From Pulitzer winners to pink slips: Chicago media makes big moves this summer
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Chicago Public Media's search for a new leader to run the WBEZ/Sun-Times newsroom is over: Pulitzer Prize-winning Kimbriell Kelly returns to Chicago to take the job.
- Kelly, who once wrote for the Chicago Reporter and produced radio programming for WBEZ, has national experience as a bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times and a reporter at the Washington Post.
What they're saying: "Kimbriell has the deep Chicago roots, journalistic excellence, and forward-looking vision to help shape the future of our integrated newsroom," CPM CEO Melissa Bell said in a statement.
Zoom in: Kelly returns to Chicago as the public media organization faces turmoil. The company recently offered buyouts to select staff and laid off others to make ends meet.
- That was before Congress voted to rescind federal funding, which resulted in a loss of $3 million annually, 6% of the organization's yearly budget.
- Kelly succeeds Jennifer Kho, who the company says will move to a special project dealing with the future of public media.
In other local news:
🍽️ Eater Chicago's parent company Vox Media's laid off 15 editors including award-winning journalist Ashok Selvam.
- It's unclear who replaces him as Eater Chicago editor or if the site will continue, but new stories by a temporary contract writer continue to be posted.
🏀 Earlier this year, sports fans were shocked by the surprise firing of longtime host Dan Bernstein by 670 "The Score." Bernstein had a run-in with another social media user on X.
- Bernstein left the station without comment, but later this month, he is launching a podcast with the new 312 Sports, produced by Hubbard Chicago.
📺 WGN-TV is bringing in a new news director. Akemi Harrison will oversee all newsgathering on the WGN TV platforms. She previously was the news director at NBC Chicago.
- On the WGN Radio side, hosts Bob Sirott and John Landecker will host a three-hour show Friday night reflecting on their careers, most notably their time together at WLS in the 1970s.
- They are calling it "For Radio Geeks Only." It airs 7-10pm.
📈 Finally, the July radio ratings just came out, and for the first time in recent memory, no station scored more than 5% of the market share.
- Also, the top six stations were FM music stations as perennial ratings juggernaut WBBM-AM dropped to 7th place. You can see the ratings here.