Robservations: Barry Rozner says he's ready to leave The Score

Barry Rozner

Robservations on the media beat:

Daily Herald sports columnist Barry Rozner may be calling it quits after 10 years as a prominent weekend and fill-in personality at Entercom sports/talk WSCR 670-AM. Rozner told Mitch Rosen, operations director of The Score, that he does not expect to be back as host of "Hit & Run," which airs from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays during baseball season. "We’re still communicating and we’ll see what comes of it, but I don’t — at this moment — see a path to returning," Rozner said Sunday. "No hard feelings. No one to blame. There’s just no role there for me comparable to the last 10 years, when I hosted nearly 1,400 shows. If it’s over, I will miss 'Hit & Run' more than I can properly express. It was a great run and I’m grateful for the opportunity Mitch gave me." Rozner has filled in for weekday hosts on The Score more often than anyone else, but he's been passed over for promotion to a full-time position three times. Rosen, who was out of town, said he plans to meet with Rozner when he returns. "Barry has been a great team member on 'Hit & Run' and a terrific fill-in host loved by all," Rosen said. "I hope he continues." Continue reading

CEO Justin Dearborn out in Tribune Publishing shakeup

Tribune Publishing

In a stunning shakeup at the top of Tribune Publishing, Justin Dearborn is out as chairman and chief executive officer of the parent company of the Chicago Tribune.

Dearborn’s sudden departure was announced Thursday along with the appointment of David Dreier, a Tribune Publishing board member and former U.S. congressman, as chairman, and Tim Knight, president of Tribune Publishing, as CEO. Continue reading

Kevin Cross to lead NBC Sports Chicago

Kevin Cross

Kevin Cross, a prominent Chicago sports producer and media executive for more than 25 years, has been promoted to senior vice president/general manager of NBC Sports Chicago, the regional sports network announced Thursday.

Cross, who most recently was vice president of content for NBC Sports Chicago, will head day-to-day operations of the network, which includes the Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox as its team partners. Continue reading

Robservations: WGN's Violeta Podrumedic merging with The Mix

Violeta Podrumedic

Robservations on the media beat:

Violeta Podrumedic, afternoon traffic reporter on Tribune Broadcasting news/talk WGN 720-AM, is changing lanes. Starting next month, she’ll join Eric Ferguson’s top-rated morning show on Hubbard Radio hot adult-contemporary WTMX 101.9-FM. Podrumedic, a Chicago native who began as a newsroom intern at WGN, has been a contributor to the afternoon show hosted by Roe Conn and Anna Davlantes since 2016. Her last day on WGN was Friday. “Violeta provides a whole new perspective and voice to our group,” Ferguson said. “She received great guidance from Roe Conn, who I have always felt is one of the most talented broadcasters in Chicago. We’re lucky to have ownership who supports expanding our show to continue to be successful. Now the goal is to not screw it all up!” Continue reading

Ann Dwyer named editor of Crain's Chicago Business

Ann Dwyer (Photo: WTTW/Chicago Tonight)

Ann Dwyer has been promoted to editor of Crain’s Chicago Business, becoming the first woman to lead the editorial staff in the publication’s 41-year history.

Dwyer, 54, who most recently was managing editor, joined Crain's in 1995 as a copy editor and later moved to the news desk. She succeeds Michael Arndt, who resigned in November after six years as editor. Continue reading

Robservations: ‘A new Mancow’ settles in as WLS morning host

Erich Mancow Muller

Robservations on the media beat:

Mark Konkol

Declaring himself “a new Mancow,” Erich Mancow Muller says he's had nothing but a positive experience on and off the air in the two weeks since he took over as morning host on WLS 890-AM. “I think people will be shocked in that they are not shocked,” he said of his role on the Cumulus Media news/talk station. “We talk to the people that are making headlines and try to figure out what we all can do to make Chicago a place where people want to stay. I think the new show has more upside than any I have ever done.” Joining Muller in studio as a contributor each day has been Mark Konkol, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former columnist for the Sun-Times and DNAinfo Chicago. True to form, Muller joked: “I think the new show is like the current mayor’s race: ‘We hope it’s better than what came before it, but it looks doubtful.’” Continue reading

Steve Warmbir named Sun-Times managing editor

Chicago Sun-Times

Veteran Chicago journalist Steve Warmbir has been named managing editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. His promotion topped a management reorganization announced last week by editor-in-chief Chris Fusco.

In his new role, Warmbir will oversee all print and digital content (excluding the editorial board’s) and manage day-to-day administrative operations of the newsroom, according to Fusco. Continue reading

Robservations: Five media groups launch election website

Chi.Vote Collective

Robservations on the media beat:

Five independent Chicago media organizations have joined forces to launch a free, nonpartisan website designed to prepare voters for the upcoming Chicago municipal election. Starting today, The Chi.Vote Collective will provide breakdowns on candidates and races, an election-related calendar, news stories and more. (Here is the link.) Its founding partners are the Better Government Association, Block Club Chicago, The Chicago Reporter, The Daily Line and The Triibe. Sol Lieberman, the vice president of strategy for the BGA who spearheaded the effort, noted that when Harold Washington was elected mayor of Chicago in 1983, 82 percent of registered voters turned out. "Thirty-five years later we're lucky to get half that," Lieberman said. "Democracy is sick in Chicago. Blame apathy, blame institutionalized dysfunction, blame hyperpartisanship and disintermediation — whatever the diagnosis, curing it requires collective action. A healthy Chicago votes, bottom line." The site is live now, and the full suite of features will be live January 22. Continue reading

Robservations: WTTW to air ‘Disco King of Skokie’ tonight

Carey Weiman

Robservations back on the media beat:

“The Disco King of Skokie” — the title of a documentary premiering tonight on WTTW-Channel 11 — is no exaggeration. Starting in the late 1970s, no one ruled the teen and young-adult social scene on the North Shore and throughout the suburbs like Carey Weiman. For a generation of dancing partygoers, his “Disco Experience” was the gold standard of entertainment. Directed by Ken Goldstein, the film recounts Weiman’s remarkable rise as a young entrepreneur who pioneered the concept of the mobile DJ. “The Disco King of Skokie” airs at 10:30 tonight on the public television station. Continue reading