Bill Moller

After 47 years in the financial news business, Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting is pulling the plug on “First Business News.” The final broadcast of the weekday morning syndicated news show will be produced December 22.

The latest version of “First Business,” anchored by Angela Miles, Chuck Coppola and Bill Moller under executive producer Harvey Moshman, ultimately succumbed to market forces: Bob Ramsey, executive vice president of local media for Weigel Broadcasting, cited the loss of affiliates for ceasing production. Continue reading →

Carl Grapentine

It’s been nearly a year since Carl Grapentine fell and ruptured his quadriceps tendon. Now the veteran morning host at classical WFMT FM 98.7 has done it again.

Grapentine, 64, said he’ll undergo surgery on both legs Monday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. After that, he expects to be in rehab for several months. Continue reading →

In the latest expansion at WGN AM 720, the Tribune Media news/talk station is partnering with the hyperlocal news operation DNAinfo.com Chicago to add neighborhood news reports to its daily programming.

Starting Monday and airing during WGN’s 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. newscasts each weekday, the reports will be delivered by Jon Hansen, radio news director of DNAinfo Chicago. Continue reading →

Ramonski Luv

Ramonski Luv, who co-hosted Chicago radio’s top-rated nighttime show until his abrupt dismissal last summer, is about to make a comeback.

Starting December 1, he’ll join WSRB FM 106.3, the Crawford Broadcasting urban adult-contemporary station. His show will air from 6 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. Continue reading →

Jane Byrne and Walter Jacobson (1989)

In all the remembrances you’ll watch or read about Jane Byrne this weekend, I doubt that any of them will mention her brief tenure as a Chicago television news commentator.

In 1989 — six years after she left City Hall — Byrne signed on as a paid political analyst for WBBM-Channel 2. No past or present mayor had ever done anything like that. Continue reading →

You could say Friday wasn’t a very good day for the Chicago Sun-Times. Major production errors plagued the paper in both its online and print editions.

Here’s what the Sun-Times sent to its online subscribers:

Continue reading →

Edison the Reindeer

Christmas may be six weeks away, but Chicago radio can’t wait to get into the holiday spirit.

Starting just after midnight Friday, WLIT FM 93.9 will switch to around-the-clock Christmas music programming for the 14th consecutive year. Edison the Reindeer returns as the official holiday mascot of “Chicago’s Christmas Station.” Continue reading →

Let the Christmas radio battle begin.

In what’s billed as a first for local radio, WILV FM 100.3 is offering listeners a 50/50 split of Christmas music and mainstream hits for the next six weeks.

Starting at 6 a.m. Thursday and airing continuously through Christmas Day, the Hubbard Radio station will alternate holiday classics with songs from its regular adult-contemporary playlist. They’re calling it “The Perfect Christmas Blend.”

”For more than a year now Hubbard Radio Chicago has been committed to re-inventing the standard AC [adult contemporary] format,” Marty Bender, program director of Chicago's 100.3, said in a statement. “In that spirit, we are presenting a new way to hear the holiday. This is yet another unique ‘touch’ for our growing and lucratively targeted adult audience. This isn’t a radio strategy as much as it’s simply giving our listeners a balance of the two types of music they want to hear.” Continue reading →

Jane Hirt

Replacing the most powerful woman in Chicago journalism may not be easy. It definitely won't be quick.

No deadline has been set to name a successor to Jane Hirt, who announced her resignation Wednesday as managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, effective November 21. Continue reading →

John Farneda

John Farneda, who joined WXRT FM 93.1 as an intern in 1983 and rose to operations manager and music director, is retiring from the CBS Radio album adult alternative station.

“After 31 years at Chicago's Finest Rock, I realized that I have achieved all my goals at the radio station and it is now time to set new ones,” Farneda, 53, told colleagues Tuesday. His last day on the job will be November 26. Continue reading →