We report, you decide: Fox Chicago’s fix for local news
Robservations on the media beat:
- Big changes are in the works at WFLD-Channel 32 — but don’t expect to see them happen overnight. In meetings with staffers this week, Mike Renda, vice president and general manager of the Fox-owned station, and Carol Fowler, vice president and news director, declared the current model for local news broken, and outlined plans for an overhaul to be rolled out over the coming months. Insiders say the new format of the 9 p.m. newscast is evolving into one with longer, more in-depth stories, including conversations with guest newsmakers and reporters. (I know. I know. We’ve heard it before.) Anchors Robin Robinson, Jeff Goldblatt and Anna Davlantes will interact as an “ensemble,” I’m told. Will any of this make a difference? Let’s put it this way: With Channel 32’s 9 p.m. ratings averaging a measly 3.4 in February, what do they have to lose?
- Look for another former Channel 32 news anchor to follow Nancy Loo out the door. Lauren Cohn, who co-anchored the Fox station’s short-lived 10 p.m. newscast and more recently has been working as a reporter, has been told her contract will not be renewed. Like Loo, who recently lost her noon news anchor seat to newcomer Dawn Hasbrouck, Cohn is expected to exit within the next few weeks. She previously worked as a morning anchor at ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 and as a reporter at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2.
- You’ve got to hand it to Randy Michaels, the CEO of Tribune Co., for sheer chutzpah. Just five days after he stared down staffers at news/talk WGN-AM (720) for leaking that infamous “forbidden words” memo to me (“What do you think should happen to people who do that?” he demanded), he put out a new memo telling all employees they should have no “fear of retaliation” for speaking up. Wrote Randy:
“We don’t have a lot of rules around here. But not everyone has gotten the message. . . . Some say they are afraid to speak up or present a wacky idea for fear of retaliation (nothing will squash creativity and innovation faster). Rather than rules, our culture is defined by a few important principles: Focus on the important stuff, question authority, work together, take intelligent risk, reward performance, and do the right thing.”
- There’s still plenty of angst going around WGN this week, but it’s not about memos. Staffers are bracing for a shuffling of the station’s weekday lineup, to be unveiled by program director Kevin “Pig Virus” Metheny. Speculation centers on afternoons and evenings, with the fate of “Sports Central,” David Kaplan’s long-running sports talk show, hanging in the balance. Metheny struck out last week in his bid to hire Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper, who agreed instead to join Citadel Broadcasting news/talk WLS-AM (890) as Roe Conn’s afternoon partner, starting April 12.
- Radio’s cash register: CBS Radio all-news WBBM-AM (780) again was the top-billing station in Chicago for 2009, according to figures published Thursday by BIA Financial Network. With revenue of $40 million (down from last year’s $44.9 million), Newsradio 780 finished ahead of Tribune’s WGN, which billed $36.5 million (down from last year’s $44.5 million). Chicago radio revenue overall topped $450 million in 2009.
- An application by Lakeshore Public Broadcasting to boost the antenna height of northwest Indiana news/talk WLPR-FM (89.1) has been dismissed by the FCC, according to Blaine Thompson’s Indiana RadioWatch. The FCC determined that the public radio station’s signal would overlap with Olivet Nazarene University’s Christian music WONU-FM (89.7) in Bourbonnais.
- Brittney Payton, daughter of Bears legend Walter Payton and co-founder of “Youth for Life,” will serve as a regular contributor to “Chicago’s Best,” a new food and lifestyle program on Tribune Co.-owned WGN-Channel 9 and CLTV. Premiering April 18, the half-hour show will air at 10 p.m. Sundays on Channel 9 and at various times during the week on CLTV. Other regulars will include host Ted Brunson and contributor Sarah Spain.
- “Quiet, numbskulls. I’m broadcasting”: Weigel Broadcasting is moving “Stooge-A-Palooza,” the Rich Koz-hosted weekly showcase for The Three Stooges, from “The U” (WCIU-Channel 26) to “Me-TV” (WCIU-Channel 26.2, Comcast 223, RCN 14, WOW 17, AT&T U-verse 23, DirecTV 23 and Dish Network 23). Starting this weekend, it’ll be on at the same time — 7 p.m. Saturdays — but on a different station. Koz’s venerable “Svengoolie” movie show will continue to air at 9 p.m. Saturdays on “The U.”
