Rick Telander and Rick Morrissey (Photo: Rich Hein)
It was only last February that the Sun-Times hired Jennifer Schulze, the former Chicago TV news director and wife of Sun-Times CEO Edwin Eisendrath, with "really big plans" in mind.
As executive producer/new media, Schulze was put in charge of new content development, including production of an ambitious series of weekly podcasts to be hosted by Sun-Times columnists and reporters. "The best podcasts by some of the most interesting Chicagoans," was how the paper promoted them.
“We’re putting the full weight of the Sun-Times behind the podcasts,” Carol Fowler, senior vice president of digital news products, told me at the time. “We’ve got really big plans.”
Nine months later, Schulze is still on the job, but the podcasts are silent.
No new episodes of “The Two Ricks: Unfiltered,” hosted by sports columnists Rick Telander and Rick Morrissey, have been produced since May. No new episodes of “The Zebra Sisters,” hosted by columnist Mary Mitchell and former reporter Leslie Baldacci, have been produced since June. No new episodes of “On the Beat,” hosted by Chicago Blackhawks beat reporter Mark Lazerus and Tracey Myers of NHL.com, have been produced since July. (Lazerus left the Sun-Times in September.)
Fowler confirmed the podcasts are not in production at this time. “Overall, they didn’t generate the audience we hoped, so we put them on hold over the summer,” she said. “Market research we have underway now will inform where we go next.”
Asked about Schulze’s status, Fowler said: “Podcasts are actually a small part of her job,” noting that Schulze continues as executive producer of “The Grid,” the weekly video series on area neighborhoods, hosted by Ji Suk Yi. Schulze also produces “Sun-Times ABC 7 Game Week,” a weekly livestream show on high school sports. “There’s other things but those take most time,” Fowler added.
When it comes to digital ventures, the Sun-Times may have bigger problems to worry about for now. Following the Chicago Bears 31-28 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins Sunday, the Sun-Times tweeted: “BEARS WIN!!!”
The tweet was later deleted.
Sun-Times tweet
Friday's comment of the day: Diann Burns: I appreciate your comments, Ken [Dietz], and for the opportunity to bring clarity. I actually never stopped working and continued to mentor young journalists since I left the air. And Rob can tell you I am usually enrolled in some kind of class, even while working full time, to keep my skills fresh in journalism and other areas of interest. Thank you for remembering me.