Walt Flakus

Walt Flakus, well-known to Chicago rock radio listeners for his years at The Loop and Cumulus Media alternative rock WKQX 101.1-FM, has returned to host middays on WCHI 95.5-FM, iHeartMedia’s new rock station.

Flakus, a Chicago native who most recently worked at KNDD in Seattle, will be heard from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays as part of the new talent lineup unveiled today at Rock 95.5. Continue reading →

Ray Cortopassi

Growing up in south suburban Dolton, Ray Cortopassi fondly remembers another Ray — the legendary children's show performer Ray Rayner — who was a fixture on WGN-Channel 9 for 20 years.

Tonight begins the era of a new Ray at "Chicago's Very Own" as Cortopassi debuts alongside Micah Materre as co-anchor of the station's 5, 6, 9 and 10 p.m. Monday-through-Friday newscasts. Continue reading →

Orson Welles

Robservations on the media beat:

Steve Darnall

Kicking off its celebration of radio's 100th anniversary, "Those Were the Days" will air a monthlong series of milestone and landmark broadcasts from the Golden Age of Radio. This weekend's show will feature what host Steve Darnall calls "the most famous radio broadcast of all time" — Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater on the Air's 1938 production of "The War of the Worlds." Other treats include Bing Crosby's first appearance on network radio in 1931, Agnes Moorehead's first performance of "Sorry, Wrong Number" in 1943, and a 1940 "Fibber McGee and Molly" broadcast, during which they open their famous hall closet for the first time. "Obviously, the 100th anniversary of radio is a pretty special event, and we wanted to celebrate by demonstrating — as completely as we can — what makes it special," Darnall said. "It's our hope that these broadcasts will give everyone listening an understanding of how radio was transformed from a novelty item into a necessity." "Those Were the Days" airs from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays on College of DuPage WDCB 90.9-FM and online at wdcb.org. Continue reading →

Roe Conn

The latest programming shakeup at WGN 720-AM, including the dismissal of prominent on-air personalities Roe Conn and Nick Digilio from the Nexstar Media Group news/talk station, led the top 10 most-read stories here in September.

To read the full posts, click on the headlines: Continue reading →

Martin Carlino, Joe Coughlin and Megan Bernard

Robservations on the media beat:

The Record North Shore

Today marks the launch of The Record North Shore, the nonprofit local news site founded by three former editors of 22nd Century Media. Joe Coughlin, Megan Bernard and Martin Carlino created the startup with a crowdfunding campaign and backing from the Institute for Nonprofit News. It initially will serve the North Shore suburbs of Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield, Kenilworth and Glencoe. In a welcoming message to readers, co-founder and editor-in-chief Coughlin wrote: "The Record is a nonprofit digital newsroom built on integrity, courage and care. The platform change allows us to better serve your community, and we are going to do this the right way, placing reporters on the ground to cover your hometown every single day, not just when a big story breaks. . . . While donations via a successful Kickstarter campaign got us off the ground, our events and subscriptions will keep us in the air. Much of our site’s content (public-service journalism like breaking news, police reports, public-safety news and more) will be free to read, but our other work will be for subscribers who value dedicated local reporting." 22nd Century Media, which published 14 community newspapers and websites in the area, ceased operations in March after 15 years. Continue reading →

John Records Landecker

Robservations on the media beat:

The advance of the Chicago White Sox to postseason play has delayed the debut of John Records Landecker as evening host on Nexstar Media Group news/talk WGN 720-AM. Monday was to have marked the launch of Landecker’s show, which will air from 7 to 10 p.m. weeknights. But now the Radio Hall of Famer is holding off to avoid multiple sports preemptions or late starts in the coming weeks. Citing the unpredictability of postseason baseball, Mary Sandberg Boyle, vice president and general manager of WGN, said: “John's show will now start once the season ends.” WGN is in the final year of its contract as radio home of the White Sox. Continue reading →

Joe Soto

WVAZ 102.7-FM, the iHeartMedia R&B powerhouse, recaptured the top spot in the latest Chicago radio ratings, snapping a seven-month winning streak for Entercom all-news combo WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM.

V103 also finished first across the board — including mornings with the syndicated Steve Harvey, middays with Bioncé Foxx, afternoons with Joe Soto, and evenings with the syndicated Keith Sweat. Continue reading →

John Owens

Robservations on the media beat:

John Owens, a writer-producer for Chicago-based Weigel Productions and adjunct professor at City Colleges of Chicago, has been elected president of the Chicago/Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Owens, who previously worked as a reporter/multimedia producer at the Chicago Tribune, succeeds Steve Novak, who led the chapter since 2015. Calling 2020 “the most challenging of years for all of us,” Owens wrote academy members: “The global pandemic has forced many of us to re-think how to handle video production, as many of us have been forced to work 'at-home' or from a safe distance in the field or in the studio. . . . Despite the challenges from this unprecedented health crisis, our organization is striving to provide as many benefits as possible in an ever-changing industry.” Continue reading →

Nate Rodgers

Nate Rodgers, who began as an intern and desk assistant at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 and spent 10 years there as an assignment editor, is returning to his hometown to join Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 as a general assignment reporter.

Rodgers, who's starting early next month at Fox 32, teased the move on social media this week, writing: "Hmmmmm something tells me I’ll be adding another mic flag to the collection soon. Y’all ready? Lol. Official announcement coming this week. #TheDreamxxx." Continue reading →

Tribune Publishing

Robservations on the media beat:

Employees of Tribune Publishing newspapers — including the Chicago Tribune — were up in arms Wednesday over a company email purporting to offer them bonuses. “We are pleased to inform you that we are providing targeted bonuses between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars this year,” it read. “Tribune Publishing is able to provide this bonus as a direct result of the success created by the ongoing efforts to cut our costs!" The email turned out to be a simulated phishing attack designed to test the vulnerability of recipients to cyber mischief. Coming at a time of pay cuts, furloughs and newsroom closings, Tribune staffers were incensed by the scam. The Chicago Tribune Guild called it "a heartless, insulting and tone-deaf exercise." Amid the uproar, Tribune Publishing released this statement: "Today the company conducted a regular, internal test to assess and reduce its current phishing and malware risk level. Based on input provided by the company’s cybersecurity team and advisors, the content of that test included language regarding employee bonuses. Having fallen victim to attacks of this nature before, the company recognized that bad actors use this type of language regularly, and decided to use the language to simulate common phishing scams. The company had no intention of offending any of its employees. In retrospect, the topic of the email was misleading and insensitive, and the company apologizes for its use." Continue reading →