- Jim Zerwekh, former vice president and station manager of WGN-Channel 9, has been named vice president and general manager of WTEV-TV and WAWS-TV in Jacksonville, Fla. He previously headed KWGN-TV in Denver and WSFL-TV (formerly WBZL-TV) in Miami. Since 2009, Zerwekh has been CEO of the Foxtail Group, a media consulting and operations company he founded in Greenwood Village, Colo.
blogs.vocalo.org
WGN needs to give Nick Digilio and Bill Leff full-time gigs.
Mr. Michaels does just not know when to stop does he.
What a freaking moron.
I’m glad you are taking this guy on Bob.
He is pure scum.
Have any nuggets besides Sports Central that you might want to tell us about?
WGN? Who needs a Sports show when you have the rights to The Cubs, Blackhawks and Northwestern? Utter stupidity.
“Speculation centers on afternoons and evenings, with the fate of ‘Sports Central,’ David Kaplan’s long-running sports talk show, hanging in the balance.”
They’re not on the hook for the “Wildcat Insider” infomercial? A rescue of Mr. WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT IN THE TENTH AMENDMENT? Inquiring minds want to know.
Does Methaney really hate sports? What is wrong with Sports Central on at night on WGN? I do enjoy listening to Kap talk sports, but if they did away with it and did replace it with a topical current events show with a suitable host (not Jim Laski), I would be fine with that.
I wonder if the speculation about Sports Central possibly being gone has anything to do with Feder’s previous nugget about Kaplan maybe moving to afternoons. That would be interesting, considering his Tribune Live show at 5:30 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet. Though, I suppose WGN could rearrange so that afternoon drive is split, with one show going from 2 or 3 until 5 (with Kap and someone else), then have something from 5 to 7. Not sure if that would make sense for ratings, but who knows. I’m just throwing ideas out there.
Memo to Pig Virus: shuffling lineups will not improve ratings until you, Pig Virus and Pig Vomit are gone. WGN is in decline because of you. PIG Virus and Pig Vomit.
I’m really so disgusted at WGN, I don’t care any more what they do. I changed my habits. I listen to Williams & Garry Meier then move on. I’m enjoying Sirott yesterday & today but when Mr. Ass comes back, I’ll move the dial. I miss K & J, Steve Bertrand’s banter & sense of humor & Sirott’s noon show.
They’re losing listeners and apparently they still don’t get it. The only power we have is just find another pleasure.
Rob, please forgive my ignorance or what may be the obvious to some, but is “Pig Virus” a nickname you gave Metheny yourself? I’ve never known you to provide a nickname for any other media personality, but he’s always referred to in your blog with the moniker.
What kind of topsy-turvy world has television news turned into when the risky, “got nothing to lose” option is to try such crazy ideas as “more in-depth stories, including coversations with guest newsmakers and reporters”.
I know it’s been like this for awhile, but it just hit me, how nuts this is.
How about working to create a quality product over time and being given the leeway to build an audience slowly, as opposed to something you try half-heartedly when nothing else is working?
I’m not sure when Cochran’s contract is up (I’ve heard that it’s soon and Pig Virus doesn’t like his show). Kap has other interests outside of WGN, which is good for him. They’re down $8 million from last year and with more changes and more people turning them off they could stand to loose more money. Steve Dahl has a blog with the Trib and Brandmeir walked through the station last year, those are just 2 names that are out there. Look at it this way, they offered Richard Roeper his own show and he turned it down to co-host a show with Roe Conn. Do the math, personalities do not want to work for WGN anymore. Their one hope is that they can twist the arms of their print staff to come to the radio (Kass?).
Zell is a Sox fan and part owner of the team, I’ve said this from the first moment he took over the Trib & WGN, the White Sox will be on WGN radio. I’ve been called crazy because of the long-term relationship that the Cubs have had with WGN, but I don’t think that matters any more with the new ownership at the station and new ownership of the Cubs. In the next 5 years look for the Cubs to be on WBBM (780) and the Sox to move over to WGN from The Score. Also look for the Cubs to put their broadcasting rights out for bid the next time their TV contract comes up.
