{"id":16908,"date":"2018-02-14T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T12:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=16908"},"modified":"2018-02-14T08:26:20","modified_gmt":"2018-02-14T14:26:20","slug":"robservations-tronc-funnel-production-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2018\/02\/14\/robservations-tronc-funnel-production-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"Robservations: Tronc to funnel all production through Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> Tribune Tower<\/p><\/div>\n

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

Tronc <\/a>unveiled plans Tuesday to centralize production of all of its newspapers from a new Design and Production Studio in Chicago. The news was contained in a memo from tronc president Tim Knight<\/strong> announcing a companywide reorganization \u201cto reimagine how our newsrooms deliver on our journalistic mission and accelerate our transformation to a truly digital-focused company.\u201d In addition to the Chicago Tribune and suburban publications, tronc papers in New York, Baltimore, Orlando, South Florida, and elsewhere would be produced here. The Design and Production Studio will be led by Cristi Kempf,<\/strong> associate managing editor for editing and presentation at the Tribune, and report to associate editor Colin McMahon.<\/strong> \u201cIn collaboration with the editorial managers within each business unit, the DPS team will compile the best content our newsrooms and partners offer into daily print newspapers that serve our most loyal subscribers and advertisers,\u201d Knight told staffers. \u201cDecisions about what stories go on Page One and local coverage choices will remain in each local newsroom.\u201d Good luck with that.<\/p>\n

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Tim Knight<\/p><\/div>\n

Knight also announced plans to review salaries for all editorial employees, with an eye toward raises. It\u2019s an apparent effort to fend off the union organizing effort that swept up the Los Angeles Times just before tronc sold<\/a>\u00a0it along with the San Diego Union-Tribune. \u201cWe want to reinforce how highly we value our talent across the company and recognize the efforts you all put forth on a daily basis,\u201d Knight told staffers. \u201cAs we implement our plans to move the business forward, we are committed to supporting our local newsrooms in providing competitive compensation for all our editorial colleagues. Over the next six weeks, while positions are being determined in line with our plan, we expect each local newsroom to review base compensation; where appropriate each newsroom will make pay increases reflecting either change in responsibility and\/or adjusting to market. All pay changes for staffers not governed by collective bargaining will go into effect on April 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Edwin Eisendrath<\/p><\/div>\n

Sun-Times <\/a>CEO Edwin Eisendrath<\/strong> has tapped his rabbi as a religion columnist. Seth M. Limmer,<\/strong> senior rabbi of Chicago Sinai Congregation is among a rotating group of faith leaders writing a new \u201cJust Relations\u201d <\/a>column on religion and social justice. (Limmer\u2019s connection to Eisendrath was noted at the end of his first column<\/a> last week.) On Tuesday the Sun-Times announced that Eisendrath\u2019s wife, former television news director Jennifer Schulze,<\/strong> had joined the company<\/a> to develop new video content as executive producer \u2013 new media.<\/p>\n

Cumulus Media is making a splash to celebrate Chicago radio legend Steve Dahl\u2019s<\/strong> 40th anniversary on the air here. Dahl, who hosts afternoons on Cumulus news\/talk WLS AM 890,<\/a> appears on digital billboards all over town with John Belushi<\/strong> next to the headline: \u201cNothing is over until we decide it is!\u201d The 23-year-old future National Radio Hall of Famer from Pasadena, California (by way of Detroit) first broadcast \u201cSteve Dahl\u2019s Rude Awakening\u201d February 23, 1978, on WDAI \u2014 now WLS FM 94.7.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Steve Dahl and John Belushi<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>

John Records Landecker<\/p><\/div>\n

John Records Landecker,<\/strong> another Chicago radio legend and National Radio Hall of Famer, was surprised last week to receive a diploma<\/a> from Grand Valley State University<\/a> in Grand Rapids, Michigan \u2014 50 years after he\u2019d dropped out to pursue his broadcast dreams. Landecker had been invited to speak to students about his autobiography, Records Truly Is My Middle Name,<\/em> when Dean Frederick Antczac<\/strong> and Len O\u2019Kelly,<\/strong> assistant professor of multimedia journalism, presented the diploma. \u201cI came in a dropout. I\u2019m walking out a graduate.\u201d Landecker quipped.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Paul Webber<\/p><\/div>\n

Paul Webber,<\/strong> a highly regarded veteran of Chicago radio programming, production and marketing, has been named director of marketing and promotion at WXRT FM 93.1,<\/a> the Entercom adult album alternative station. The move reunites Webber with Greg Solk,<\/strong> operations manager and program director of WXRT. The two were longtime colleagues at Hubbard Radio, where Webber was direct marketing manager for the three-station group and assistant program director of adult contemporary WSHE FM 100.3 and classic rock WDRV FM 97.1. \u201cAs we are still in the first inning of Entercom Chicago\u2019s re-building and re-org, we are looking for the best-in-class broadcasters, and Paul certainly fits that bill,\u201d Solk told staffers.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s best comment:<\/a> Charles Edward:<\/strong> Here's hoping that Joe Donlon can be the ballast that keeps the WGN ship steady and not wrecked on the conservative rocks driven there by the goofy right wing headwinds of Sinclair Broadcasting. Who approved this sale? Resistance needed now more than ever. Batten down the hatches . . . full speed ahead Chicago's Very Own. All for one and one for all.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: Tronc unveiled plans Tuesday to centralize production of all of its newspapers from a new Design and Production Studio in Chicago. The news was contained in a memo from tronc president Tim Knight announcing a companywide reorganization \u201cto reimagine how our newsrooms deliver on our journalistic mission and accelerate our... 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\/16908"}],"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=16908"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16921,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16908\/revisions\/16921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}