Diana Pérez and Alex Hernández
What's billed as Chicago's first Spanish-language morning news show is coming next week to Univision Communications WGBO-Channel 66.
Starting Monday, “Primera Hora” ("First Hour") will air from 5 to 7 a.m. weekdays. Co-anchored by Alex Hernández and Diana Pérez, it will include hyperlocal news, weather, traffic, lifestyle and community-related content. Continue reading
Chicago Sun-Times
Veteran Chicago journalist Steve Warmbir has been named managing editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. His promotion topped a management reorganization announced last week by editor-in-chief Chris Fusco.
In his new role, Warmbir will oversee all print and digital content (excluding the editorial board’s) and manage day-to-day administrative operations of the newsroom, according to Fusco. Continue reading
Chi.Vote Collective
Robservations on the media beat:
Five independent Chicago media organizations have joined forces to launch a free, nonpartisan website designed to prepare voters for the upcoming Chicago municipal election. Starting today, The Chi.Vote Collective will provide breakdowns on candidates and races, an election-related calendar, news stories and more. (Here is the link.) Its founding partners are the Better Government Association, Block Club Chicago, The Chicago Reporter, The Daily Line and The Triibe. Sol Lieberman, the vice president of strategy for the BGA who spearheaded the effort, noted that when Harold Washington was elected mayor of Chicago in 1983, 82 percent of registered voters turned out. "Thirty-five years later we're lucky to get half that," Lieberman said. "Democracy is sick in Chicago. Blame apathy, blame institutionalized dysfunction, blame hyperpartisanship and disintermediation — whatever the diagnosis, curing it requires collective action. A healthy Chicago votes, bottom line." The site is live now, and the full suite of features will be live January 22. Continue reading
Carey Weiman
Robservations back on the media beat:
“The Disco King of Skokie” — the title of a documentary premiering tonight on WTTW-Channel 11 — is no exaggeration. Starting in the late 1970s, no one ruled the teen and young-adult social scene on the North Shore and throughout the suburbs like Carey Weiman. For a generation of dancing partygoers, his “Disco Experience” was the gold standard of entertainment. Directed by Ken Goldstein, the film recounts Weiman’s remarkable rise as a young entrepreneur who pioneered the concept of the mobile DJ. “The Disco King of Skokie” airs at 10:30 tonight on the public television station. Continue reading
I will be off the grid and away a few days for a family matter. Continue reading
Tribune Publishing
Robservations on the media beat:
While distribution was pretty much back to normal for Sunday newspapers across all Tribune Publishing properties, a cyberattack continued to disrupt production at the Chicago Tribune and other publications on their shared production platform. The source of the malware, identified by the Los Angeles Times only as a "foreign entity," was still under investigation. Among omissions from print editions of the Tribune were paid death notices and classified ads. “This issue has affected the timeliness and in some cases the completeness of our printed newspapers," Marisa Kollias, vice president of communications and public relations for Tribune Publishing, said in a statement. "Our websites and mobile applications however, have not been impacted. There is no evidence that customer credit card information or personally identifiable information has been compromised.” Continue reading
Ben Joravsky
Robservations on the media beat:
Ben Joravsky, the longtime Chicago Reader political writer who’s been moonlighting as a talk radio host, is out as afternoon personality on WCPT 820-AM. His last day on the Newsweb Radio progressive talk station was Thursday. “We want to thank Ben for all of his hard work and dedication to Newsweb Radio Company,” said Mark Pinski, general manager of WCPT. “Ben did a great job of moving our brand forward, and we want our next host to take us to the next level.” (Audience figures for WCPT are not available because Newsweb Radio does not subscribe to Nielsen Audio ratings.) Joravsky had been hosting afternoons since he succeeded Wayne Besen in March 2017. He’ll continue with the Reader, where he’s been a full-time staff writer and columnist since 1990. Until a permanent replacement is named, Pinski said, a “rotating cast of experienced broadcasters” will be filling in from 2 to 5 p.m. weekdays, starting today with Joan Esposito, the former Chicago news anchor. Continue reading
Mary Cameron Frey
Neil Steinberg, the columnist, called her one of Chicago's "majestic women" and "a doyen from another era, the intersection of upper crust society and daily newspaper journalism."
As a chronicler of the social scene for the Sun-Times and Crain’s Chicago Business, Mary Cameron Frey covered the city's movers and shakers for decades with an acerbic wit and style all her own. Continue reading
Melissa Forman
For the 18th consecutive year, around-the-clock Christmas music catapulted WLIT 93.9-FM to the top of the ratings, according to Nielsen Audio figures released today.
The iHeartMedia adult contemporary station ranked No. 1 among all listeners with an 8.3 percent share and a cumulative weekly audience of more than 2.1 million. The previous month the station tied for 11th place with a 3.2 share. Continue reading
Erich Mancow Muller
It’s official: Erich Mancow Muller, whose bluster and bravado once made him Chicago’s most notorious shock jock, is returning to radio to host mornings on conservative news/talk WLS 890-AM.
Starting January 3, Muller will replace the morning team of Big John Howell and Ramblin’ Ray Stevens, whose last day together on the Cumulus Media station was Friday. Howell is moving to solo host from 5 to 7 p.m. weekdays.