The Sun-Times food critic for 27 years has been let go. more ›

Closing out today's posting day: former City Corporation Counsel Mara Georges follows her one-time boss to the law firm that helped engineer the parking meter privatization deal. more ›

The biggest way to signal a major change at a radio station wasn't changing the staff, the management, or even blowing up the format: It's changing the call letters. more ›

Robert Feder hipped us to this re-edited version of WMAQ's new ad campaign - which tried to be a little more realistic. more ›

Per Robert Feder, Rick Klein of the Museum of Classic Chicago Television has obtained 10 minutes of Garfield Goose and Friends from 1971. That sigh you imagined was actually us. more ›

Yesterday, Robert Feder broke the news that WLS-TV had settled on sports anchor Ryan Chiaverini and WGN Morning Show traffic reporter Valerie Warner would co-host a morning talk show to fill the 9 a.m. slot that was Oprah Winfrey's to claim since 1984. ABC7 confirmed that news, meaning Feder gets yet another feather in his career headdress. more ›

Like a lot of people around town, Robert Feder reacted to the news that Mayor Daley signed with the Harry Walker Agency for post-mayoral public speaking appearances with a bemused "WTF?" (We think Harry Walker should start Daley off with a base of $17,500 per appearance, with a $750 bonus for every Daleyism.) more ›

2011 brings a new home for Robert Feder's media criticism at Time Out Chicago's website (with one mouthful of a URL). Feder whetted appetites for what was to come with a midnight reminiscence of where he was the moment Oprah Winfrey became Oprah.But it's today's entry that reminds folks of why he's still the best media critic in town. more ›

Two weeks after announcing he was pulling up stakes and leaving WBEZ's family of blogs, Robert Feder's media blog has found a new home. more ›

Of the former Vocalo blogs, Robert Feder's media blog was the centerpiece of them all and the foundation for which the others (Steve Dolinsky, Lee Bey, Achy Obejas, et al) came into orbit. more ›

Phil Rosenthal's piece yesterday about the Tribune Company and the Bill "Big Willie" Cunningham show already being sued is interesting and all, but we just want to point out that whoever wrote these promo spots should be sued for felony criminal levels of awful. This one is almost worse, and this one is an insult to the dignity of dick jokes everywhere (including the title of this post). We're surprised he wasn't sporting a Big Johnson shirt in the spots. Vocalo's Robert Feder weighed in on the matter last week. more ›

The lamenting over the thousand-cuts-death of the Tribune Company coming from Vocalo's Robert Feder has been so continuous that it's almost become more static than noise (we still love ya, Robert!), but today's post about alleged shuffling at WGN Radio did what we thought couldn't be done - it surprised us, in ways both good and bad. For the past few weeks, the handwringing about the demolition of WGN's daytime lineup to bring in right-wing rabblerousers like Mike McConnell and Bill Cunningham has been non-stop. It seemed that the message from management to longtime hosts Steve Cochran and John Williams was clear - be ready to have your lockers cleared out at any time, gents. more ›

There's no love lost between Vocalo media critic Robert Feder and Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels so we're not surprised to see Feder takes on Michaels and the Tribune Company today over a poker party held in the old office of Col. Robert R. McCormick at the Tribune Tower. Feder snagged the photos from the Facebook page of exec John D. Phillips and reports the photos were dated June 17, 2009. more ›

Earlier this week, it was announced that former Tribune writer/editor Jim Kirk, most recently of Bloomberg's D.C. bureau, was heading back to Chicago to take the Managing Editor position at the Chicago News Cooperative, the (sorta) independent news organization whose stories are appearing in a special local Chicago edition of the New York Times twice a week. But Kirk's hiring is not going unnoticed for more than just the usual reasons. It seems that the original reason of skepticism over the CNC - that it's really just a collective of old Tribune folks - is being highlighted even further. more ›

We can't imagine this to be anything other than a misunderstanding, because if it's for real, it's almost too weird to be imagined. The man best described as "that guy with the crazy suits who shows up on local news exterior live shots," also known as Vincent Falk, was reportedly arrested for threatening one of the street-level TV news studios he regularly haunts. more ›

• Tonight's episode of Law & Order apparently mirrors the ongoing trials and tribulations of Medill's Innocence Project.
• Amos Israel made his 64th arrest a memorable one; police tasered him as he tried to hide in and then leave the State Street Macy's.
• The Feder-Michaels feud continues.

