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An assortment of news items (updated and annotated) from my Chicago Sun-Times columns of 18 years ago this week:  Howard Stern “Howard Stern got off to a roaring start in Chicago Thursday, predicting he would become No.

Roger EbertDon 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 Presen

The 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.

Randy MichaelsRandy 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.

Mark 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.

Al JeromeA former Chicago television station manager is at the center of a rebellion that could turn the public broadcasting business upside down.

Robservations on the media beat:   Sam Zell Overshadowed by the frat house hijinks detailed in David Carr's New York Times opus on Tribune Co.