Results tagged “media”

Chicago Current, the successor to now-folded local news website Chi-Town Daily News, has gone live and you can read the web-edition here. There's not a whole heck of a lot there and some of the stories seem a bit stale - the CTA budget story doesn't offer anything new and Geoff Dougherty's op-ed about Daley seems is just managing to catch up to where several other outlets went a month ago when the city's Olympic bid failed. But there are a few pieces worth reading through and CTDN featured some great content that was hard to find anywhere else, so we're giving Current the benefit of the doubt as it is, after all, just starting up. And there's still the print issue to consider.

The Tribune Company - which includes the L.A. Times, the Baltimore Sun, and our own beloved Chicago Tribune - is preparing for a potential separation from the Associated Press by sleeping on the couch and (for the most part) going without AP content for a week starting this Sunday, November 8. The AP itself is still shaking out how it'll charge for content, including possibly offering stories to some outlets earlier than others for a higher price. The TribCo gave the AP a head's up last October that come October 2010, they may ditch the AP completely. Next week's trial separation will give the company an idea of how life without the AP might be. Of course, the separation won't be complete. The Trib's Phil Rosenthal reports that there will still be a bit of AP content, limited to sports stats and the occasion when the AP is the only source of a "vital" story. Also, TribCo TV station and newspaper websites won't be affected by the trial separation.

Ex-Tribune folks are everywhere these days. The latest example is over at The Reader, where a former Tribune managing editor, Jim Warren, has been appointed publisher. Warren said in a statement, "I believe the Reader can be an even greater success if it is provocative, makes those in power squirm and yet is willing to entertain and have fun. I hope I can be of help in renewing and reinventing the print version and finding new audiences on the Web.” The Reader's Michael Miner has more on the hire.

Evoking even stronger love vs. loathe reactions than Chicago's music powerhouse, Pitchfork, NYC's Vice Magazine has been slinging irony, controversy and fashion Do's and Don'ts for a decade and a half. Now housing a record label, and frequent supporters of club nights and band gigs nationwide, Vice Magazine celebrates their 15th Anniversary in Chicago with DFA's Shit Robot spinning effect-heavy nu-disco and a live performance from Philly electro rockers, Tigersapien, this Friday night at Sonotheque.

For the upcoming season, the Chicago Bulls have added a spanish-language radio broadcast as they try to reach out to the city's large Latino community. Twenty-one home games will be aired on La Tremenda WRTO 1200 AM, with Omar Ramos and Ozzie Guillen, Jr. calling the games. As in son of the hot headed, loud mouthed White Sox manager. If he runs his mouth anything like his dad, we're sure the broadcasts will be entertaining -- no matter the on-court play. Pretty sweet as we've been looking for an excuse to brush up on our Spanish. This isn't the first time Ramos and Guillen have teamed up: the pair have been calling the White Sox on Spanish radio for the past few seasons.

The folks over at Gawker filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get access to media pitches for interviews with then-governor Rod Blagojevich immediately after his arrest in December 2008 on fraud charges. The results are interesting to say the least (ABC 7's Andy Shaw being our favorite). You can check out their complete findings here. [via Dan Sinker]

The Sun-Times Media Group has announced that it is shuttering its Pioneer Press printing plant in Northfield. The closing will result in a loss of 70 jobs and there's no word where the small papers printed at that plant will be printed in the future. The closing comes amidst a growing buzz concerning the STMG's finances and a meeting today with union leaders. Yesterday, The Reader's Michale Miner spoke with Jeremy Halbreich, chairman and interim CEO of the Sun-Times Media Group, who Halbreich told Miner that today's meeting was just another of a series of "periodic updates."

It's been almost two years since the disappearance and death of Nailah Franklin. Within days of her September 19, 2007 disappearance, Franklin's body was found in a wooded part of Calumet City. Shortly thereafter, Franklin's ex-boyfriend, Reginald Potts, Jr., was charged with her murder; he's still in jail awaiting trial. As the anniversary approaches, the Tribune's Dawn Turner Trice has an excellent feature on Franklin's family as they continue to cope with the Nailah's death and await Potts' trial. Trice's piece let's Franklin's family - her mother Maria Maner, her father Lee Franklin, and sisters Lehia Franklin Acox and Ashley Chappell - explain in their loss and experiences in their own words.

