{"id":15765,"date":"2017-10-20T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=15765"},"modified":"2017-10-20T06:03:58","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T11:03:58","slug":"robservations-tribune-media-deal-sinclair-fccs-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2017\/10\/20\/robservations-tribune-media-deal-sinclair-fccs-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Robservations: Tribune Media deal with Sinclair in FCC\u2019s hands"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> Ajit Pai\u200f and Newton Minow<\/p><\/div>\n

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

The Chicago-based parent company of WGN-Channel 9 and WGN AM 720 moved closer to its takeover by Sinclair Broadcast Group Thursday when stockholders of Tribune Media voted overwhelmingly<\/a> to approve the controversial $3.9 billion deal. Now it\u2019s up to the Federal Communications Commission, which recently paused its 180-day timeline for review of the merger to allow for more public comment. A growing chorus<\/a> of advocacy groups has argued that the resulting behemoth \u2014 233 television stations reaching 72 percent of U.S. households \u2014 would hurt media competition and consumers. Coincidentally, FCC chairman Ajit Pai\u200f<\/strong> met Thursday in Chicago with Newton Minow,<\/strong> the powerhouse lawyer who chaired the FCC during the Kennedy administration. Afterward Pai tweeted:<\/a> \u201cSuch an honor to meet Newton Minow, President Kennedy\u2019s 1st @FCC Chairman (1961-63)! An amazing life & rich perspectives on law & policy.\u201d I ran into Minow Thursday night at the Shriver National Center on Poverty Law dinner, but he kept his comments about the meeting off the record.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Teresa Rix<\/p><\/div>\n

Bailing out of Tribune Media just in time is Teresa Rix,<\/strong> who was named vice president and general sales manager of ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7<\/a> on Thursday. Rix most recently was vice president of group sales and marketing for Tribune Media. She previously held sales and marketing posts at NBC Universal, ABC National Television Sales, CLTV and Tribune Publishing. At ABC 7, she succeeds Vincent Sollecito,<\/strong> who was named president of ABC National Television Sales in May. \u201cTeresa Rix is a respected and uniquely talented executive,\u201d John Idler,<\/strong> president and general manager of ABC 7, said in a statement. \u201cHer leadership and vision, combined with extensive national and local sales experience will bring tremendous value to the station and our advertising partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

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

Maureen Ryan,<\/strong> the former Chicago Tribune TV critic who now writes for Variety, is drawing national acclaim<\/a> for speaking out in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein<\/strong> scandal in Hollywood. In a poignant essay<\/a> in Variety this week, Ryan disclosed her own experience as a victim of sexual assault by an unnamed television executive in 2014 while she was working for Huffington Post. \u201cI know what it\u2019s like to be shocked by what a fellow human is capable of, because that night, and for so long after, I was stunned into disbelief,\u201d she wrote. (Here is the link to her essay.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Joshua Short<\/p><\/div>\n

Joshua Short,<\/strong> a 22-year-old graduate of Columbia College, has landed a weekend news anchor job at WNDU, <\/a>the NBC affiliate in South Bend, Indiana. \u201cIt\u2019s surreal, and I\u2019m still trying to wrap my head around it,\u201d he told DNAinfo Chicago,<\/a> which profiled him Thursday. \u201cI\u2019ve earned everything that I\u2019ve done through hard work, dedication, passion and a will to learn and get better. . . . It\u2019s just a blessing, and I wouldn't have imagined this a year ago.\u201d A native of Chicago\u2019s South Side and graduate of Lindblom Math & Science Academy High School, Short produced and hosted his own show at Columbia, and held internships with CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, and ABC 7\u2019s \"Windy City Live,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jim Mateja<\/p><\/div>\n

Jim Mateja,<\/strong> who reviewed cars and covered the automobile industry for 47 years at the Chicago Tribune, will be memorialized with a scholarship at Northwestern University\u2019s Medill School of Journalism. The Midwest Automotive Media Association, <\/a>an organization Mateja helped found, is working to establish an endowment at Medill that will fund the James L. Mateja Memorial Scholarship <\/a>in perpetuity. \u201cWe wanted to make sure his mark on the Chicago media industry lasts forever,\u201d the group\u2019s board said in a statement. (Here is the link for donations.<\/a>) Earlier this year Mateja died of cancer at 71.<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s best comment:<\/a> Bill Walsh:<\/strong> Roeper bland annoying critic, faux bon vivant, aging boring fake hipster pretend ladies man and made roe and roeper must miss radio.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: The Chicago-based parent company of WGN-Channel 9 and WGN AM 720 moved closer to its takeover by Sinclair Broadcast Group Thursday when stockholders of Tribune Media voted overwhelmingly to approve the controversial $3.9 billion deal. Now it\u2019s up to the Federal Communications Commission, which recently paused its 180-day timeline for... 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\/15765"}],"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=15765"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15773,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15765\/revisions\/15773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}