Reading about Mr. Randy Michaels and the way he is overseeing WGN reminds me of what I just went through. I had worked as a professor for an University for 26 years. Our “CEO” came in and micromanaged “EVERYONE” He sat in our classes weekly and gave us a daily lectures on what we were doing wrong. All our creativity was gone. We walked on eggs all the time out of fear. The end result is that we are all gone and our blood pressures are back to normal.
Who wins? No one. The students or in WGN case the listeners will never win. I believe Michaels would of fired Wally Phillips. The person that needs to be fired is Randy Michaels. When do board of directors never have enough guts to do the right thing instead of letting idiots run around making asses out of them self and destroying everything good around them. How do you keep a great writer at a newspaper? Pay him what he is worth. How do you make a great radio station? Hire talent and let them run with it. See you need me to run WGN and we would become the big “Cash Register” instead of that all news station. By the way, I love that you are back on the beat! You are the “BEST”!
@Linda: “Pig Virus” is the nickname Howard Stern gave Kevin Metheny when Metheny was Stern’s program director at WNBC-AM in New York in the early 1980s. The nickname was immortalized in Stern’s 1993 autobiography, Private Parts. In the 1997 movie version of the book, Paul Giamatti played a character called “Pig Vomit,” based on a composite of Metheny and several other bosses Stern despised.
The WFLD plan sounds to me like what Chicago Tonight has been doing for years. The long form pieces and guests in the studio also will allow the station to have less behind the scenes staff. The control room is being automated this summer as well as master control. They also have the least amount of crews covering news on the street. I wish them well, they’ll need it!!
12 replies about the secondary story on WGN. One reply about the lead story WFLD. I’m thinking even people who follow local media don’t care what WFLD is up to. Has it occurred to anyone over there that a few more Simpsons might make more money and save all the money they seem to be wasting on a newscast nobody is watching? Oh and Carol Fowler didn’t she lead WBBM to similar ratings?
WFLD seems to be turning into a local version of Fox News Network, and not in a good way. Worse than ever and nearly unwatchable (even with Ms. Davlantes). If WCIU changes anything about Svengoolie, they are dead to me. (With the possible exception of showing fewer reruns).
@Linda: Only people who have a deep knowledge of Howard Stern trivia will get the “pig virus” reference. Which is like less than 1% of the Chicago population. Not sure why Feder keeps insisting on using it.
WFLD has already slowly started some of this, including on last night’s newscast which featured a gun control debate in light of a couple recent shootings and the Supreme Court case. The most awakward thing was that despite both guests being at the station they were all treated as “distant” from Anna Davlantes who chatted with them. One speaker was in the newsroom and the other was on the opposite side of the studio. They appeared in boxes on screen. Perhaps FLD’s current newsdesk/studio configuration doesn’t work so well with its “new” format.
Rob,
Thank goodness you are back, and we have truth, honesty and the American way to look forward to!!
Radio stations made more money when their programming was aimed at the local audience, and it was live. Newspapers-the same thing.
It’s Friday morning and once again, the bumbling Jim Laski is filling in for John Williams. What gives with this? I don’t really care about his political past, the fact is, the guy has no talent for radio. He’s got a voice made for print and has zero charisma. Once again, off goes the radio. I’d rather listen to the hum of office machines then this. Silence is golden.
Unfortunately, Howard Stern’s show on WNBC was syndicated elsewhere. But under “Pig Virus” he did some of this best work. He was funnier there than he ever was later working for Mel Karmazin. Maybe the feud between Howard and Metheny was real and Howard hated being reigned in. Maybe it was as fake as the Fred Allen – Jack Benny feud. Both Howard and Imus took shots at Metheny and station manager Randy Bongarten on the air (and in ads WNBC ran on TV to promote the hosts). But during “Pig Virus’” tenure at WNBC, with Imus, Howard and Soupy Sales, WNBC was one of the great and funniest radio stations of all time.
Robert, I respect your work greatly but lately it seems like you have a burr under your saddle for WGN.
How long will this Randy Michaels and his man Pig Virus continue to display their cluelessness and their ignorance of this market, on the once proud station their bungling has brought to the brink of ruin?
Is there a failure Hall of Fame they hope enshrines them?
