WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM didn’t have time to celebrate winning top honors for outstanding news operation and three other first-place awards this week from the Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters Association.

That’s because they were too busy working from home to keep the top-rated Entercom all-news station up and running during the biggest story of our time. Continue reading →

iHeartMedia Chicago

For the second time this month iHeartMedia is citing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for cutting the pay of its employees.

On Tuesday the radio giant announced those who earn more than $50,000 a year will be required to take two weeks of "unpaid vacation" before the end of 2020. Continue reading →

Bob Sirott

Robservations on the media beat:

Sean Compton

They're calling it "Virus-Free Friday" at WGN 720-AM. Morning star Bob Sirott and every other host at the news/talk station have been ordered to avoid mentioning the coronavirus pandemic that day (except as part of regular newscasts). It's the idea of Sean Compton, executive vice president of Nexstar Media Group overseeing WGN, who wrote in an email to staff: "If a caller, guest, or even you yourself accidentally brings it up, you get zapped [with a buzzer sound effect] like the opening scene of 'Ghostbusters.' . . . This is a great way for us to offer a break for all our listeners and potentially encourage new listeners. Since we are talk radio and rely on current events, this can be challenging, so do some off-the-wall topics." Sirott said he thought the gimmick would be "interesting," adding: "I've been doing other [non-virus] segments occasionally anyway." Continue reading →

Jim Seals and Dash Crofts

It occurred to me over the weekend when “Get Closer,” the 1976 yacht rock standard by Seals and Crofts, came on: There may be some songs that radio shouldn’t be playing during a global pandemic.

So I reached out to an old friend, Rick O’Dell, program director of Me-TV FM, the Weigel Broadcasting soft-rock oldies station at WRME 87.7-FM, for advice on other songs to add to the list. Continue reading →

Be Chicago: Together We Can

“Be Chicago: Together We Can,” a four-hour, star-studded fundraiser to benefit the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund, will be presented Wednesday night on NBC Sports Chicago.

Airing from 7 to 11 p.m., the event will feature appearances by dozens of celebrated athletes and exclusive musical performances from Chicago and Plain White T’s, among many others artists. Continue reading →

Dick Johnson

Robservations on the media beat:

There’s no telling the next time viewers will see veteran Chicago newsman Dick Johnson, who’s been holed up on short-term disability from NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 for nearly two months. “Ironically, in early March I was covering the advent of COVID-19. That’s when my doctors strongly suggested I retreat to a less populated area because of a respiratory condition and my age,” Johnson, 66, told me over the weekend. “We’re fortunate to have a house in northern Michigan. Thankfully, the incidence of coronavirus has been in the single digits here. It was the right call. Despite NBC 5 implementing extraordinary safety protocols, I’m not sure when my doctors will give me the all clear. I’m very much looking forward to returning to work and whatever the new normal might be.” Johnson joined NBC 5 as a news anchor and reporter in 2002 after 20 years at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7. Continue reading →