{"id":16177,"date":"2017-12-04T06:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-12-04T12:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=16177"},"modified":"2017-12-04T06:23:04","modified_gmt":"2017-12-04T12:23:04","slug":"robservations-harassment-spotlight-turns-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2017\/12\/04\/robservations-harassment-spotlight-turns-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Robservations: Harassment spotlight turns to Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> R. Kelly<\/p><\/div>\n

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

The sexual harassment scandals sweeping media, entertainment, government and corporate America have prompted two prominent journalists to focus on Chicago. Writing in The New Yorker,<\/a> veteran music critic and \u201cSound Opinions\u201d co-host Jim DeRogatis<\/strong> questioned why accusations of sexual misconduct against singer, songwriter, and producer R. Kelly<\/strong> haven't hurt the Chicago performer's career. DeRogatis has been virtually alone<\/a> in reporting on the Kelly case since 2000. And former Chicago Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski<\/strong> examined \u201cWhen Women Stand Up Against Harassers in the Newsroom,\u201d<\/a> recounting her decision to force the resignation of Tribune columnist Bob Greene<\/strong> in 2002. \u201cThe fix is not sexual harassment training, but more people in leadership who already know better,\u201d she wrote in Nieman Reports.<\/a> Lipinski now heads the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Eric Ferguson<\/p><\/div>\n

Bye-bye, K-Hits and My FM: The Nielsen Audio ratings report released last week turned out to be the swan song for two Chicago radio stations. The classic hits format of Entercom\u2019s WJMK FM 104.3<\/a> bowed out in a tie for 23rd place with a 2.4 percent audience share. As of November 17 the station known as K-Hits switched to a classic hip-hop and R&B format as 104.3 Jams. And in case you missed it, iHeartMedia late Friday rebranded <\/a>Christmas music\/adult contemporary station WLIT FM 93.9<\/a> as \u201cThe New 93.9 Lite FM,\u201d reverting to the name it used for 24 years until June 2013. In its final weeks as My FM, it tied for 12th place with a 2.8 share. The Nielsen survey, which covered October 12 to November 8, showed Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary WTMX FM 101.9<\/a> widening its first-place margin with a 6.3 share overall. The Mix megastar Eric Ferguson<\/strong> led the way with a commanding 9.2 share in morning drive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kathy Hart<\/p><\/div>\n

Could Eric Ferguson\u2019s former partner be poised for a comeback? Kathy Hart,<\/strong> who parted ways<\/a> in September after 21 years with Ferguson at The Mix, has been seen huddling very publicly with agent Steve Mandell<\/strong> in recent weeks. Friday\u2019s rebranding of Lite FM led\u00a0Radio Insight<\/a> and other industry sources to speculate that the station could be a landing spot for Hart after its Christmas music ends December 26. Hart, whose contract with Hubbard runs through the end of the year, has made several guest appearances on Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32\u2019s \u201cGood Day Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Sandra Torres<\/p><\/div>\n

Citing \u201cpersonal and professional reasons,\u201d reporter Sandra Torres<\/strong> said she is leaving CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2<\/a> December 15. According to insiders, she chose not to renew her contract. \u201cI truly cherished my two years with the station and will forever be grateful for the opportunity,\u201d Torres told Facebook <\/a>friends. \u201cI'll be sure to update you on my next chapter soon.\u201d Torres, who was born in Colombia and grew up in Buffalo Grove, joined CBS 2 from WDJT, the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee. She previously worked as a producer at NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 and a reporter and fill-in weather anchor at Telemundo WSNS-Channel 44.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Newton Minow<\/p><\/div>\n

Saturday brought doubly good news for Newton Minow,<\/strong> the Chicago lawyer and former FCC chairman. As earlier reported,<\/a> he was one of nine honorees announced for induction this spring in the Chicago TV Academy\u2019s Silver Circle. Also at the 59th annual regional Emmy Awards, the Chicago\/Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences cited \u201cNewton Minow: An American Story\u201d<\/a> as winner for outstanding documentary. Narrated and produced by Mike Leonard,<\/strong> the film debuted in May on WTTW and later aired nationally on PBS. Minow, who\u2019ll be 92 in January, famously proclaimed television \u201ca vast wasteland\u201d in a 1961 speech.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mara Shalhoup<\/p><\/div>\n

Mara Shalhoup,<\/strong> who resigned <\/a>as editor of the Chicago Reader<\/a> to become editor of LA Weekly <\/a>in 2015, is on the loose. Shalhoup, 41, was one of nine editorial staffers fired last when the Los Angeles alternative weekly was acquired by a newly created company, Semanal Media. \u201cWe were expecting there to be some pain with the sale of @LAWeekly. But we weren't expecting the Red Wedding,\u201d she tweeted.<\/a> \u201cI was hoping for a less heartbreaking ending, but I'm glad we all got to tell the story of this city together.\u201d You can bet Shalhoup won't be unemployed for long.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Chuck Buell<\/p><\/div>\n

Happy to hear from Chuck Buell,<\/strong> one of the great voices of WLS AM 890<\/a> in its heyday as a Top 40 rocker in the late \u201960s and early \u201970s. He doubled as music director of The Big 89, helping popularize such fledgling artists as Rod Stewart, Carly Simon<\/strong> and the band Chicago. Buell, who\u2019s back living in Denver, reports that he\u2019ll be inducted next month into the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado's Radio Hall of Fame. Since Buell\u2019s last on-air gig as morning host at KBZT in San Diego, he\u2019s been focused on his work as a commercial voice-over <\/a>artist. \u201cOverall, it\u2019s been a great run for me!\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s best comment: <\/a>Greg Cameron:<\/strong> I love Joel [Weisman] and the program. But I have always been curious about something. Does Lester Munson have just one black shirt or a whole closet full of them?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: The sexual harassment scandals sweeping media, entertainment, government and corporate America have prompted two prominent journalists to focus on Chicago. Writing in The New Yorker, veteran music critic and \u201cSound Opinions\u201d co-host Jim DeRogatis questioned why accusations of sexual misconduct against singer, songwriter, and producer R. Kelly haven't hurt the... 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\/16177"}],"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=16177"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16188,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16177\/revisions\/16188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}