Big changes are in the works at WFLD-Channel 32…Mike Renda…declared the current model for local news broken, and outlined plans for an overhaul…
———————
How about a new set? Prettier anchors? Snappier graphics? Aren’t those the usual fixes?
Here’s an idea: How about presenting relevant, fact-based information, that challenges those in power and refuses to repeat mindlessly what every other outlet is reporting.
And Mr. Renda, if you really wanted to hit a grand slam, you could announce that your news department will have it’s own budget, be completely independent and not required to be part of FOX’s profit picture.
Such a news show would draw attention for sure!
Then again, you could take the easy way out and ask Mr. Murdoch to fax you the partisan talking points used by O’Reilly and Beck and have your models read them instead.
Mr. Pig Virus strikes again. I hear they will make the fatal mistake of moving Cochran from 12-3, Garry Meier from 3-7, and remove Kaplan except for pre-and post Cubs/Blackhawks. What a sham. Cochran is the best thing to air on WGN since April 1, 1974 when Bob Collins arrived. He gets it…radio, the station, the medium, the city, and the listeners. Kaplan has more passion for WGN, Chicago and its team, and is more connected and works harder than any other sports journalist in the city, and maybe the country. Talk about killing your Cubs/Hawks listenership with this move….Comcast will be the only beneficiary. Mr. Pig Vomit/Virus, whatever you are called, here is a plea from the hundreds of thousands of listeners who have made WGN Radio their radio home for decades. Stop dismantling this station. Get over your Napolean complex. Focus on the listener. WGN is to Chicago and the Midwest a part of its personality and identity. Just like when other Chicago and Midwest institutions die, nothing is ever the same. You are killing it. Stop, quit, or you will be left holding the bag at what was once the greatest, most respected, relevant, and important radio station in the history of the medium. And then, it will be too late for all of us, including you, to bring it back.
WGN
-Give Nick Digilio more airtime
-Keep Williams and Meier right where they are.
-Dump Steve and Johnny…Brutal
-Shove Laski out the door, NOW!
-Get rid of Kaplan? Yes!
-Replace “The Morning Ass” with Sirott. So obvious.
-Boot Agar
-86 Cochran
-Hi, I’m Frenchy. Are you kidding me? Bye Bye
Would have been fun to hear Uncle Bobby take on Randzo the Clown for the three days or so he would have lasted before Randzo booted him, contract or no.
This is personal with Randzo now. His oafish attempt to smoke out the whistlebowers by playing Mr. Reasonable is so transparent it’s laughable. Like most tyrants, he’s waiting for the opportunity to pay back those who have embarrassed him.
I hate to say it, but the worst is yet to come.
Nick D & Bill L will have full time gigs. Somebody has to clean the floors.
Metheny doesn’t hate all sports. He used to be a track star. Ever see how fast he runs to Dunkin’ Donuts?
Kaplan knows his stuff. It would be a bad move to shove him out. If you want to get rid of a sports guy, get rid of the toothy Chiclets smiling no nothing on WGN TV’s morning show… Tomasulo is god awful.
Sirott is better on radio than TV… he would work out fine in the morning.
NewsRadio 780 has to bring in that kinda cash to support Felicia MiddleBUCKS… and she’s gotta give a little somethin’, somethin’ for Rev JJ’s pocket. He doesn’t work for free either.
Long live Svengoolie! Koz rules! N’yuck, n’yuck, n’yuck… a real wiseguy.
Dr. Wayne… excellent comparison regarding Benji Michaels!
REVISED Benji memo:
“No rules, just right!”
**But Mr. Michaels, isn’t that just the Outback Steakhouse slogan?”
“Some say they are afraid to speak up or present a wacky idea for fear of retaliation”
**Mr. Michaels, before I speak up… why do you have a thick pad of pink slips and a taser on hand?
“Rather than rules, our culture is defined by a few important principles: Focus on the important stuff, like a stuffed burrito, question authority WHERE’S MY ORDER?, and do the right thing by tipping the waitress.”
Benji, you just don’t get it and never will. You’ve left quite a trail of wreckage behind you. You may have made some profits or spun some numbers. But at what cost? Morale? Dignity? (btw, those words will be included on the next Benji list).
Dear Mr Rob “Bottom” Feder.
