Deborah Norville
Now you can add movie mogul to Deborah Norville’s list of credits. The former Chicago TV news anchor and longtime host of “Inside Edition” is executive producer of the latest true-crime film on the Lifetime network.
“The Long Island Serial Killer: A Mother’s Hunt for Justice,” the 400th movie in Lifetime's “Ripped From the Headlines” series, premieres at 7 p.m. Saturday. (Here is the link to the trailer.) Continue reading
Rush Limbaugh
Robservations on the media beat:
The death of talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh Wednesday leaves Cumulus Media news/talk WLS 890-AM without its most potent personality — and without a designated replacement. "Rush Limbaugh was one of the most powerful voices in American radio and he called The Big 89 his Chicago home for over 25 years," said Marv Nyren, vice president and market manager of Cumulus Media Chicago. "He will be missed by millions." WLS will air "Best of Rush" segments with guest hosts for now. A key to the future of the station's conservative talk format will be whether Cumulus forces WLS to replace Limbaugh with another syndicated program or allows the station to fill the slot from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays with a local host. In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, WLS tied for 10th place in middays with a 3.1 percent share and cumulative weekly audience of 178,000. Continue reading
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta was forced out Tuesday as news director of WTTW-Channel 11 and executive producer of “Chicago Tonight” following a staff uprising over his use of social media to express personal views.
“I am writing to let you know that Hugo Balta is no longer with the organization,” Sandra Cordova Micek, president and CEO of Window to the World Communications, told employees in a terse internal email.
Notably absent from Micek's message were any of the usual good wishes for the senior executive she'd called "uniquely qualified" to lead WTTW News when she hired Balta one year ago.
Chicago Tribune
Alden Global Capital, the New York-based hedge fund known for bleeding newspapers dry, has reached agreement to buy the parent company of the Chicago Tribune in a deal valued at $630 million.
Chicago-based Tribune Publishing announced Tuesday that it has accepted Alden's bid to acquire the 68 percent of company shares it does not already own. Pending approval from shareholders and regulatory approval, the sale is expected to close in the second quarter.
In addition to the Chicago Tribune, the deal includes the New York Daily News, Hartford Courant, South Florida's Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel, Virginia's Daily Press and The Virginian-Pilot, and The Morning Call of Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The Baltimore Sun will be sold to Sunlight for All Institute, a public charity. Continue reading
Dean Reynolds
Robservations on the media beat:
Still reeling from the sudden departure of its news director, “NewsNation” just lost its best known and most experienced reporter. Dean Reynolds signed off Friday after six months as national political correspondent for the Chicago-based newscast on Nexstar Media Group's WGN America. Over a distinguished 50-year career, Reynolds was a correspondent for CBS News and ABC News and covered the White House for CNN and United Press International. Reynolds, 72, told me he agreed to a six-month contract in August because he intended to work only through the presidential election and inauguration. “It just ran out. I’m totally fine with that. I have nothing but gratitude for them,” he said, adding: “But I get why the timing looks kind of funny.” Others say Reynolds is getting out just in time. His exit follows the resignation of Sandy Pudar as news director of NewsNation. Pudar declined to comment, but sources said she quit over interference by Bill Shine, the former Fox News senior executive and former White House communications director under President Donald Trump. Unbeknownst to the staff (until Pudar quit), Shine was working as a consultant to WGN America boss Sean Compton since June. NewsNation launched September 1 with a promise to be “100 percent absent of bias,” in the words of Nexstar chairman and CEO Perry Sook. Continue reading
670 The Score
WSCR 670-AM, the Entercom sports/talk station known as The Score, will remain the radio home of Chicago Cubs baseball for years to come.
Entercom and the Cubs announced a multiyear extension Friday of their broadcast rights agreement covering all regular season and postseason play. Games also will be heard for free on the radio.com website and mobile app as well as home smart speakers. Terms were not disclosed. Continue reading
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta, news director of WTTW-Channel 11 and executive producer of the nightly newscast “Chicago Tonight,” has been sidelined by his bosses for apparently sharing too much on social media.
Officials of parent company Window to the World Communications confirmed Thursday that Balta was placed on administrative leave but offered no further comment. Sources said he was under review for tweeting what were described as overtly political opinions and posting some odd Instagram videos of himself.
Balta, 50, is about to mark his first year as news chief of the public television station, where he also hosts the weekly show “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices.” Continue reading
Al Capone (1931 mug shot)
Police booking photos of people who've been arrested — commonly known as mug shots — have been a staple of Chicago newspapers since before the days of "Scarface" Al Capone. But now they're headed for the morgue.
On Wednesday the Chicago Tribune announced new guidelines "aimed at the restrained and consistent use of mug shots with news stories." They're part of an industrywide reassessment of whether newspapers should continue to publish the photos in an era of clickbait exploitation and eternal life online. Continue reading
Kevin Matthews (Photo: Bob Neumann)
Robservations on the media beat:
Steve Cochran and Kevin Matthews
Kevin Matthews, one of Chicago radio's all-time greats, is one of the principals behind a new multimedia platform for music and performance artists. Now living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Matthews teamed up with Big Event Studios and partners Bob Neumann and Bob VanProyen to form Elevator a GoGo, a recording studio designed to "elevate the way the world discovers music." (Videos are produced in an empty freight elevator inside an old Grand Rapids warehouse.) Matthews will host a Valentine's Day Watch Party from Valentine, Texas, featuring live performances from six Texas-born musicians. The free event on Facebook starts at 4:45 p.m. Sunday. (Here is the link.) Matthews, 64, who enjoyed an 18-year run on Chicago radio (with alter ego Jim Shorts), was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008. Since then he's hosted a podcast and written a book about his triumphs and challenges, Broken Mary: A Journey of Hope. Matthews talks about his new venture and a whole lot more in a wide-ranging interview with Steve Cochran today on Live From My Office, Cochran's twice-weekly podcast series. (Here is the link.) "He's had a career that spans from middle school with Madonna to becoming a legend," Cochran said of Matthews. "And now he's making freight elevators cool." Continue reading
Medill School of Journalism
Robservations on the media beat:
Joseph Medill
Happy 100th birthday to my alma mater, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston. Founded with backing from the Chicago Tribune and publisher Robert R. McCormick, it was named for Joseph Medill, a former editor of the Tribune and former mayor of Chicago. The school lists more than 30 Pulitzer Prize winners among its graduates. Calling it a “monumental milestone,” Medill Dean Charles Whitaker wrote in an open letter Monday: “Since its founding on this day in in 1921, Medill has been a beacon of practice, innovation and thought leadership in the fields of journalism, advertising and integrated marketing communications.” A centennial website features an interactive timeline of the school’s history, a calendar of special events and personal memories of those who passed through Fisk Hall. (Here is the link.) In 2011 the institution was renamed Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. Continue reading