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. Continue reading →

Amy Guth

Weekends on WGN AM 720 will get a boost in the new year with the debut of “The Saturday Night Special” anchored by Amy Guth and the addition of a second night of “WGN Radio Theater” with Carl Amari and Lisa Wolf.

Guth, who's been hosting a three-hour show starting at 11 p.m. Saturdays on the Tribune Media news/talk station, will take over from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturdays, effective January 9. Continue reading →

Tom O'Gorman

Chicago artist, writer and historian Tom O’Gorman is about to take over the longest-running gossip column in the city — if not the country.

Inside Publications has tapped O’Gorman to succeed the legendary Ann Gerber, whose deliciously catty society column has been a guilty pleasure for readers of the weekly Skyline and other local newspapers for more than 65 years. Continue reading →

Brad Saul

Motivated by his own 25-year battle with multiple sclerosis, Brad Saul founded the Radio Center for People With Disabilities, Chicago Disability Transit and other socially conscious enterprises that combined his passions for media and new technology.

The innovative and ambitious broadcast entrepreneur, who also created and headed WebTalkRadio.net, a thriving podcasting platform, and Matrix Media, a wide-ranging radio programming distributor, died Friday at his home in Chicago. He was 55. Continue reading →

Oprah Winfrey

Another round of Robservations on the media beat:

Twenty-three years after she stopped the presses on her autobiography, Oprah Winfrey is ready to set things straight. Macmillan’s Flatiron Books announced this week it will publish her inspirational memoir, titled The Life You Want, in January 2017. “I hope my story inspires other people to live the highest, fullest expression of themselves,” Winfrey said in a statement. At the height of her Chicago-based talk show’s popularity in 1993, she stunned the publishing world when she abruptly halted printing of her autobiography Oprah. Telling me at the time it was "the hardest decision I've ever had to make," she said: "The book, as written, does a really great job of chronicling the events of my life, but I wanted it to be more than a recitation of my life's events. . . . I wanted to offer some insight, some clarity and some wisdom that might benefit other people." Now she must think the time is right. Continue reading →

Steve Grzanich

Veteran Chicago radio newsman Steve Grzanich is joining Tribune Media news/talk WGN AM 720 where he’ll anchor an early morning business news hour and contribute to Steve Cochran’s morning show, starting January 4.

Best known for his 20 years as an anchor and reporter at CBS Radio all-news WBBM AM 780 and WCFS FM 105.9, Grzanich most recently has been a contributing reporter at Chicago-based Rivet Radio, a mobile app providing on-demand news to listeners worldwide. Continue reading →

Regine Schlesinger

Robservations on the media beat:

Chicago radio news anchor and reporter Regine Schlesinger, one of the best in the business, is retiring after more than 42 years at CBS Radio all-news WBBM AM 780 and WCFS FM 105.9. Schlesinger confirmed Wednesday that she plans to “step away from the five-day-a-week grind and give younger journalists a chance at the amazing opportunity I've enjoyed.” Straight out of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Schlesinger began as a writer and producer at WBBM Newsradio in 1973. Six years later, she moved up to reporter and anchor.  Her decision to retire, effective early next year, will leave the door open for part-time anchoring. “My career has brought me great joy and satisfaction,” Schlesinger said. “I've been a witness to some of the most momentous events of my lifetime and have had the privilege of helping our wonderful listeners make sense of those events.” Continue reading →

WKCC

Chicago’s news/talk public radio station WBEZ FM 91.5 soon may be expanding its reach south to Kankakee and beyond.

Officials of Chicago Public Media confirmed Monday they’re looking into acquiring the license for WKCC FM 91.1, the Kankakee Community College public radio station that’s about to go off the air. Continue reading →