Lewis Lazare: The public can talk all they want about Anna Davlantes, but will they flock to watch her in her new role as a contributing anchor and reporter on WFLD-Channel 32's 9 p.m. news? WFLD General Manager Michael Renda made the announcement of her hiring Tuesday, referring to her as one of the "most talked-about personalities" in the Chicago broadcasting business. Davlantes, who left WMAQ-Channel 5 July 30, begins her new job Monday.
The public can talk all they want about Anna Davlantes, but will they flock in significantly large numbers to watch her in her new role as a contributing anchor and reporter on Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32’s 9 p.m. news?
Since he has settled into his herculean job of re-igniting CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2's news department, News Director Jeff Kiernan has kept a low profile and stayed focused on his task of differentiating WBBM's newscast content from the competition and getting viewers to sample the news product.
Anyone who follows sports -- and hockey in particular -- knows by now the iconic Blackhawks are a team that has been transformed in the last couple of years -- thanks in large part to an aggressive management team with a smart game plan AND a group of hockey players that just happens to know how to play the game pretty well.
Sporting events don't come any grander than the Olympics. With the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics just three months away, Visa, the credit card behemoth that has been an Olympic sponsor for more than two decades, is kicking off a major Olympic-themed campaign from TBWA/Chiat/Day with two television commercials that try hard to capture the inherent grandeur of the Games. The Visa campaign theme line is "Go World." The new Visa television work has some concise, evocative writing, but ultimately, the debut "Anthem" spot feels too overblown to be fully as effective as it could be.
The recession, understandably, has made investors skittish. In a new campaign from Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago, the Edward Jones financial services company, headquartered in St. Louis, is out there trying to calm jittery nerves, while encouraging worried investors to come in and discuss their financial situation with one of the firm's financial advisers in one of its many branch offices. The campaign tag line is "Making Sense of Investing."
The overnight Nielsen ratings for the much-ballyhooed Friday night reunion of legendary anchors Walter Jacobson and Bill Kurtis at WBBM-Channel 2 were not through the roof, but they were impressive nonetheless.
WBBM-Channel 2 upped its efforts to get viewers to sample its revamped news product in a big way Thursday with the announcement it will reunite broadcasting legends Bill Kurtis, 69, and Walter Jacobson, 72, as co-anchors tonight, and only tonight, for the station's flagship 10 p.m. newscast.
Clear Channel Radio Chicago's WLIT-FM (93.9) will flip the switch at midnight Friday and start broadcasting holiday music 24/7.
As far as Steve Robinson can tell, the recession has come and gone. And it has left WFMT-FM (98.7) with a large fan base that apparently is still eager to pledge contributions to the fine-arts radio station. "We're halfway through our November pledge drive, and we've already raised more than half our goal of $600,000," WFMT General Manager Robinson said Wednesday.
Former WNUA-FM (95.5) on-air talent Rick O'Dell has seen the future. And he's learning to like it. After his unceremonious ouster from WNUA last January, the station's former smooth jazz guru is programming and co-hosting no fewer than 14 Chicago-centric smooth jazz music channels continuously streamed online at www.chitownsmooth jazz.com.
Who's ready for some joy? Boy, we sure are. We don't have to tell you it has been a long recession, folks, and there's every indication the pain is going to go on a bit longer. So we are happy to announce the arrival this week of a new ad campaign for the Illinois Lottery from Energy BBDO/Chicago.
We don't know yet whether CEO Sergio Marchionne has what it takes to turn around the beleaguered Chrysler company, but he sure knows how to spark a debate about advertising.
Over the years, we've seen the Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., do some pretty quirky, occasionally downright weird work for clients such as Geico and shipping behemoth UPS, but it's nice to know that the shop also is embracing heartwarming advertising on behalf of its client Wal-Mart. A new spot that has just broken to coincide with the holidays is a touching riff on the belief that miracles -- if they can happen -- are likely to occur around the holidays.
A handful of news and opinion-focused cable channels are vigorously fighting to pull in more viewers looking for their news fix. But by far the most significant chunk of television watchers still turn to the networks' nightly newscasts for their daily news summary.
It's getting crowded at the top. In an unusual turn of events, three radio stations tied for first place in the key 25- to 54-year-old demo in the October Arbitron ratings book released Wednesday. Two of Bonneville International's stations, hot adult contemporary WTMX-FM (101.9) and classic hits WDRV-FM (97.1), tied for the No. 1 slot with Clear Channel Radio Chicago's urban contemporary station WVAZ-FM (102.7).
It’s getting crowded at the top. In an unusual turn of events, three radio stations tied for first place in the key 25- to 54-year-old demo in the October Arbitron ratings book released Wednesday. Two of Bonneville International’s stations, hot adult contemporary WTMX-FM (101.9) and classic hits WDRV-FM (97.1), tied for the No. 1 slot with Clear
Something about the thrill of victory invariably makes those who experience it want more. That has certainly been the case with the folks at WBBM-AM (780), which found itself last winter in first place in the Arbitron ratings in the key 25- to 54-year-old demo.
Two months into his new job as general manager of WFLD-Channel 32, Michael Renda is pursuing a simple management philosophy. "It's all about putting good people in the right places," Renda said.
Tom Hudson, co-anchor and managing editor of First Business Network's nationally-syndicated "First Business" is leaving the program after an eight-year stint to take a job with PBS' longstanding "Nightly Business Report." First Business Network is a subsidiary of Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting.
"You & Me This Morning" launched quietly on Monday on Weigel Broadcasting's WCIU-Channel 26. And that's just the way Weigel Executive Vice President Neal Sabin wanted it -- until the staff attached to this attempt at crafting an innovative local morning show has a chance to work out some of the inevitable start-up kinks.
Most airlines have been busy much of the last year slashing capacity in response to a sharp downturn in air travel. Low-fare behemoth Southwest Airlines has cut flights, too. But several months ago, Southwest apparently decided it was time to stand up and take a leadership role within the beaten-down aviation industry.
The Chicago White Sox organization is expanding its business operations beyond baseball. The South Side team said Monday it has launched Silver Chalice Ventures. SCV’s first off-shoot is Silver Chalice New Media, a digital-focused division that will work with a range of clients beyond the White Sox to create and implement new media assets online and via mobile platforms.
In a move that could not have been viewed as good news in United Airlines world headquarters here, Southwest Airlines late last week said it soon will launch a significant expansion of service at Denver International Airport, where United has long been the dominant carrier.