Surely you know the difference between speaking up, internally, to people who can make a difference, and publicly trashing a company while taking a paycheck from them.
Media Mafia
—————
Randy…is that you?
Garry Meier at drive time would never get a listen from me. Why would anyone want to listen to this guy who never was anything but a second banana. He is completely boring, not funny at all, and appeals to those that still live in a 1970s The Loop mentality. He is the worst thing on WGN and for the most part I believe is revolting to their core listeners.
Has anyone ever heard what a 50K Watt clear channel AM station can do when it wants to? I’m surprised no one has ever mentioned WSM in Nashville.
Maybe instead of the endless merry-go-round of reporters & anchors at FOX, there should be a change in management. Not the News Director or GM. Yes, I know both those changed of late. I’m speaking of the Assistant News Director, EP and 9 pm producer whom the reporters, anchors and writers (if any are still used!!) worked more closely with on the packaging of the station’s stories. They’re managed to kiss ass enough to stay through the rest of the upper multiple management change. And ironically, each seems to take great pleasure in micro-managing the “talent” on the lengths of their stories. Each exercised their massively inflated egos to produce shorter, quicker packages that said, informed and entertained less. How ironic now that the same trio will be in charge of a newscast with longer formed stories. Why not get rid of them? Shake up those positions? If not expect the same ‘ol crap, the same ‘ol position in the ratings and the same ‘ol excuse to not tune in.
The FOX32 situation has nothing to do with a political agenda, yet a certain soapbox always comes out with outrageous demands to suit a particular commenter’s own political or social activist leanings with their own talking points. It always comes ’round to that. It doesn’t have to be a “left or right” issue. But enough of that.
Here’s the real deal: FOX32 News was never really that good anyway. Aside from their tabloid-style template (other locals do this too), they will always challenge viewer loyalties for good or bad. Deny it if you will, but viewers are creatures of habit. Just read some of the comments on here… longing for this personality or that one, nothing wrong with that.
WFLD (and the other locals) just needs to do the news, report it accurately without sensationalizing a story and we’re happy. We also don’t need to go to the extreme with a “Carol Marin News Experiment” broadcast and bore people to death with an egocentric host. A local roundtable style show is a good idea for WFLD but should be relegated to Saturday or Sunday. Give it a full hour and make it quality.
Change in staffing is ok, but not so frequent that you can’t even recognize anyone from day to day. Do you have a good barber? Do you like them? Then you go back. I like what I like. Go to one of those “Great Clips” joints and you never get the same person twice…. even within 6 weeks. I think WFLD has a “Great Clips” management style. “How ya like your news, mister? Short and a little of the top? Ok, right after these messages and a Tiger Update.” :-)
Benji = Tribune CEO = Pig Vomit
I have a question?. If Pig Vomit and Pig Virus had a race to Dunkin Donuts, who would win?
Here’s what needs to be done at WGN-AM Radio:
1) Get rid of Steve “I’m obsesseed with Les Paul” King and Johnnie Putzhead once and for all and allow Nick D. to host each night from 11 PM – 5 AM
2) Get rid of Garry Meier, Jim Laski, that stupid Frenchman and Jerry Agar
3) A new morning man to replace Greg Jarrett
4) Oust Ron Santo from the Cubs radio booth but keep the games on this station
5) Kaplan needs to stop being a homer all the time and put his show on in the early afternoon or late night hours
WFLD-TV:
1) Main POINT: Get rid of Carol Fowler as News Director…has runied two stations as it is and yet she still has a job in this town?
2) Jeff Goldblatt has no personality and time to show him the door
3) Oust Amy Freeze as wetaher person
4) Stories are all contrived and not enough emphasis or balance placed within each story
5) Try another timeslot or cut the newscast to a half-hour
WSCR-AM:
1) Take the White Sox games off this station and place them somewhere else
2) Get rid of Boars and Bornstein
3) Take Matt Speigel and Lawrence Holmes and Jason Goff off the air right now
4) Extend Les Grobstein and get rid of the 12-hour delayed Dan Patrick Show broadcasts
WMVP-AM:
1) Get rid of Harry “I used to be funny” Teinowitz from the 2-7 PM show and cut that show down an hour.
