{"id":17969,"date":"2018-05-09T12:30:16","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T17:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=17969"},"modified":"2018-05-09T12:53:03","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T17:53:03","slug":"robservations-sinclair-may-buy-chicagos-wpwr-fox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2018\/05\/09\/robservations-sinclair-may-buy-chicagos-wpwr-fox\/","title":{"rendered":"Robservations: Sinclair may buy Chicago's WPWR from Fox"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/a> Sinclair Broadcast Group<\/p><\/div>\n

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

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WPWR\/CW 50<\/p><\/div>\n

Before it\u2019s all over, Sinclair Broadcast Group <\/a>may wind up operating two<\/em> television stations in Chicago. The Maryland-based company disclosed today that it has an option to buy the license for CW affiliate WPWR-Channel 50<\/a> from Fox Television Stations for $15 million. (Fox bought WPWR from Fred Eychaner\u2019s<\/strong> Newsweb Corp. for $425 million in 2002. The broadcast signal was sold in the FCC spectrum auction last year.) Sinclair already is poised to take over WGN-Channel 9 and WGN 720-AM as part of a deal now valued at $4.6 billion to acquire Tribune Media. Although it plans to divest ownership of the WGN properties, Sinclair would retain control over the stations\u2019 operations \u2014 including news, programming and sales \u2014 under joint sales and shared services agreements.<\/p>\n

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Lester Holt<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s homecoming day for \u201cNBC Nightly News\u201d<\/a> anchor Lester Holt,<\/strong> who\u2019ll visit NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 and originate tonight\u2019s broadcast from a remote location near the Chicago River. Coinciding with the May sweeps, it\u2019s part of Holt\u2019s \u201cAcross America\u201d<\/a> tour in which he'll \u201cbring attention to local issues with national implications, and tell the stories of Americans who are transforming their communities and inspiring others.\u201d Before joining NBC in 2000 Holt spent 14 years in Chicago as a news anchor at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Carl Grapentine<\/p><\/div>\n

Tributes continue to pour in to the great Carl Grapentine,<\/strong> who\u2019s retiring <\/a>this summer after more than three decades as morning host at WFMT 98.7-FM,<\/a> the Window to the World Communications classical music station. On July 14 he\u2019ll be honored at a reception before the Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert at Ravinia. \u201cWe needed to give his well-wishers the opportunity to thank him for his years of wit, warmth and knowledge on WFMT and to congratulate him on some well-deserved time off,\u201d Nick Pullia,<\/strong> Ravinia\u2019s director of communications, said in a statement. (Here is the link for ticket information.<\/a>) Grapentine\u2019s last day as morning host on WFMT will be July 27.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Laura Podesta<\/p><\/div>\n

It didn\u2019t take long for Laura Podesta<\/strong> to get promoted at CBS Newspath, <\/a>the network\u2019s affiliate newsgathering service based in New York. Just seven months after signing on for weekends from ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7, Podesta has moved up to overnight correspondent Monday through Friday. Before her two-year stint as a reporter at ABC 7, Podesta worked at KOAT, the ABC affiliate in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She\u2019s a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.<\/p>\n

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Ji Suk Yi<\/p><\/div>\n

The last time the Sun-Times<\/a> produced something called \u201cGrid\u201d it was a short-lived digital and print business magazine in 2013. Now the Sun-Times is about to launch \u201cThe Grid,\u201d<\/a> a weekly video series highlighting Chicago and suburban neighborhoods. It\u2019s hosted by Ji Suk Yi,<\/strong> former contributor to ABC 7\u2019s \u201cWindy City Live.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s what a possible day-in-the-life would look like of a person that lives there \u2013 where they get coffee, eat, drink and hang out,\u201d Yi said of the new series. \u201cOn a deeper level it can reveal where they find inspiration or get replenished in the neighborhood, whether it\u2019s through art, music or their favorite book store.\u201d It\u2019ll debut online May 16 with a visit to Logan Square.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s comment of the day: <\/a>Bruce DuMont:<\/strong> Congratulations to Michael Kutza for his lifelong commitment to the Chicago Film Festival. The force of his personality created the festival and kept it going for over five decades. Along the way Michael may have stepped on a few toes \u2014 but that is bound to happen when a dynamic leader is calling the shots. But now is the time to pass the torch \u2014 and take a few bows as you head towards the exit. Good luck Michael! Many in Chicago appreciate your dedication and focus.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: Before it\u2019s all over, Sinclair Broadcast Group may wind up operating two television stations in Chicago. The Maryland-based company disclosed today that it has an option to buy the license for CW affiliate WPWR-Channel 50 from Fox Television Stations for $15 million. (Fox bought WPWR from Fred Eychaner\u2019s Newsweb Corp.... 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\/17969"}],"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=17969"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17980,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17969\/revisions\/17980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}