With radio in turmoil and big name hosts getting axed across town, radio personalities are sometimes going to unusual lengths to reach an audience. After leaving The Score (670AM) last year, veteran sports radio host Mike North joined forces with David Hernandez to launch Chicagosportswebio.com as an internet sports-talk platform. Things started to get weird there last week, when it was reported that North was fired from his executive role at the start-up by Hernandez after North question why the media outlet's checks were bouncing.

If you were a reader of Punk Planet, you might be familiar with the Chicago-based subculture zine’s co-editor Anne Elizabeth Moore. No? Maybe you’ve seen her get “forcibly ejected from retail establishments.” She also wrote a book, Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing, and the Erosion of Integrity, which you can hear her discuss with the folks of Bad at Sports right here.

Having just added Dan McNeil to its lineup, it seems AM 670 WSCR - The Score - could be making its way to the FM dial soon. According to the Sun-Times, the Score is aiming to be "simulcasting on one of adult hits WJMK-FM's (104.3) three HD frequencies." The S-T report continues:

We had an idea that this would happen when Dan McNeil was canned by ESPN 1000 (WMVP) back in January. And now it's official: Danny Mac will return home to the Score AM 670. Beginning June 15, the former host of ESPN radio's afternoon "Mac, Jurko and Harry Show" will take the air at The Score solo from 9am - 1pm on his new "The Danny Mac Show." McNeil, who earned about $600,000 in his last contract, likely took a big pay cut to get back on the radio. "Everybody takes a haircut in '09," McNeil said.

• Sen. Burris' explanation for that phone call with Rob Blagojevich? It was all a ruse.
• President Obama has nominated retired Chicago investment banker Louis Susman to be ambassador to Britain.
• As if the City Council didn't have enough to worry about today, aldermen are now complaining about fees to Noelle Brennan, the federal hiring monitor who has come down hard on City Hall's hiring abuses.

     

Chicago's journalism elite gathered together Thursday afternoon for yet another group therapy session, this time bringing Carl Bernstein and our beloved editor-in-chief, Marcus Gilmer, into the mix. Covering a sweeping range of topics, the central theme was the future of the news industry. Conclusion? Doom. Oh, and there's no agreeing on life-saving measures. It wasn't that we didn't have the most brilliant minds of the old guard in the conference room at the Newberry Library for the IFC's Make Media Matter series - Bernstein was joined by editors Gerould Kern (Chicago Tribune), Donald Hayner (Chicago Sun-Times), Tran Ha (RedEye) WBBM-TV news director Jeff Kiernan, columnist/editor/host Carol Marin and WVON's Cliff Kelley - it's just that the old guard doesn't know what's going to happen and the new guard, represented only by Marcus and Ha, can't predict the future of their industry.

CSB School of Broadcasting will make its way to the auction block on May 8 after the school went bankrupt in early March, according to a Chi-Town Daily News report.

It's the heart of media awards season - the Pulitzer Prizes will be handed out a week from today - and already many local recognitions are rolling in. Among them are the 2009 RTNDA Regional Murrow Awards. Chicago falls into Region 7, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. A slew of Chicago-area media outlets won awards, which you can check out here. Radio stations winning awards include WBEZ (six awards), WBBM (three awards), and WGN. In television, WFLD brought home two awards. Also of note is the The Society of Professional Journalists 2008 Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism. Local winners include:
• Editorial Writing: “The Illinois culture of political sleaze,” John P. McCormick, Marie Dillon & Bruce Dold, Chicago Tribune
• Magazine Writing: “Our Battles Joined,” Christian Parenti, Playboy Magazine
• Investigative Reporting (independent): “Off the Record and Out of Order,” Erica Christoffer, Becky Schlikerman & Suzanne McBride, ChicagoTalks.org/ The Beachwood Reporter

Since its announcement in February, Chicago sports fans have been awaiting today's launch of ESPNChicago -- the sports network's first city-specific website. Why start with Chicago? While it made sense for HuffingtonPost to choose the Second City as its first local site, given the city's steep political history and well-known shenanigans, Chicago is perhaps not quite so obvious a choice for ESPN. Sure, we may think we're the best sports city in the land -- what other city's fans will sit through a blizzard on baseball's Opening Day or fill an arena to watch a 13-69 basketball team? But we can hear the objections from Boston and New York all the way here in the Middle West.

