{"id":24186,"date":"2020-01-20T06:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T12:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=24186"},"modified":"2020-01-20T06:00:19","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T12:00:19","slug":"robservations-will-angry-cubs-fans-turn-off-tv-boost-score","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2020\/01\/20\/robservations-will-angry-cubs-fans-turn-off-tv-boost-score\/","title":{"rendered":"Robservations: Will angry Cubs fans turn off TV and boost The Score?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> 670 The Score<\/p><\/div>\n

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

If Marquee Sports Network<\/a> turns out to be the disaster<\/a> some critics are predicting, another broadcast partner of the Chicago Cubs stands to benefit handsomely. Fans who booed<\/a> bossman Tom Ricketts<\/strong>\u00a0when he mentioned the cable network at last weekend's Cubs Convention \u2014 and others alienated by the loss of free games on TV and the unknown cost of the new service \u2014 can still hear it all on Entercom sports\/talk WSCR 670-AM.<\/a> Under a long-term deal through 2022, Cubs broadcasts on The Score (with Pat Hughes<\/strong> and Ron Coomer<\/strong>) \"will remain as free as sunshine and a summer breeze,\" in the words of Chicago Tribune's Phil Rosenthal,<\/strong> who surmised<\/a> nearly a year ago: \"Hughes and Coomer might even gain listeners amid all the upheaval from the 2020 Marquee launch.\" If reaction to Ricketts's botched rollout Friday is any indication, he's right. (Here is the link<\/a> via Aldo Soto.<\/strong>) Said one avid reader<\/a> of this space and lifelong Cubs fan: \"Guess I\u2019m going to be listening to the radio a lot more this season.\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Gary Marx and David Jackson<\/p><\/div>\n

David Jackson<\/strong> and Gary Marx,<\/strong> longtime investigative reporters for the Chicago Tribune,<\/a> are the latest staffers to sound the alarm about their company's new largest shareholder. In an op-ed piece posted Sunday by the New York Times,<\/a> Jackson and Marx warned that New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital poses \"an urgent threat\" to newspapers owned by Tribune Publishing. (Here is the link.<\/a>) \"Unless Alden reverses course \u2014 perhaps in repentance for the avaricious destruction it has wrought in Denver and elsewhere \u2014 we need a civic-minded local owner or group of owners,\" they wrote. \"The alternative is a ghost version of the Chicago Tribune \u2014 a newspaper that can no longer carry out its essential watchdog mission. Illinois\u2019s most vulnerable people would lose a powerful guardian, its corrupt politicians would be freer to exploit and plunder, and this prairie metropolis would lose the common forum that binds together and lifts its citizens.\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Rafer Weigel<\/p><\/div>\n

Although he's still under suspension from Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32,<\/a> news anchor Rafer Weigel<\/strong> got a favorable ruling from a Northwest Indiana court last week. The sordid revenge-porn case<\/a> involving Weigel, his ex-fiancee and a Valparaiso woman was dismissed for lack of evidence. \"He was never charged to begin with and now there is no risk of him being charged in the future,\" according to Weigel's attorney, Steven Alvarez.<\/strong> An order of protection against Weigel remains in place, but his attorney said he expects it to be overturned. No comment from Fox 32 on whether Weigel will ever return to \u201cGood Day Chicago,\u201d the newscast he co-anchored from 4 to 6 a.m. weekdays with Roseanne Tellez.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Stephanie Mansour<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cStep It Up with Steph,\u201d<\/a> the weekly health and fitness show hosted by Chicago weight-loss coach and corporate wellness trainer Stephanie Mansour,<\/strong> has rolled out nationally via American Public Television. \u201cMy dream has always been to have a positive and solution-oriented television show to inspire and motivate viewers to create their own version of healthy and happy within their lives,\u201d Mansour said. \u201cMy hope is for audiences to walk away with ideas and tips they can implement into their everyday lives.\" \u201cStep It Up with Steph\u201d airs at 9 a.m. Saturdays on Window to the World Communications WTTW-Channel 11.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Gabby Road<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cGabby Road with Hannah, Fred and Justin,\u201d<\/a> the weekly talk show hosted by Chicago broadcast veterans Hannah Stanley, Fred Weintraub<\/strong> and Justin Kulovsek,<\/strong> has just been picked up for national syndication by SmartTalk Radio Network. \u201cWe are thrilled that the show is gaining traction and because of SmartTalk Radio we will have the opportunity to spend Sundays with listeners from around the country,\u201d Weintraub said. Launched locally in October, \u201cGabby Road\u201d airs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays on WCGO 1590-AM\/95.9-FM,<\/a>\u00a0the Evanston-based talk station owned by GAB Radio Network.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Steve Dale<\/p><\/div>\n

Steve Dale,<\/strong> Chicago media\u2019s foremost pet expert and host of the long-running radio show \"Steve Dale's Pet World,\" has been named winner of the first Excellence in Media Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association.<\/a> \u201cFor more than 30 years Steve has been a champion of veterinary medicine and the animals we treat,\u201d said Dr. John Howe,<\/strong> president of the association. \u201cSteve\u2019s rapport with the public has helped build awareness of animal health and well-being as well as the veterinarian\u2019s role in animal care.\u201d Dale will be honored in August at AVMA Convention 2020 in San Diego. \"Pet World\" airs at 5:30 a.m. Sundays on Nexstar Media Group news\/talk WGN 720-AM.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Micah Materre<\/p><\/div>\n

In observance of Martin Luther King Day, WGN-Channel 9<\/a> news anchor Micah Materre<\/strong> will host \u201cThe Six Principles of Nonviolence,\u201d a half-hour special on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.<\/strong> Airing at 7 tonight (and rebroadcast at 4:30 p.m. Sunday) on the Nexstar Media Group station, the special will feature interviews with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot,<\/strong> Father Michael Pfleger,<\/strong> rapper\/activist Common,<\/strong> poet and performer J. Ivy,<\/strong> author Michael Eric Dyson,<\/strong> former Chicago alderman Dorothy Tillman<\/strong> and members of the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s comment of the day:<\/a> Darrell Birkey:<\/strong> A media reporter should know that the [Marquee Sports] Network will not be inaccessible to any Comcast subscriber because it will be available on a number of streaming outlets. Any Comcast customer can keep their broadband and dump Comcast TV for one of the streaming options. That goes for any broadband customer in the Cubs MLB market.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: If Marquee Sports Network turns out to be the disaster some critics are predicting, another broadcast partner of the Chicago Cubs stands to benefit handsomely. Fans who booed bossman Tom Ricketts\u00a0when he mentioned the cable network at last weekend's Cubs Convention \u2014 and others alienated by the loss of free... 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\/24186"}],"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=24186"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24200,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24186\/revisions\/24200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}