If Bill & Walter can do it, why not Bob & Marianne?
Another anchor reunion: Back to you, Bob & Marianne
Oct. 21, 2010Sun-Times owner battling cancer
Oct. 20, 2010
Jim Tyree
Jim Tyree, the Mesirow Financial chairman and CEO who came to the rescue of the Chicago Sun-Times last year, has been diagnosed with stomach cancer.
Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reported online Tuesday that Tyree, 52, is awaiting test results to determine what stage the cancer is in before deciding on a course of treatment. “I have the backing of some of the best doctors in the world and am prepared to fight this with the support of my family, my work family, and friends,” Tyree told Sneed.
It’s the latest in a series a health challenges Tyree has faced since he was diagnosed with diabetes at age 24. He since has undergone kidney and pancreas transplants and four eye surgeries. He also has had a defibrillator implanted in his chest.
Tyree led a group of investors who acquired Sun-Times Media and saved the financially troubled newspaper from liquidation. He serves as chairman of the company.
Director returns for Ebert's movie-review sequel
Oct. 19, 2010
Roger Ebert
Don DuPree, a 23-year veteran of Chicago television, announced his resignation Tuesday as assistant news director at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 to reunite with Roger Ebert on his new movie-review show.
DuPree has been hired as director of “Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies,” which is expected to debut in January on public television stations nationwide. Ebert and his wife, Chaz, are producing the show with WTTW National Productions. It will originate from WTTW-Channel 11, where Ebert and the late Gene Siskel first teamed up in 1975.
In the new show, Ebert, who is unable to speak because of health problems, plans to use a computer-generated voice to appear in a weekly segment called “Roger’s Office.” Critics Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Elvis Mitchell of National Public Radio will serve as co-hosts, with contributions from film bloggers Kim Morgan and Omar Moore.
Hell no, he won't go: Randy says he's "still working'
Oct. 19, 2010The Tribune Co. saga took another turn Tuesday with the declaration by embattled CEO Randy Michaels that he has not resigned. “I work here today and I’m still working,” the Chicago Tribune quoted him as saying.
Both the Tribune and the New York Times reported that the board of Tribune Co. was expected to call for Michaels’ resignation amid what the Tribune called “a swirl of controversy over disclosures of sexist and boorish behavior among Michaels and his hand-picked team of executives.”
A statement issued by the company after the board meeting made no reference to Michaels’ expected ouster. “Tribune’s board of directors is focused on filing the company’s plan of reorganization this Friday and has no comment on any other issue,” the statement said.
Read all about it: The party's over, Randy
Oct. 19, 2010
Randy Michaels
Randy Michaels, whose frat house antics and crony-laden management style turned the 150-year culture of the Chicago Tribune into a national laughingstock, appears to be on his way out as chief executive officer of Tribune Co.
The New York Times reported online late Monday night that the board of the Chicago-based media company is expected to seek Michaels’ resignation Tuesday.
Reporters David Carr and Tim Arango quoted an unidentified source who said the board “had lost confidence in the ability of Mr. Michaels to lead the troubled company.”
Carr is the same reporter who wrote the New York Times’ now-infamous front-page story Oct. 6 that detailed a “culture run amok” at Tribune Co. under Sam Zell’s ownership and Michaels’ executive leadership. “Mr.
Editor calls damage to Tribune reputation "shameful'
Oct. 18, 2010Mark my words: A year or two from now, the Chicago journalism establishment will look back on this time as a critical moment in its history — a period when the city’s oldest and most important news organization faced a crisis of confidence and a test of leadership.
Blackhawks romance puts reporting career on ice
Oct. 17, 2010Robservations on the media beat:
- I believe it was the late Richard Hainey, the crusty former editor of Chicago Today and a beloved professor at Medill, who taught us the adage: "You can't cover the circus if you sleep with the elephants." It's advice worth recalling after the firing last week of Jen Patterson, an on-air contributor and rising star at Comcast SportsNet Chicago. It came after other female sports reporters privately voiced dismay about Patterson dating Nick Boynton, a defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks. By the time Sun-Times gossip columnist Bill Zwecker reported seeing them out on the town as "a nice cozy item," Comcast SportsNet took action.
Jen Patterson
Lee Abrams goes down
Oct. 15, 2010From: Tribune Communications
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 4:00 PM
Subject: Message from Randy Michaels/Resignation of Lee Abrams
As you know, earlier this week we suspended Lee Abrams from his position as Tribune Company's Chief Innovation Officer for distributing an email and video link that some employees found offensive. Today, Lee offered his resignation and I accepted it. Effective immediately, Lee will no longer be an employee of Tribune.
Randy