Tag: Rick Kaempfer
Media • April 2024 • Me-TV FM’s Deep Cuts
After a 20+ year stretch on the air in Chicago (WCKG, WLUP, and the Drive), most music fans know Phil Manicki as a disc jockey. But before he became known on the air, Phil had a vibrant background in programming, and that history is helping him in his new role as the program director of […]
Media • March 2024 : Tom Skilling’s Parting Words
You won’t be surprised to discover that retiring WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling has loved the weather since he was young. “My parents couldn’t figure out where the heck this weather passion came from,” Skilling admits. “I had a psychic tell me one time that I was a ship captain in a previous life. It’s […]
Media – December 2023 • In Memoriam
Every December, I write a column dedicated to the great pros we lost in the media this year. This year was a particularly cruel one. We lost writers like Bill Zehme and Joe Goddard (Chicago Sun-Times), television stars like Jerry Springer, Richard Belzer, Suzanne Somers, Matthew Perry, and Richard Moll, recording and movie stars […]
Media: November 2023: The Loop Files: An Oral History
I’ve written a new book called The Loop Files: An Oral History of the Most Outrageous Radio Station Ever. The book comes out officially at the end of this month, but this month’s media column is a free preview.  All the biggest stars who helped make the Loop (FM 98) so memorable tell the […]
Media: May 2023 • Andrea’s Illini Calling
After decades of working at WGN Radio and WGN Television, Andrea Darlas has fond memories of her time there. “I loved all the people I worked with at WGN. Working with Spike O’Dell was a joy. He was a legend. Being his news anchor for five years is probably the highlight of my career. I […]
Media: March 2023 • Sky Daniels Remembers The Loop FM98
Sky Daniels was one of the biggest stars at the Loop in their first heyday (1979-1981), and although he has gone on to an incredibly successful career in the record and radio business and is now retired and living in California, he still has very fond memories of his time in Chicago. But […]
Media: February 2023 • Waking Up with Q101’s Brian and Justin
Brian Haddad and Justin Nettlebeck have been doing mornings at Q-101 for the last four years, but there have been a few changes in the last few months. First, long-time co-host Ali Mattacola left the show in November. As of this writing, they are still looking for the right person to fill that slot. But […]
January 2023: Media • In Memoriam
As we enter a new year, we do so without a talented group of broadcasters we lost in 2022. I won’t be able to name all of them, but here are a few that passed away from the world of radio and television. It became clear that 2022 wasn’t going to be a great […]
Media : December 2022 • Baby Onions – It’s Chuck Swirsky
Chuck Swirsky is in the midst of his 25th season as an NBA play-by-play man, and his 15th year doing radio play-by-play for the Bulls. Next month he’ll do his 2000th game. “If everything goes according to plan,” he says, “it will happen on January 13, a Friday night, against Oklahoma City.” That’s a […]
Media: November 2022 • Chicago Radio Archives
You may not be familiar with Don Beno’s radio career, although he had a long one with extended stays in the Chicago area at stations like WJOL (Joliet), WCFL (Morris, IL), The Bus (Kankakee), and WLS-FM. But if you are on Facebook and are interested in classic radio, you’ve probably seen Don’s work. […]
Media: August 2022 • Bob Stroud • “40 Years of The Stroud Crowd”
DJ Bob Stroud always loved radio, but before he launched his legendary radio career that lasted five decades and ended with his semi-retirement a few weeks ago, he was honing his delivery elsewhere. “I did three years of dinner theater in Florida,” he explains. “I started out just working tech because you had […]
Media: May 2022 • WGN’s Dave Plier
WGN Radio’s Dave Plier’s interest in the media began at a very young age. “Getting to see the Bozo show when I was a kid really did it. I saw the set there, and I remember thinking it was so small. I had no idea it was like that. It intrigued me and fascinated […]
Media: April 2022 • Dana Kozlov • Home at Channel 2
She’s the new weekend anchor at WBBM-TV, Channel 2 in Chicago, but Dana Kozlov has been in the news business for a long time.“This month is my 30th anniversary as a paid reporter.” After paying her dues hustling for stories for Channel 2, and before that, WGN Channel 9, she’s excited about the chance to […]
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