Irika Sargent
Robservations on the media beat:
Kate Sullivan
Are Kate Sullivan’s days numbered at WBBM-Channel 2? With ratings at an all-time low, the CBS-owned station is believed to be shopping for a new co-anchor to team with Rob Johnson. Adding to speculation is word out of Miami that Irika Sargent, 5 and 11 p.m. news anchor at WFOR-TV, the CBS-owned there, recently met with CBS 2 bosses in Chicago. Sargent, 35, a graduate of the University of Missouri and Cornell Law School, practiced law for four years in New York City before anchoring in Miami and Houston. Sullivan, 39, who still identifies herself as an “East Coaster” on her Twitter profile, has made little impact in the five years since she came from WCBS-TV in New York, where she anchored morning and noon newscasts. In August, CBS 2 barely registered at 10 p.m. with a 0.7 rating among viewers between 25 and 54.
Matt Knutson
Under new executive producer Matt Knutson, “Windy City Live” just kicked off its fifth season on ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7. “Our goal is be a real voice for Chicagoans,” Knutson says. “At the end of the day, we want viewers to be entertained, have a laugh along the way, feel they’re a part of the city and maybe even be the inspiration that gets them off the couch to make things better. Chicago is teeming with talented artists, musicians and comedians. ‘Windy City Live’ wants to find and nurture local talent – be their first stop before making it big.” Hosted by Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini, the show airs at 11 a.m. weekdays (with a rebroadcast at midnight).
Jeannie Morris
More than two decades after the meteoric rise of Carol Moseley Braun as the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate, longtime Chicago journalist Jeannie Morris has written a book about the controversial figure and her eventual downfall. Behind the Smile: A Story of Carol Moseley Braun's Historic Senate Campaign has just been published by Agate Midway. Why now? “The Carol Moseley Braun story is published as our first African American president finishes his second term and our first viable woman candidate seeks to follow him in the Oval Office,” Morris says. “And all of these issues — notably around race and gender — that stirred the electorate in 1992 are still with us today.” Morris, who also wrote Brian Piccolo: A Short Season, spent 24 years on Chicago television as a sports reporter, producer and host.
Chuck Goudie
Charles Goudie, 26, and Keegan Goudie, 25, are following in the footsteps of their famous father, Chuck Goudie, veteran investigative reporter at ABC 7. The Brothers Goudie are founders of Major Onions, LLC, a Chicago-based digital news source for millennials and publisher of the website TheSixThirty.com, billed as “Chicago’s unfiltered source for sports, music and news.” Peter Hahn, who co-founded the company with the Goudies in 2012, serves as managing editor of the site. Major Onions just received an infusion of funding from Trinity LLC to expand and strengthen its infrastructure.
Shams Charania
Remember the name Shams Charania. The Loyola University communications junior and former ChicagoNow blogger has just been picked up by Yahoo Sports as one of its lead NBA reporters. Yahoo Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski called him the “best young basketball reporter on the planet.” Charania, 21, previously spent three years writing for RealGM.com.
Randy Hano
Randy Hano, former publisher of Time Out Chicago and Chicago magazine, has joined Modern Luxury Chicago as vice president and associate publisher. Its publications include Chicago Social magazine and Modern Luxury Brides Chicago. Hano most recently was senior vice president of integrated sales for Wrapports LLC, parent company of the Sun-Times, and executive vice president of sales for iMoneza, a cloud-based payment gateway.