Roy Leonard

Gone but not forgotten: A look back at Chicago media luminaries who left us in 2014. Continue reading →

Big John Howell

Chicago radio veteran Big John Howell is calling it quits after eight years as morning personality at WIND AM 560. But he probably won’t be off the air for long.

Sources said Howell turned down a renewal offer from the Salem Communications news/talk station, where his contract expires December 31. His last show of the year aired Tuesday, although he may return for a week or two after January 5 while his bosses decide on a replacement. Continue reading →

Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Lewis is in and Rick O’Dell’s “Sunday Jazz Brunch” is out as WDCB FM 90.9 revamps its Sunday jazz lineup for the new year.

Starting January 4, the College of DuPage public radio station will present “Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis,” rebroadcasts of the series spotlighting the music of the world’s greatest jazz instrumentalists and vocalists. It will air from noon to 2 p.m. Sundays. Continue reading →

Mick Lee

Chicago radio listeners drove WLIT FM 93.9 to No. 1 in afternoons, according to the latest Nielsen Audio survey.

Airing Christmas music in place of its adult contemporary fare, the iHeartMedia station doubled its afternoon audience share, boosting its cumulative weekly audience from 829,900 the previous month to 1,162,900 for Mick Lee’s show from 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays. Continue reading →

Edison the Reindeer and Santa Claus

Nonstop Christmas music on WLIT FM 93.9 catapulted the iHeartMedia adult contemporary station to the top of the latest Nielsen Audio radio ratings.

Figures released Monday showed 93.9 MyFM in first place with a 7.7 percent share of all listeners and a cumulative weekly audience of 2,427,500 for the period from November 6 to December 3. In the previous survey, the station ranked ninth with a 1,824,800 cume. Continue reading →

Sally Eisele

In a year-end surprise to staffers of Chicago Public Media, Sally Eisele has resigned after 10 years as managing editor of public affairs at WBEZ FM 91.5.

Eisele, 56, announced Monday that she has accepted a position as general manager of Interlochen Public Radio, overseeing two listener-supported stations licensed to the Interlochen Center for the Arts serving northwest lower Michigan. Her appointment is effective February 15. Continue reading →

Kelly Ransford

Kelly Ransford, a veteran of album adult alternative radio stations in San Francisco, Seattle and Denver, is joining WXRT FM 93.1 as music director.

She succeeds John Farneda, who stepped down last month as operations manager and music director after 31 years at the CBS Radio station.

A Chicago native who began her career at CBS Radio Top 40 WBBM FM 96.3, Ransford is a former assistant program director and music director at KFOG in San Francisco. She most recently was promotions director at KMTT and KNDD in Seattle.

In announcing Ransford’s hiring, effective January 5, Norm Winer, vice president of adult rock programming for CBS Radio and program director of WXRT, cited her “excellent reputation throughout the industry for her integrity, her work ethic, easy-going personality, her knowledge and passion for music and radio, and her straightforward approach as a communicator.” Continue reading →

Katherine Green

Citing the “seemingly endless wheel of travel” her job entailed, Katherine Green has called it quits after seven months as senior vice president of news for Tribune Media.

A Tribune Media spokesman confirmed that Green resigned from the company, where she was responsible for overseeing news production and news operations for 42 television stations, including WGN-Channel 9 in Chicago. No replacement has been named. Continue reading →

Dan Miller

“Beyond the Beltway,” Bruce DuMont’s long-running political talk show, temporarily will split into two versions — one for radio and one for television — with veteran Chicago journalist Dan Miller hosting the TV edition.

DuMont, who launched the show in 1980, will continue to host “Beyond the Beltway” on radio. It airs live from 6 to 8 p.m. Sundays on Cumulus Media news/talk WLS AM 890 and 35 other stations across the country. Continue reading →

Phil Ponce

How big is the audience for local news at 7 p.m. in Chicago? We’re about to find out.

It’s been more than 25 years since a commercial station here courted news viewers on the cusp of prime time. In 1987, Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 inaugurated its news operation with a newscast at 7 p.m. (promoted as "the news that doesn't get home before you do”). By 1989, Fox 32 News had shuffled off to 9 p.m. Continue reading →