{"id":13436,"date":"2017-02-17T06:00:37","date_gmt":"2017-02-17T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=13436"},"modified":"2017-02-17T06:03:06","modified_gmt":"2017-02-17T12:03:06","slug":"robservations-layoffs-hit-dnainfo-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2017\/02\/17\/robservations-layoffs-hit-dnainfo-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Robservations: Layoffs hit DNAinfo"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> DNAinfo Chicago<\/p><\/div>\n

Robservations on the media beat:<\/p>\n

Even a lean and efficient digital news operation backed by a billionaire isn\u2019t immune to economic pressures. Two full-time editorial employees were cut last week at DNAinfo Chicago,<\/a> sources confirmed Thursday. The layoffs follow the recent departure <\/a>of columnist Mark Konkol<\/strong> after four years at the hyperlocal news source. His position is not expected to be filled. Shamus Toomey,<\/strong> managing editor of DNAinfo Chicago, said in a statement: \"We\u2019re always working to find the correct size for our team covering Chicago\u2019s neighborhoods.\" Joe Ricketts,<\/strong> billionaire patriarch of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs, bankrolls DNAinfo, which he founded in New York in 2009. He expanded to Chicago in 2012.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Pat Quinn<\/p><\/div>\n

Pat Quinn,<\/strong> talk show host? The former Illinois governor will fill in for Wayne Besen<\/strong> from 2 to 5 p.m. Friday on WCPT AM 820,<\/a> the Newsweb Radio progressive news\/talk station. Quinn, who appears monthly on Besen\u2019s show, will talk with guests and take calls from listeners during his one-day hosting stint. Could it lead to regular radio work? Other than perhaps having Quinn fill in again if available, say Newsweb bosses: \u201cWe do not have any such plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chicago magazine<\/p><\/div>\n

A nasty remark about Chicago by candidate Donald Trump<\/strong> during the presidential debates last fall had at least one positive result. It turned out to be the inspiration for the March edition of Chicago magazine<\/a> and its splendid cover story, \u201c67 Reasons to Love Chicago.\u201d <\/a>Susanna Homan,<\/strong> editor and publisher of Chicago, credits culture editor Elly Fishman<\/strong> with suggesting a push-back to negative news about the city, and executive editor Terry Noland<\/strong> with the idea of devoting a whole issue to the theme. \u201cWe all got swept up in the magic of this package, layering ideas on top of each other,\u201d Homan said of their \u201clove letter\u201d to the city. \u201cLiterally every hand in the office touched the issue in some major way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Ryan Chiaverini<\/p><\/div>\n

Ryan Chiaverini<\/strong> made an emotional return<\/a> to \u201cWindy City Live\u201d this week after a month away from the daily talk show he co-hosts on ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7.<\/a> He thanked his bosses for giving him an open-ended leave to be with his gravely ill mother in California. \u201cEven though we\u2019re on TV, we\u2019re humans too, and we hurt too,\u201d Chiaverini told viewers. \u201cI got to spend three weeks at my mother\u2019s bedside, and I got 10 days with her when she was awake and able to speak. And that time is invaluable.\u201d As his mother continues to hang on, he added: \u201cWe\u2019re hoping for another miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Patty Martin<\/p><\/div>\n

Patty Martin,<\/strong> longtime Chicago radio programmer, is back in business. She\u2019s been hired by AccuRadio<\/a> to program the World Music and Celtic groups of channels for the Chicago-based multichannel music webcaster. Other formats, including adult rock and adult alternative, will be added to her duties. \u201cIt\u2019s all the fun of radio programming without the headaches!\u201d said Martin, who stepped down in 2014 after 13 years as program director of Hubbard Radio classic hits WDRV FM 97.1 (and eight years before that as music director at CBS Radio adult album alternative WXRT FM 93.1). In 2016 she joined Columbia College Chicago as adjunct professor of radio programming.<\/p>\n

No, really: A Chicago Tribune<\/a> email is offering subscriptions to \"Creature Features Newsletter\" \u2014 a weekly roundup of \u201cinspiring pet stories and cute animal news from around the nation.\u201d More quality journalism from tronc:<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Creature Features<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: Even a lean and efficient digital news operation backed by a billionaire isn\u2019t immune to economic pressures. Two full-time editorial employees were cut last week at DNAinfo Chicago, sources confirmed Thursday. The layoffs follow the recent departure of columnist Mark Konkol after four years at the hyperlocal news source. His... Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13436"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13451,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13436\/revisions\/13451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}