Robservations: Dan McNeil apologizes for 'harsh' tweet — and goes fishing

Dan McNeil (2015 photo)

Robservations on the media beat:

One week after his career crashed and burned over what his bosses called a “degrading and humiliating” tweet, Dan McNeil apologized to the ESPN reporter whose attire he ridiculed. In his first public comment since being canned by Entercom sports/talk WSCR 670-AM, McNeil tweeted: “I apologize, @MariaTaylor, for the harsh critique of your outfit on MNF. Going for a quick laugh, I failed conclusively. Best of luck -- you're terrific. #GoneFishin.” During Taylor’s premiere appearance on “Monday Night Football” September 14, McNeil tweeted: “NFL sideline reporter or a host for the AVN [Adult Video News] annual awards presentation?” He was fired the next day. The longtime Chicago radio personality most recently co-hosted afternoons on The Score with Danny Parkins. No word yet on McNeil's replacement.

AccuRadio

Todd Manley’s EarSight Studios has teamed up with Kurt Hanson's Chicago-based AccuRadio to help manage the audio webcaster's brand and user experience. Manley, the former station manager and vice president of content at Nexstar Media Group news/talk WGN 720-AM, launched his media consulting company earlier this year. Among the new free channels AccuRadio debuted this week was "Remembering RBG: Songs of Strength & Change," inspired by the life and impact of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday. (Here is the link.)

Dennis Anderson

Dennis Anderson, former executive editor of the Peoria Journal Star, was hired Monday as vice president of news and content development at Shaw Media, based in northwest suburban Crystal Lake. Anderson, who held several editorial management positions at the Daily Herald in the 1990s, also worked as managing editor of the Journal-World in Lawrence, Kansas, and as top editor for Gannett Illinois. "Dennis is a strong newsroom leader with terrific experience," said John Rung, president and CEO of Shaw Media. "His thoughtfulness and professionalism will be a tremendous asset for us as we strive to improve our journalism efforts across Shaw Media."

Leon Colvin

Leon Colvin, midday news editor at WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM, celebrated his 50th anniversary Monday with the Entercom all-news station. "Over the last 50 years, Leon has worked pretty much every shift imaginable as both a writer and editor," said Ron Gleason, director of news and programming at WBBM Newsradio. “Every step of the way he has displayed the integrity and journalistic ethics for which we all strive. We thank him for his news judgement, his leadership, his camaraderie and his contributions to the station’s success." Colvin, who grew up in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, joined WBBM Newsradio straight out of high school at age 18.

Monday’s comment of the day: Mark Rosenblum: WGN Radio at night is beginning to sound more and more like a small town Midwestern radio station what with speakers being cut off in mid-sentence, patchwork "repeats" of daytime programs with abrupt changes of topic following far too many commercial breaks, canned station identification jingles from Jam Productions in Dallas, unacceptable patches of dead air time while engineers seem to be asleep at the switch, inane time-filler simulcasts from WGN Television without the visuals which give the stories meaning, and the list goes on. And the nerve of Nexstar's continuing to call the station "Chicago's Very Own." Substitute the call letters and you're in Podunk, USA.