John Kass

Robservations on the media beat:

In the week since he launched his independent website at johnkassnews.com former Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass says he's already picked up 35,000 email subscribers. Asked whether he'll try to monetize it through selling advertising or charging for subscriptions, Kass told Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman in a podcast interview: “That will be determined, but I assume it will be some hybrid of both.” (Here is the link.) "When you go into business for yourself, it’s exhilarating and exciting. I’m totally pumped for it." Kass, who turns 65 today, was among about 40 journalists to exit the Tribune in the current round of buyouts. The onetime radio host also hinted at a future on the air: “I’m in meetings now with various broadcast entities to continue talking to people in Chicago,” he said. “I think they might want to hear what I have to say.” Spielman, razor sharp and still at the top of her game, pressed Kass on how it felt to be “stabbed in the back” by some of his Tribune colleagues, who publicly accused him of invoking an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory in a column and challenged him on other issues. “I think what happened generally is that clearly I offered a dissenting voice. I am conservative,” Kass said. “I can’t speak to the minds of those who disparaged me and defamed me, but I think that they didn’t like the fact that I refused to join the union. They repeatedly asked me to join. So they defamed me. . . . I wasn’t happy about it. But, you know, we move on. So I moved on.” Continue reading →

Amy Carr

It's anyone's guess how long Chicago magazine will remain in Alden Global Capital's local portfolio, but for now the venerable city monthly has a new editor.

Amy Carr, who stepped down after eight years as a top features editor at the Chicago Tribune, is back in the fold as editor of Chicago magazine. Both publications are owned by the New York-based hedge fund that acquired Tribune Publishing last month.

In a statement posted Wednesday Carr said she applied for "but didn't ultimately accept" a buyout as planned. "I was preparing for a summer of finding my next chapter," she wrote. "Instead, my next chapter found me, and it's an incredible one." Continue reading →

Gerry Kern

As top editor of the Chicago Tribune for eight tumultuous years, Gerry Kern led the city's premier legacy news organization through a protracted bankruptcy, a major downsizing of staff and a solid commitment to local news, investigative reporting and digital advancement.

Now, five years after he retired, Kern, 71, is watching from the sidelines as 40 more journalists — including many of the paper's marquee stars — exit with buyout packages from the company's new hedge fund owners. In the words of current Tribune editor Colin McMahon, it represents "a tremendous loss of talent, passion and grit." Continue reading →

Phil Rosenthal

Robservations on the media beat:

Another reason to read the Chicago Tribune will walk out the door Friday when Phil Rosenthal signs off after 16 years of outstanding work in three high-profile roles. "You can add me to the too-long list of people announcing they have taken a buyout and will be leaving the Chicago Tribune this week," Rosenthal, 57, told social media followers Monday. (Here is the link.) "It was a tough decision. It's been a privilege to work there, and I value every one of you in the audience." Rosenthal served as media columnist, business columnist and most recently sports columnist since he joined the Tribune in 2005. He previously spent nine years as a sports columnist and TV critic at the Sun-Times. Through it all he's been a formidable competitor and a gracious colleague. The Chicago native and graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison also worked at the Los Angeles Daily News, Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, and Waukegan News Sun. "It's possible I haven't yet contemplated what I will wind up doing," Rosenthal wrote. "When I was chair of the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication's Board of Visitors, I noticed alums had held an array of jobs, including big city mayor, Hollywood producer, White Sox announcer, lawyers and much more. To be clear, I've no intention to run for mayor or becoming a lawyer. But it is both thrilling and terrifying to have so many possibilities for my future, which was unlikely to be free of anxiety regardless of whether I stayed or left." Continue reading →

Dahleen Glanton

Robservations on the media beat:

On the day the Chicago Tribune published farewell columns from John Kass, Mary Schmich and Heidi Stevens, another star columnist announced her impending departure. Dahleen Glanton, who brought a thoughtful perspective on issues of race, poverty, violence and social justice to Tribune readers, told social media followers Sunday that she's leaving at week's end after taking a buyout offer from new owner Alden Global Capital. "This was a bittersweet decision, but I know it is the correct one," she wrote, telling followers: "You have been my greatest support system, reading my columns regularly, commenting on them and sharing them." Glanton, who grew up in Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia, joined the Tribune in 1989 from the Los Angeles Times. Before being named a columnist she served as associate metro editor and Atlanta bureau chief.

Shannon Ryan

In January Shannon Ryan became the first woman to be named Illinois Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Now she's leaving the Chicago Tribune too. The veteran sports reporter, whose beats included college football and basketball, announced she's also taking a buyout. "A tough decision, but I will be among those leaving the Tribune," she tweeted. "Another update on my future soon. Beyond thankful to have worked with such gifted, driven and passionate reporters during my time with @ChicagoSports." A graduate of Saint Mary's College, Ryan was a sports reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer before joining the Tribune in 2007. Continue reading →

Mary Schmich

With the wisdom, humility and grace that shined through every column she wrote, Pulitzer Prize winner Mary Schmich bowed out Saturday after 36 years with the Chicago Tribune.

In posting a pitch-perfect farewell to readers, Schmich joined the exodus of marquee talent to opt for voluntary buyouts under Alden Global Capital, the newsroom-slashing hedge fund that acquired Tribune Publishing. Continue reading →

John Kass

John Kass, the Chicago Tribune's most prominent columnist and one of its leading conservative voices, called it quits Friday after 38 years at the newspaper.

Kass, 64, was the latest to opt for a voluntary buyout offered by Alden Global Capital, the New York-based hedge fund known for severe cost-cutting at newsrooms across the country. Continue reading →

ESPN Chicago

WMVP 1000-AM, the ESPN sports/talk station and radio home of Chicago White Sox baseball, is set to launch its first FM digital transmission with a full-time simulcast on an HD2 channel.

Good Karma Brands, which operates ESPN 1000, has signed a local marketing agreement with Hubbard Radio to broadcast 24/7 on 100.3 HD2, a previously dormant HD2 channel associated with adult contemporary WSHE 100.3-FM. Continue reading →

Susanna Homan

Robservations on the media beat:

Bryan Smith

Susanna Homan, editor-in-chief and publisher of Chicago magazine, is leaving the city monthly owned by Tribune Publishing, making her the highest ranking employee to exit in the company's current round of voluntary buyouts. "I am so proud of the work that we’ve done together in the last five years and look forward to even greater things from my extraordinary colleagues," Homan said Wednesday. The former social columnist for the Sun-Times launched Michigan Avenue and Splash magazines before she took on the top job at Chicago magazine in 2016. Among others taking buyouts from Chicago is senior writer Bryan Smith. The celebrated journalist and author was a reporter for the Sun-Times before joining the magazine in 2003. Continue reading →

Eric Zorn (Photo: Chicago Tonight/WTTW)

Eric Zorn, a mainstay of the Chicago Tribune for more than 40 years and one of its most prominent progressive columnists, just became the latest to join the exodus of top talent from the newspaper.

"I’ve decided to put in for the latest buyout offer, one that will have me leaving at the end of next week," Zorn, 63, announced in his weekly email newsletter Wednesday. It will mark the end of an exemplary run for a true Chicago media treasure — and one of the most decent fellows you'd ever want to know.  Continue reading →