Bob Sirott

Robservations on the media beat:

Ernie Banks and Bob Sirott

Bob Sirott, morning personality at Nexstar Media news/talk WGN 720-AM and lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, will host a series of in-depth conversations with Cubs legends for Marquee Sports Network. Sirott was hired by the Cubs to tape interviews with Ernie Banks, Glenn Beckert, Randy Hundley, Ron Santo and others in 2010 and 2011, but they’ve never been seen until now. Starting this weekend, they’ll air on Marquee’s “Icons of the Ivy” at 7 p.m. Sundays. First up is Sirott’s two-part interview with Banks. (The Hall of Famer known as “Mr. Cub” died in 2015.) “It’s a special thrill to anchor what will be a permanent record of these Wrigley favorites for generations of Cubs fans to enjoy,” Sirott said. “This even tops being the voice of the Museum of Science and Industry’s coal mine!” Additional interviews with Cubs icons are expected to follow. “We’re sure that Cubs fans will enjoy these previously unaired stories and we’re honored to have this opportunity in partnership with the Cubs organization,” said Mike McCarthy, general manager of Marquee. Continue reading →

Reinaldo “Ronnie” Ramos

Robservations on the media beat:

Better Government Association

Reinaldo “Ronnie” Ramos, former executive editor of the Indianapolis Star, has been hired as editor in chief of Chicago's Better Government Association. In the newly created position he will oversee the Illinois Solutions Partnership, a $10 million collaboration between the nonprofit government watchdog and investigative reporting group and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Ramos most recently served as executive editor of the Daily Memphian, a nonprofit news site in Memphis, Tennessee. “We’re looking for new solutions to chronic problems, and we felt that requires a fresh perspective,” David Greising, president and CEO of the BGA and ISP, said in a statement. “In Ronnie, we’ve found a seasoned and skeptical journalist, with deep digital and startup experience – one who knows both how to uncover what is wrong and also find solutions to the old Chicago way.” Continue reading →

Frozen Dead Guy Days Parade (Photo: James DeWalt Photography)

Despite delays due to COVID-19 restrictions Harvey Moshman and Will Clinger traveled to 14 states for the third season of “Wild Travels,” the quirky travel series airing on 170 PBS stations nationwide.

Of all the weird and wonderful oddities they uncovered in their journeys none could match the annual “Frozen Dead Guy Days” festival in the tiny mountain town of Nederland, Colorado — “an event so outrageous we devoted an entire episode to this one celebration — something we've never done before,” Moshman said. Continue reading →

Nelson Algren

Robservations on the media beat:

Illini Media Hall of Fame

The late Chicago journalist and author Nelson Algren leads the list of luminaries who'll be inducted this year in the Illini Media Hall of Fame at their alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Also among the 20 honorees announced Tuesday are MeTV-FM program director Rick O'Dell, Crain's Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer, NBC News reporter Natasha Korecki, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist John J. Kim and TV/radio host Jon Hansen. (Here is the complete list.) The 2022 Hall of Fame class marks the first group of new entrants since 2009. Official induction will be April 9, coinciding with the 150th anniversary weekend celebration of the Daily Illini. Continue reading →

Story Television

Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting Co., the innovative home of MeTV and four other national television networks, is about to launch a sixth — featuring historical and factual programming supplied by A&E, History Channel and other cable networks.

Billed as Story Television Network, it will bring an impressive library of nonfiction series to broadcast television for the first time, including "Biography," "The Men Who Built America," "World War II in HD," "Modern Marvels" and "Mankind: The Story of All of Us." Continue reading →

Chicago Reader

Robservations on the media beat:

Leonard C. Goodman

A stalemate among board members of the Chicago Reader threatens to derail its move to a nonprofit business model and undermine the editorial independence of the alternative biweekly after more than 50 years. It can all be traced to the singularly bad decision to allow Leonard C. Goodman, a Chicago criminal defense attorney and co-owner of the Reader since 2018, to dabble as an opinion columnist. Goodman’s 21st column, Vaxxing our kids: Why I’m not rushing to get my six-year-old the COVID-19 vaccine, published on November 24, triggered calls for checking his facts — a move Goodman framed as a First Amendment issue and decried as censorship. Although his column still appears online as written, the push-back led Goodman and his allies to demand control of nonprofit Reader Institute for Community Journalism and dump co-publisher Tracy Baim as president and co-treasurer of the newly formed nonprofit. In a statement supporting the ownership transfer, the Chicago News Guild noted the jobs of 34 staffers were at stake. "The delay resulting from these dangerous demands jeopardizes the Reader’s ability to continue operations," the union said. "The time has come for the board and the owners to free the Reader." Ally Marotti of Crain’s Chicago Business first reported on the impasse.

Tracy Baim

What happens next? Insiders say the matter could be resolved this week when Goodman meets with co-owner Elzie Higginbottom to mediate the dispute. For Tracy Baim, the legendary journalist caught in the middle, that's reason for hope: “Our primary concerns right now are the true independence of the nonprofit board, and the editorial independence for our editors," Baim told me. "I am truly grateful for the support that both Elzie Higginbottom and Leonard C. Goodman have provided in saving the Reader these past three-plus years. We would not be here today without both of them. I am saddened this took a horrible detour just before the sale was to occur, but I am hopeful we can break this impasse soon. They saved the Reader once. I hope they can agree to terms that can save the Reader again.” Continue reading →

Paul Becker (Photo: ABC 7 Chicago)

From his workshop in northwest suburban Prairie Grove fifth-generation master violin maker Paul Becker transforms wood, strings and glue into prized instruments that sell for $36,000.

The family business traces its origins to Becker’s great great grandfather, Herman Macklett, who started making violins in the mid-1800s in Chicago. Today Carl Becker & Son produces handmade violins, violas and cellos cherished by musicians around the world. Continue reading →

Rex Huppke (Photo: Zbigniew Bzdak)

When scores of journalists bailed out of the Chicago Tribune last year, one of the few marquee names to stick around was Rex Huppke, the syndicated humor columnist.

"I’d love to say I have some grand vision for the future, or that I righteously chose to take a stand against Alden Global Capital, the hedge fund that took over the Chicago Tribune and our sister papers and is known for turning journalists into unemployed journalists. But neither of those things is true," he told readers in June. Continue reading →

Cynthia DeNicolo and Melissa McGurren

It’s been nearly four months since morning host Eric Ferguson resigned from WTMX 101.9-FM in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations by employees of the Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary station.

While The Mix may have hoped to move on since then, two of Ferguson's accusers are keeping up their legal fight over the company’s efforts to whitewash the whole sordid matter. Continue reading →

Pete McMurray

Robservations on the media beat:

Look for longtime Chicago radio personality Pete McMurray to turn up this weekend with a new show on Cumulus Media news/talk WLS 890-AM.  It will air from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturdays. Last heard here on Nexstar Media news/talk WGN 720-AM, McMurray launched his latest venture in September, lining up stations in Peoria, Joliet, Bloomington, and Rockford, Illinois; Valparaiso, Indiana; and Benton Harbor, Michigan. The addition of ratings desert WLS will give McMurray a seventh outlet for the show. Since December, when Ramblin’ Ray Stevens and Wendy Snyder dropped their weekly gabfest on WLS, the two-hour slot has been listed as the best of morning host Bruce St. James and afternoon host John Howell. Stevens and Snyder continue as fill-in hosts. Continue reading →