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| News & Notes: Randy Michaels; Clear Channel Radio; Steve & Johnnie; J Niice & Julian; Jill Urchak; Jonathan Hood; WKRS; Much More |
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| Written by Larz | |||
| Friday, 13 January 2012 16:36 | |||
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This weekend's News & Notes has a handful of local media news items, including: Randy Michaels gets off; Clear Channel Radio changes names; Steve & Johnnie deal with a family issue; J Niice, Julian, Showbiz Shelly, Bill Wennington & Chuck Swirsky go out for donuts; Jill Urchak rocks back with a new show; Jonathan Hood receives an honor; Daniel Carcillo is out; "Chicago Live!" wants to be tweeted about; and WKRS-AM may soon sound quite different. All of the details are just below!
* * Chicago-based Merlin Media LLC CEO and longtime controversial media executive Randy Michaels will not have to deal with his drunk driving charge after his arrest on October 14th in Middletown, OH for OVI (Operating a Vehicle while Impaired -- Ohio's version of DUI). Prosecutors agreed to drop the charge today on a technicality. The arresting officer used a wrong code on the citation and did not correct it within the 90 days needed to do so. With today being the 91st day, Michaels' attorneys argued the charges need to be dropped. Sometimes, judges will overlook a simple paperwork mistake and proceed with the charges, but chose not to in this case. Michaels pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of improperly driving in a construction zone, and paid fines and court costs of approximately $60.  * * Clear Channel Radio announced that as of today, it is "Radio" no more. The country's largest radio station owner has rebranded itself, changing its name to Clear Channel Media & Entertainment. The name change "to better reflect the evolution of its business," takes the focus away from its radio properties and places the focus on all the businesses the company encompasses, including terrestrial radio, HD Radio, satellite radio stations, traffic services, syndication, websites, iHeartRadio app & streams, and live events. Locally, Clear Channel owns six radio stations and seven radio frequencies.  * * Former WGN-AM hosts Steve King & Johnnie Putman had to withdraw as emcees for tonight's star-studded Jim Peterik and World Stage concert. Unfortunately, Johnnie Putman's mother is in ill health. She was scheduled to undergo surgery yesterday, which had to be canceled due to complications. Steve & Johnnie regrettably will have to miss the concert tonight and will instead be at the hospital tonight, making sure all is well with Johnnie's mother. Best wishes to them.  * * Recently, Chicagoland's 500th Dunkin Donuts location opened up at 3206 W. 111th St. in Chicago. Tomorrow, Saturday, January 14, will be that Dunkin Donuts store's Grand Opening celebration. At 10:00am, special guests will begin to arrive, including the WBBM-FM morning team of J Niice, Julian and Showbiz Shelly. At 11:00am, Chicago Bulls/WMVP-AM radio announcers Chuck Swirsky and Bill Wennington will there. Additionally, Benny the Bull, the Luvabulls and some local politicians will be making appearances. Beginning at 8:00am, the first 500 visitors will win a Dunkin Donuts tavel mug & gift card. Also, the store will be launching a food drive for FeedChicago.org, a non-profit organization that has been feeding needy Chicagoans for 25 years. A $2,000 check will be presented to the charitable organization from Dunkin Donuts Chicago to FeedChicago.org's President, Ben Ponzio, who also happens to be the General Sales Manager for WBBM-FM.  * * Chicago radio veteran Jill Urchak is back with a brand new radio show, "Rockback With Urchak." The 60 minute program takes a look back at rock & pop songs of the 1980's, with Jill Urchak telling some of her own memories of that era. The new show can be heard on "The Choice" channel of Zecom Radio. The debut episode was yesterday afternoon. For those who missed it, the show will be repeated Saturday at 7:00pm and Monday at 11:00pm on "The Choice." It will also appear on Zecom Radio's "Gemz" station on Sunday night at 9:00pm. The Zecom Radio website should have a podcast of the show available by Tuesday. The plan is to do a new show at least every two weeks, though Urchak hopes to have it be weekly. In addition to streaming it on your computer, Zecom Radio can be heard on iTunes (search under "Classic Rock") and on the TuneIn app for smartphones.  * * The new year may have just begun a matter of days ago, but it has already been a special 2012 for WMVP-AM's Jonathan Hood. Not only did he take the #1 spot in the recently concluded Radio Facts poll to see who was the top radio program of 2011, but on this coming Monday, he will receive another honor. The Southland Ministerial Health Network will be giving J-Hood a 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Spirit of Excellence Award at a ceremony being held on January 13th at 11:00am at Victory Christian International Ministries in Markham, IL. Congratulations to Jonathan Hood!  * * Although he still has a radio show on WGN-AM, Daniel Carcillo may be done as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. He is out for the rest of this season -- not due to one of his many suspensions, but due to his having to have reconstructive surgery to repair his damaged knee, which will take six months to heal. Carcillo only had a one year contract with the team. He is expected to continue to do his occasional "Bomb Shelter" weekend radio shows for WGN-AM for the next few months, despite now being away from the hockey team and the mixed reviews the program has received from listeners.  * * For the new season of the Chicago Tribune's live stage show, "Chicago Live!" starring Rick Kogan, organizers have come up with a unique way to publicize the shows. "Chicago Live!" will now have a special "Tweet Seat" section, holding aside seats for six online writers for each show during its upcoming eight-week run. Each Friday, the show's Twitter account will ask for six bloggers to respond to its "callout." The winning six will then win the free seats in the reserved press box area for the following Thursday night show. They will also get a mention at the show they attend. The only catch is the organizers want these bloggers to be writing, posting and tweeting about the show, and even from the show as it is happening.  * * Is NextMedia's WKRS-AM looking to flip from an English-speaking political & regional talk station to a Spanish talk station? No confirmation yet from anybody from within NextMedia or WKRS-AM, but rumors are swirling that the change could come as soon as February 1st. WKRS-AM is located in north suburban Waukegan, the ninth largest city in Illinois, which also happens to be made up of a population well over 50% Hispanic or Latino -- 53.4%, according to the 2010 census. 
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