Thanks Mr Michels. I have a bunch of books on DVD I can listen to now on my drive to and from work. What you’ve done to WGN radio has driven me away. Once the Cubs and the Ricketts get out the contract with WGN I will be taking you off my preprogram buttons on my car radio. You have destroyed the station. And I thought Spike was stupid. He just saw this mess coming and got out while he could.
Re: Dave Kaplan
I used to like him, but just before the Olympics he got on his high horse and bashed the whole event claiming the only thing worth watching was Hockey. While I agree there are some boring events, who is he to tell the audience to tune everything else out. He came off as arrogant and condescending, since then I have given his show a pass.
Jed needs to be program director at WGN. I agree with everything he said except for ousting Gary Meier.
I happen to like Garry Meier. It took me some time to get used to him, but I think he’s doing a fine job. Him and Elton Jim are fun together, and sometimes can be an absolute riot. He’s also respectful to his listeners.
I do have to add my vote about Steve and Johnnie. My god are they awful. I listened to them a couple of times this past week, after not listening to them for years. Just as boring as usual. Beyond boring. It’s painful to try to listen to. The show has no format, and is just inane prattle. But, what do you expect from a show that lasts 6 hours a night? It’s too long! Way too long for a nightly show.
I keep hearing WLS to make a big announcement about some personality that is supposed to be coming back. And no, it’s not Richard Roeper. I thought I would read about it here first, I’m sure Feder knows, but so far, nothing. I guess we will just have to wait.
The thought of Nick broadcasting full time–another nail in the WGN coffin. Who needs a middle aged man who thinks and acts like a 16 year old. Oops–maybe that’s a lot of middle aged men. On the few occasions that I have heard him recently–beam me up–there is definitely nothing there. Then he thinks it’s cool to send and receive texts from his wife while on the air. Perhaps Mr. Michaels needs to check his work for forbidden words, etc.
I hope Lauren Cohn ends up at a station where her talent is recognized and appreciated. Fox seems to be a sinking ship, they get rid of good talent and replace them airheads.
@Jack Brickhouse’s Shorts: “Replace ‘The Morning Ass’ with Sirott. So obvious.”
.
Sirott is the radio equivalent of Castoria. Soothing to the inarticulate, and ruthlessly predictable.
Blah,blah,blah,blah,blah.
Fox is in the dumper because their 9:00 “show” is not a NEWS program, they’re an entertainment venue and people are discerning enough to know the difference! As a news program…Fox is a fuggetaboutit.
Case in point – Do I really want to know about the latest developments on American Idol when I tune in for news??? I don’t think so…that aint “news” that’s entertainment.
Give it up FOX –you’ve NEVER been about news on either the local or national level!
Little Tommy, you must not have seen the lengthy lead story on the CBS net news about Tiger Wood$’$ return to golf, $tarting with the Ma$ter$, which $urpri$e, i$ on CB$. All the stations promote their “stuff” from within. This is okay, in small doses. What does market research relay to broadcast management of any station with news….because what I see is “groupthink” within a small core of hubristic individuals and the “monkey see, monkey do”-ing of each other.
So many comments, yet you all have overlooked the obvious fix for WGN. The semi-lovely Melissa Forman. She has more toothpower than Kathy and Judy, more skin warmth than Wally, Bobby, and Sugar Roy, and enough plastic on her to survive another attack on the window of the Showcase Studio. I could go on and on, but its past my bedtime and I believe the medication is beginning to kick in. I’m an early bird and look forward to waking up again to the alluring nasal tones of Melissa Forman.
how did you fail to mention that WGN made the top 10 stations by revenue? I love your blog, but do you have some sort of axe to grind?
@Jack Brickhouse’s Shorts #37,
I didn’t know Kaplan knocked the Winter Games like that. That’s too bad and a bit narrow minded on Kap’s part. Still, the chipmunk Tomasulo on WGN TV is absolutely the worst, Kap’s got nuthin’ on that guy for idiocy. I just don’t get how that guy has a job.
