Robservations: Deerfield Herald weekly to debut; Block Club Chicago, BGA share Izzy Awards; ABC 7 special remembers Harold Washington

Deerfield Village Hall

Robservations on the media beat:

The parent company of the Daily Herald is expanding its weekly newspaper operation into north suburban Deerfield. Starting Thursday, the new Deerfield Herald will be distributed free to every household in the village. The move follows the launch of weeklies in Glenview and Northbrook in 2020. "We believe Deerfield is a natural extension of our mission," said Colin O’Donnell, senior vice president and director of operations and strategic initiatives for Daily Herald Media Group. "As we have in our other weeklies, we will be locally focused on Deerfield and its residents, especially as it pertains to schools, prep sports and local businesses. We also, like in our other weekly papers, will have an expansive calendar of events. We think Deerfield deserves a local paper and we will provide it." It's moving in on Tribune Publishing's Deerfield Review, a hollow remnant of the once-distinguished Pioneer Press chain. Melynda Findlay-Shamie, editor of the Glenview Herald and Northbrook Herald, will add the Deerfield edition to her portfolio. (Disclosure: I am employed by Daily Herald Media Group.)

Block Club Chicago/BGA

More national honors for Block Club Chicago and the Better Government Association: The two nonprofit Chicago news organizations were named recipients Monday of this year’s Izzy Award from the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College. They were cited for their "trailblazing reporting on corruption in the healthcare system," focusing on Loretto Hospital, which serves mostly Black and Latino residents on Chicago’s West Side. “The impact of their stories has been tremendous,” the judges declared, “bringing down a greedy elite of politicians, businessmen, hospital administrators, board members and doctors, while narrating the stories of patients’ and workers’ incredible courage to act to expose cruel malpractice and vaccine scandals at Loretto Hospital.” The Izzy Award is named after maverick journalist I. F. “Izzy” Stone.

Harold Washington

April 15 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Harold Washington, Chicago's first African American mayor. ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 will commemorate the event this weekend with “Harold Washington: Life and Legacy,” a half-hour special to air at 11 p.m. Sunday and stream on the ABC 7 Chicago News app and abc7chicago.com. Among those interviewed are Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chuy Garcia, Marilyn Katz and Laura Washington. “Mayor Harold Washington’s election and tenure marked a pivotal moment in Chicago history. It shook the long-established power structure of city governance,” said ABC 7's Alan Krashesky, who co-hosts the special with Cheryl Burton. "It could be argued that without Mayor Washington, there would not have been a Senator Carol Moseley Braun or a President Barack Obama. His legacy continues through the lives of many Chicagoans to this day.”

Andrea Darlas

Andrea Darlas, former news anchor and reporter at Nexstar Media Group news/talk WGN 720-AM, just launched a weekly arts and entertainment podcast for Cumulus Media news/talk WLS 890-AM. “Show and Tell with Andrea Darlas” will cover plays, musicals, museum exhibits and more. "I am so excited to bring my love for theatre, musicals, museums, arts and culture - and all things Chicago - to the legendary Big 89," Darlas said in a statement. "I want the WLS listeners to have their very own immersive 'backstage pass' to the arts and entertainment community - in the greatest city in the world." Darlas joins a crowded field of local show biz and pop culture podcasts, including recent entries by Janet Davies, Lisa Fielding and Nick Digilio.

Neil Holdway

Neil Holdway, deputy managing editor/late news at the Daily Herald, was elected president of ACES: The Society for Editing at the association's 26th national conference last week in San Antonio. The group is an alliance of editing professionals, educators and students who promote language, grammar and accuracy. A 30-year veteran of the Daily Herald, Holdway also heads the newspaper's Objectivity Council, advising colleagues on how to strive for objectivity by working to keep their biases and personal emotions out of reporting.

Lakeshore Public Radio

Northwest Indiana's Lakeshore Public Media WLPR 89.1-FM unveiled a new midday lineup this week, including "On Point" at 9 a.m., "Democracy Now!" at 10a.m., "Regionally Speaking" at 11 a.m., 'The Takeaway" at noon, "Think" at 1 p.m. and "The World" at 2 p.m. “We're excited about these changes and thrilled for what's still to come,” Tom Maloney, vice president of radio operations for Lakeshore Public Radio, said in a statement. “Our mission is to enrich the lives of Northwest Indiana residents by keeping them connected to what’s going on here at home as well across the world, now the signal expansion and new program lineup allow us to take that to the next level.”

Monday's comment of the day: John Dempsey: You won’t find a bigger talent, a harder worker or a nicer person than Dana Kozlov.