Sarah Koenig

Robservations on the media beat:

Even if you’re still wondering about The Nisha Call from the first season, now there’s a new mystery to ponder on “Serial.” Produced by “This American Life” and Chicago Public Media WBEZ FM 91.5, the most popular podcast series of all time returned Thursday with Sarah Koenig delving into the story of Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who was released in 2014 after being a prisoner of the Taliban for nearly five years. The debut, featuring an interview with Bergdahl, is accessible at serialpodcast.org and on iTunes and Pandora. Koenig’s first season of “Serial,” which examined the murder of a high school student in a Baltimore suburb, was downloaded more than 100 million times and won a Peabody Award.

Brandon Smith

Brandon Smith, the independent journalist who sued for release of the Laquan McDonald video, this week identified 10 news organizations that tried to obtain the video through Freedom of Information Act requests. (CBS 2; WBBM Newsradio; MSNBC; Evelyn Wang of the independent news organization The Youth Project; Chicago Tribune; NBC 5; WGN and CLTV; Associated Press; The Guardian; The Wall Street Journal.) All were rejected. None followed up with lawsuits. It took Smith acting alone to win his case in court. The Tribune belatedly joined in Smith’s suit December 3. Now the Freedom of the Press Foundation has announced a crowd-sourced fundraising campaign to advance Smith’s vital and diligent work. More power to him.

Gerri Wells

This year’s holiday extravaganza at Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720 will be “Miracle on Gerri Wells Street,” a takeoff on the classic 1947 film “Miracle on 34th Street.” The title is a tribute to Gerri Wells, who’s stepping down as assistant to Jimmy deCastro, the station’s president and general manager. Performed before a audience in Campbell Hall at Tribune Tower, it will air live from 10 a.m. to noon December 18 (with repeats on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.) Previous year’s productions included “It’s a Wonderful Leff” (a nod to WGN host Bill Leff) and “A Christmas Carol Hankner” (in tribute to 50-year employee Carol Hankner).

Tom Couch

Tom Couch, longtime creative director at classic hits WDRV FM 97.1, is odd man out in a consolidation of staff at Hubbard Radio stations. “Well, it was a good, almost 15-year run, but my time at WDRV in Chicago is up,” he wrote on Facebook. “Budget issues necessitated staff cutbacks, and I was one who was cut. . . . It was a great ride. Onward and Upward.” Couch, who previously worked at CBS Radio adult album alternative WXRT FM 93.1 and sports talk WSCR AM 670, was one of three off-air employees whose jobs were cut this week at Hubbard Radio Chicago.