{"id":4315,"date":"2014-07-30T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=4315"},"modified":"2014-07-30T22:08:15","modified_gmt":"2014-07-31T03:08:15","slug":"drive-revs-up-dream-machine-promotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2014\/07\/30\/drive-revs-up-dream-machine-promotion\/","title":{"rendered":"The Drive revs up \u2018Dream Machine\u2019 promotion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"2014<\/a>

<\/a> 2014 Corvette Stingray<\/p><\/div>\n

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

The biggest local radio promotion in years kicks off Monday, with a $73,000 Corvette Stingray as grand prize. Hubbard Radio classic hits WDRV FM 97.1 will award \u201cThe Drive\u2019s Dream Machine\u201d to one of 50 listeners who qualify during the five-week promotion. Twice each weekday through September 5 those who identify the artist of the day can enter for a chance to win $500 and a shot at the car. \u201cWe want to make it as easy as possible for listeners to qualify and win, so the daily artists and hours they air will be no secret,\u201d said program director Curtiss Johnson.<\/strong> \u201cThe calendar will be on WDRV.com, <\/a>the artist and hours will be posted each day on our Facebook page and sent out on our Twitter feed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Elroy<\/a>

Elroy Smith<\/p><\/div>\n

The last time Elroy Smith<\/strong> was in Chicago, he led two urban radio stations to the top of the ratings. Now he\u2019s back in a big way. Smith\u2019s Integrity Radio has agreed to pay a record $4.6 million for a 10-watt translator atop Willis Tower and an undisclosed price to lease the dormant HD 3 channel from Hubbard Radio\u2019s WILV FM 100.3. Smith declined to comment on his plans, but sources say he\u2019s favoring an inspirational format. Smith was a giant figure in radio here from 1992 to 2007 as operations manager and program director of Clear Channel\u2019s urban contemporary WGCI FM 107.5, urban adult-contemporary WVAZ FM 102.7 and inspirational gospel WGRB AM 1390.<\/p>\n

\"Chicago<\/a>

Chicago Sun-Times<\/p><\/div>\n

The Sun-Times isn\u2019t going anywhere \u2014 at least for the time being. Officials of parent company Wrapports LLC confirmed this week that they\u2019ve negotiated a new lease to stay put at 350 North Orleans Street. Earlier this year, the company terminated its lease with building owner Shorenstein Properties and considered moving elsewhere. The new deal significantly reduces the paper\u2019s space from its current 98,000 square feet and consolidates all operations on the 10th floor. Some west suburban employees will be relocated to offices of the Aurora Beacon-News. The Sun-Times has occupied the former Apparel Center since 2004.<\/p>\n

\"Doug<\/a>

Doug Whitmire<\/p><\/div>\n

Doug Whitmire,<\/strong> executive producer of WLS-Channel 7\u2019s morning news, has been promoted to executive producer of the ABC-owned station\u2019s 10 p.m. newscast. He succeeds Richard Maginn,<\/strong> who resigned earlier this year. Whitmire joined ABC 7 as a newswriter\/producer in 2003 from ABC affiliate WTVG-TV in Toledo, Ohio, and moved up to morning executive producer in 2008. \u201cDoug\u2019s knowledge of Chicago and our newsroom makes him the ideal choice to take the reins at 10 p.m.,\u201d said Jennifer Graves,<\/strong>\u00a0ABC 7 vice president and news director.<\/p>\n

\"Ann<\/a>

Ann Serafin<\/p><\/div>\n

Robin Robinson,<\/strong> who just signed off after 27 years at WFLD-Channel 32, wasn\u2019t the only seasoned news veteran to exit the Fox-owned station. Monday also marked the last day for special projects producer Ann Serafin,<\/strong> who worked closely with Robinson since their days at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2. A former reporter for the Arizona Republic, Serafin spent 15 years as a producer at CBS 2 before joining Fox 32 in 1996. While Serafin is expected to seek freelance employment, friends wouldn\u2019t be surprised if she and Robinson work together again.<\/p>\n

\"Studs<\/a>

Studs Terkel<\/p><\/div>\n

Radio interviews of the late Studs Terkel,<\/strong> which aired for 45 years on classical WFMT FM 98.7, will be digitized and preserved for future generations, thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. WFMT Radio Network, syndication arm of the Window to the World Communications station, was awarded $60,000 to support the Studs Terkel Radio Archive in partnership with the Chicago History Museum. Said WFMT's\u00a0Tony Macaluso:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re eager to help artists, radio producers, scholars, journalists, teachers, students and the general public explore Studs\u2019s work and use it as the inspiration for new ideas and projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/a>

Emily Barr<\/p><\/div>\n

Post-Newsweek Stations, the outfit headed by former ABC 7 president and general manager Emily Barr,<\/strong> has a new name. As of this week it\u2019s become Graham Media Group. Following the sale of the Washington Post last fall, the parent Washington Post Co. changed its name to Graham Holdings Co. \u201cMuch like our parent company, Graham Holdings, this new name better reflects the diversity of our creative and innovative company,\u201d Barr said. She continues to run the five-station group from Chicago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: The biggest local radio promotion in years kicks off Monday, with a $73,000 Corvette Stingray as grand prize. Hubbard Radio classic hits WDRV FM 97.1 will award \u201cThe Drive\u2019s Dream Machine\u201d to one of 50 listeners who qualify during the five-week promotion. Twice each weekday through September 5 those who... 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\/4315"}],"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=4315"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4362,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4315\/revisions\/4362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}