RE: Olympic oddball sports… I must admit that I was anti-curling. …until I watched the Swedish Women’s Curling Team. Ok, I was watching it for probably the wrong reasons. The Swedes and Russians had some beautiful women on the team. But you know what? After watching endless hours of them throwing the stones… I actually LEARNED and LOVED the sport! hahaha It’s a very unique old sport and harder than what people think. But it took some very pretty Olympic chicks to catch my attention. Kaplan has probably watched too many Cubs games. The drunk bimbos in the bleachers at Wrigley won’t get me to cheer for the Cubs the way international curling women won me over.
(now… where’s that broom?)
WFLD should keep the pleasing and professional Lauren Cohn and get rid of the arrogant anchor Robin.
@anonymous (No. 46): I don’t understand what you mean. What axe to grind? I reported WGN’s 2009 revenue in the column above:
Radio’s cash register: CBS Radio all-news WBBM-AM (780) again was the top-billing station in Chicago for 2009, according to figures published Thursday by BIA Financial Network. With revenue of $40 million (down from last year’s $44.9 million), Newsradio 780 finished ahead of Tribune’s WGN, which billed $36.5 million (down from last year’s $44.5 million). Chicago radio revenue overall topped $450 million in 2009..
W-ggggGGGGGG-nnnn! W-ggggGGGGGG-nnnn! W-ggggGGGGGG-nnnn!
The one thing that everyone seems to agree on is that Greg “come in the studio and I’ll have a pizza for you” Jarrett must go. he exaggerates everything and has lost all credibility with me. just last week, 1 day he says his bike is getting a tune up (like he can even fit on a bike) and the next day he says he needs to take it in….i cannot believe i have actually been listening to Don Wade and what’s her name…Steve Dahl please come back to live radio!!!
OMG….A 9 MILLION DOLLAR LOSS. Wouldn’t it be common sense for anyone to figure out where the leak is and stick their finger in it? I could run that ship in the ground and I know nothing about running a radio station. I have nothing against Kaplan, even tho I hate sports, so I’m not a big listener but he has a right to his opinion about the olympics. I’d pretty much say the same about them. Does WGN not think anyone listens on week-ends? Ok….back to sports. They carry so many of them I think I’m listening to ESPN. I really enjoy Agar. He might be slanted to the right but I learn like that. News junkie is just ok….Brings the news to the front and debates it. And then there’s Frenchy. I’d give him his last paycheck and we can all say “whoo la la”. Hope Legally Speaking is safe. Oh man….plug the hole before they need the life boats.
@AM1000…I completely agree with you! I think Lauren Cohn is getting the short end of the stick because she is a white woman, they have to keep Robin because if they got rid of her everyone would say it is discrimination. Lauren is intelligent, pretty and a good journalist and her 10pm newscast had higher ratings than the 9pm show. So seriously why would they keep someone who brings in less ratings? I’m boycotting Fox after Lauren Cohn leaves. I really feel badly for her. Keep your chin up Lauren, good things will come and another station will realize what a great journalist you are!
@SUSIE: “I really enjoy Agar. He might be slanted to the right….”
.
Well, there’s an understatement.
Jennifer Juniper & Ess Jay – Both of you are absolutely 100% correct!
Benji’s Memo – 2nd Revision:
“OK, Here’s how it’s gonna be…
A Shake-up in the morning
A Shake-up in the afternoon
And a sensible deep fried turkey in the evening.”
But the Amazing Randy already HAS this schedule. I guess he just wants more of it.
**”Your menu, sir.”
Benji: “I’ll have THE LOT!”
I’d like to praise WGN for their brave journalistic decision to go with a rerun of the “Sunday Night Radio Special” featuring a frequently unintelligible enquiry into the True Story of the Billy Goat Tavern over frivolous news coverage of H.R. 3590.
@ #46..an axe to grind? when someone calls a spade a spade and states the obvious, they have an axe to grind? thats feder’s job in case you don’t understand what he does. thats called shooting the messenger. he just reports what he knows….good or bad.
Who needs a Sports show when you have the rights to The Cubs, Blackhawks and Northwestern? Utter stupidity.
I bet Blackhawks McDonough, Blunk and Chicago Cubs Crane Kenney are livid for not having a sports show on WGN Radio dedicated to promoting their brands on their flagship 50,000 Watt blowtorch. That’s ridiculous.
However, there could be a sliver lining because David Kaplan is overexposed. Maybe better to reload and get a new host for the show and tweak the format.