Not surprisingly, the coverage of WGN's banned-word list has been reduced to a zing-fest between the two primary parties involved: Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels and Vocalo columnist Robert Feder. Feder was the first to show the world the list of 119 words and phrases Michaels banned WGN staff and reporters from using on the air (and, more egregiously, the informant-style enforcement system). While the list made the rounds and was discussed - and even ridiculed - no one was as rankled by it as Feder, who called Michaels' list, "petty and insulting micromanaging of subordinates." more ›

The local mediasphere is abuzz this morning after Robert Feder posted this long list of 119 words that staff and reporters at WGN 720 AM (owned by the Tribune Company) can't say on the air. Why? Because Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels said so. Some of the examples on the list make sense; they're either redundant ("Close proximity"), cliche ("The fact of the matter" or "Giving 110%"), or unprofessional, folksy sayings ("White stuff," "up there"). Some, though, don't make as much sense. Words like "officials," "authorities," and the "allegations/alleged/reportedly" combo make the list as does "vehicle." We do agree with Feder that this reeks of micro-managing but we don't share his outrage. more ›

• The body of a long-time school district worker was found early this morning on the grounds of Naperville Central High School.
• Chicago's new area code is creating some problems for some condo boards.
• The week of the big Asian Carp kill is here.

Almost three months since its official launch, we're still reserving judgment on the Tribune's Chicago Now blog network. There's no denying there are quality reads on the site: the Parking Ticket Geek has become particularly notable in the wake of the parking meter privatization, the CTA Tattler is still a go-to for us, our pals at Gapers Block have a page, and there's some good sports coverage. But at 126 blogs and counting, the site still feels unwieldy, making it more difficult to find other potential quality reads. So we were a bit puzzled at the recent announcement that Chicago Now would be starting up it's own radio show on WGN. As it turns out, we're not the only ones. more ›

• A Naperville man has been charged with trying to bribe a "city agent," who the Sun-Times reveals to be Ald. Ike Carothers.
• GOP candidates for governor aren't the only ones debating tonight; the candidates for Cook County Board President will participate in a forum that gets underway at 6 pm. You can view it live online at ABC 7.
• Two men have been arrested in the shooting death of DePaul student Francisco “Frankie” Valencia from last weekend.

As was reported a few weeks ago, Robert Feder is now live over at Vocalo and already tackling the goings on in the Chicago media world. His first story? A look at the firing of Fox 32's Mike Barz for alleged misconduct: a hug of a co-worker that she deemed inappropriate. Barz calls the incident “a fabricated story." more ›

Former Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder is jumping over to Vocalo, the writer announced today. Said Feder in a statement: more ›

The collective group of Chicago radio obsessives that make up part of the Chicagoist staff have posted in the past about Kevin Matthews, Steve & Garry, the Loop collectively, the Blaze, and Mancow. One man we hadn't written about was "Chicago Ed" Schwartz, longtime late-night king of Chicago radio. No one dominated overnight Chicago radio like Schwartz, and it's a shame his first mention on this site is for the occasion of his passing yesterday. more ›

Things got down-right nasty at Monday night's meeting of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artist when NBC 5's Warner Saunders (pictured right) accused former Sun-Times columnist Robert Feder of bias. Extra sizzle: Feder was in attendance as a guest of the AFTRA. According to the Trib's Phil Rosenthal, Saunders' said in his incendiary speech that Feder underminded "the accomplishments of black talent while placing the spotlight on our deficiencies" and then added that inviting Feder was "like choosing David Duke to serve as mohel at a circumcision." Damn. Speaking to Mancow yesterday, Feder said, "From the very beginning, [it] became a personal attack." AFTRA Chicago executive director Eileen Willenborg defended Saunders' right to the speech, saying, "It was a forum for free speech to happen, and free speech sure happened." more ›

, and no doubt people all over the city are mispronouncing things in his honor. more ›

So the word is semi-official, according to Robert Feder ... Steve Dahl is moving from afternoons at WCKG to take over mornings on WJMK, better known as JACK-FM. On one hand this move makes perfect sense. No one has really dominated Chicago's morning-drive since Mancow's popularity plummeted, and Howard Stern took to satellite. Dahl is a pretty dependable commodity that we're reasonably certain will deliver the ratings. At the same time, WJMK has been the... more ›

So, since yesterday when we posted the literal scoop about WLUW's potential future as an independent, community, listener-sponsored radio station, we've gotten some more information. First and foremost, we got an email from Craig Kois, who relayed the following to us: "Jocelyn...Thanks for your detailing of Monday's meeting. I have forwarded the link to our staff since I was not able to take notes that evening as planned. I do want to clarify that... more ›

Robert Feder composed a lede so perfect we must pay it tribute: “On the eve of Valentine's Day, Bonneville International is renewing its commitment to Love FM.” How sweet. It's heartwarming when faceless international media entities can show the L-O-V-E to their S.O.’s, even when they are in 23rd place in the Chicago radio market. more ›

Every office has one: a coworker who dips into your Kool-Aid without even knowing the flavor. more ›