After yesterday's filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Sun-Times Media Group tried to put a positive spin on the proceedings. Jeremy L. Halbreich, the STMG Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO, said he hopes the proceedings are all done by the end of the year and the situation will not interrupt the publication of the group's many newspapers and their corresponding websites.

Tom Joyner has been replaced by "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" at WVAZ Hey, Clear Channel, way to yank off one of the most revered voices in Chicago morning radio and replace it with a syndicated comic hack. [Rosenthal / Trib]

Lewis Lazare reports that KISS-FM morning show host DreX has signed a five year contract to stay at the station. This follows on the heels of Brandmeir's one year deal at The Loop and Mancow Muller's two year deal last fall with WLS. Lazare says three years is the norm. It seems Clear Channel is willing to take a risk at a time when layoffs are rampant, newspapers are dying and radio is fighting to stay alive.

Phil Rosenthal reported yesterday that Jonathon Brandmeier signed a new one-year contract with WLUP. Part of the contract insures that his current staff will remain intact. Earlier this month Emmis laid off seven Chicago staffers. With rumors that Brandmeier might go to WGN, that station now must find someone for its mid-afternoon slot. Garry Meier appears to be the in the lead.

That isn't us in front of you at the convenience store, holding up the line while muttering specific numeric combinations to the harried counter attendant like a druid who has the economic downturn all figured out. Straight/box, 4-way combos, Pick 3, Pick 4, and any number of those garish quick-play pieces -- it's wishful thinking in our opinion, and we'd rather spend that cash on a personal stimulus package in the form of Hostess Zingers.

Mike North's ChicagoSportsWebio.com is preparing to become a 12 hour sports talk station. The station will include boxer Ray 'Boom Boom" Mancini, Chet Coppock, Jonathan Hood, Teddy Greenstein and Tim Doyle.

Time released its list of 10 Most Endangered Newspapers in America yesterday, and The Sun-Times came in at number 7 on the list. With newspapers nationwide feeling the pain of this economy is it possible we'll only read the Sun-Times online? The Sun-Times Media Group is currently trading at 3 cents per share, and that along with recent staff changes don't bode well for the future of the paper.

It seems sports reporter Bruce Wolfe can't catch a break. He was laid off yesterday as Emmis Communications cut 91 full time positions company wide. Seven staffers total were let go in Chicago. Q101 morning show co-host, Jim Lynam and Loop midday DJ Erin Carman were also given the pink slip. Pete McMurray will fill in for Carman for the rest of this week, starting on Monday John "Byrd" Kempf will take over. McMurray will then move to Kempf's 7 p.m. to midnight shift.

Reel Chicago reports that Platinum Dunes, a horror film production company, is setting up shop at Chicago Studio City to begin filming for A Nightmare on Elm Street on April 27.

Lewis Lazare reports today that Jonathon Brandmeier has not yet signed a new contract with WLUP-FM.

Sun-Times Media Group Inc has announced organizational and management changes. They are hoping these changes will help the ailing company to cut costs. The changes announced include new publishers for the suburban papers and new duties for the current publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Sun-Times wants to know what we, the sports fans of Chicago, think about the state of atheletics in town in their Chicago Sports Fan Survey. Their in-depth survey asks readers to answer about fifty questions about their favorite teams and players, sports media, and in-depth issues surrounding each of our five major pro teams. Let 'em know how you rank the teams, which ones are on the right or wrong track, and your job approval for local coaches and GMs. No mention of when or how they'll release the findings.