Amy Jacobson (2007)

An Illinois appeals court has ruled against Amy Jacobson, who sued CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 for airing video of her at a backyard swimming pool that ended her career as a Chicago television news reporter seven years ago.

As a reporter for NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 in July 2007, Jacobson was covering the disappearance of Lisa Stebic, a suburban wife and mother. A camera from CBS 2 captured Jacobson wearing a bikini in the presence of the missing woman’s husband, Craig Stebic, who was identified as a person of interest in the case. Jacobson was there on her day off with her two children. Continue reading →

Peter van de Graaff

Peter van de Graaff, chief announcer at WFMT FM 98.7, is filling in as morning personality at the classical music station for the foreseeable future while Carl Grapentine recuperates from quadriceps tendon surgery on both legs.

Van de Graaff, who doubles as host of the Beethoven Satellite Network overnight music service, is now being heard nine hours a day — on his “Through the Night” program from midnight to 6 a.m. and filling in for Grapentine from 6 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday. Continue reading →

Tony Sculfield, Nina Chantele and Leon Rogers

Morning personalities Tony Sculfield and Nina Chantele were forced out Monday in a programming shakeup at urban contemporary WGCI FM 107.5.

Sole survivor of the morning team is Leon Rogers, who will stay on with soon-to-be-named new hosts. Until then, Rogers will co-host mornings with weekend personality Rob Nice. Continue reading →

WGN Morning News

The strategy of programming news morning, noon and night keeps paying off for WGN-Channel 9.

Results of the November sweeps show the Tribune Media flagship station dominating morning news viewership among adults between 25 and 54, as the broadcast marked its 20th year on the air. “Chicago’s Very Own” saw its biggest ratings boost between 4 and 6 a.m., coinciding with the recent pairing of news anchors Lourdes Duarte and Dan Ponce. Continue reading →

The demise after only nine months of The Game 87.7 FM, Chicago’s first FM sports/talk station, topped local media news in November.

The fact that some of the station’s employees first learned their fate from a tweet ("We found out from Robert Feder while we were on the freakin' air,” midday host Ben Finfer told listeners) attracted nationwide attention to the story and prompted calls for other employers to consider how they deliver bad news in an age of social media. Continue reading →

Doug Banks again led Chicago’s afternoon ratings race, retaining the top spot overall for iHeartMedia urban adult-contemporary WVAZ FM 102.7 in the Nielsen Audio survey for the period from from October 9 to November 5.

Among men between 25 and 54, Chicago’s two AM sports/talk stations tied for first place. Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman of ESPN WMVP AM 1000 and Terry Boers and Dan Bernstein of CBS Radio WSCR AM 670 posted identical 5.0 percent shares in the demo. Neither show cracked the top 10 overall. Continue reading →

Led by morning personality Steve Cochran, who posted a 30 percent increase in audience share, WGN AM 720 rebounded in the latest monthly ratings.

Nielsen Audio figures for October 9 to November 5 showed the Tribune Media news/talk station moving up from a tie for 12th place overall the previous month to seventh. WGN improved at least marginally in every time period. Continue reading →

Jonathon Brandmeier and Garry Meier (2011)

Game over.

Nine months after the bosses of WGN AM 720 launched Chicago’s first FM sports/talk station, they’re throwing in the towel on the ambitious but unprofitable venture. Tribune Media will cease programming on WGWG LP 87.7, known as The Game 87.7 FM, at the end of the year, insiders said Thursday.

Also out, effective immediately, are former WGN personalities Jonathon Brandmeier and Garry Meier, sources said. Brandmeier’s morning show aired on The Game 87.7 and the online streaming site wgn.fm. Meier’s afternoon show aired only on wgn.fm.  (Update: Brandmeier's departure is not effective immediately. Meier's is.) Continue reading →

Dave Hoekstra

Dave Hoekstra, the Chicago media treasure and former Sun-Times columnist and critic, is bringing his unique style and wide range of interests to weekends on WGN AM 720.

Starting December 6, Hoekstra’s “Nocturnal Journal” will air for three weeks from 10 p.m. to midnight Saturdays on the Tribune Media news/talk station. As of January 3, the show will move to its permanent slot from 9 to 11 p.m. Saturdays. Continue reading →

Bruce Wolf and Dan Proft

An on-air discussion about race relations exploded into a heated personal exchange Tuesday between WLS AM 890 morning host Bruce Wolf and traffic reporter Kelli Walker.

Wolf, who is white, and Walker, who is black, went far beyond typical radio discourse — even by the standards of the Cumulus Media news/talk station. Continue reading →