Rob Feder revisits the guessing game of who will replace Spike O’Dell at WGN when Spike calls it quits, reportedly at the end of the year.

Although he could choose to work past December, sources said O’Dell already has told his bosses that he plans to retire from his $1 million a year gig at the end of the year.

O’Dell has made no secret of his unhappiness at having to get up at 2 in the

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A year after she showed up at the home of a missing woman’s husband in Plainfield and was caught in a bikini on the patio, former NBC 5 reporter Amy Jacobson is suing Ch. 2 for airing the video tape of her visit to Craig Stebic.

Jacobson claims that the report, which led to her departure from NBC 5, has also prevented her from finding gainful employment during the last year.

The civil suit claims defamation, invasion of privacy,…

In a message posted to his website today, WSCR-AM 670 The Score morning man Mike North announced that he and the station have not been able to come to an agreement and, for the time being, he is no longer an employee.

From his website:

I am now done at the Score. I met with management this past Friday
and since I wouldn’t accept the deal they offered; they told me I
wasn’t allowed to be on the air anymore.

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In today’s Trib, Teddy Greenstein reports that WSCR’s morning man Mike North is taking a day off on Monday, which isn’t really news, except that North’s contract with the CBS sports talker is up for renewal in a little over a week:

After being asked whether he was seeking leverage in negotiations, North seemed to confirm that but also said: “As far as I’m concerned, they basically want me to take some time off.”

Asked whether that means he…

Fellow media blogger T-Dog (aka Terence Henderson) has a great post about the debacle that is WBBM-TV Ch.2:

The station’s betting on a new studio at State and Washington in
Downtown Chicago to bail them out of their ratings mess. But viewers
don’t watch news because of a cool studio set. They watch news for
substance, and delivered in a way that won’t insult their intelligence.

T-Dog slices up Ch.2 like a ninja, pointing out that…

Discovery Communications has announced a deal with Chicago’s Oprah Winfrey to launch a new cable network, dubbed OWN — the Oprah Winfrey Network.

The network will debut in 2009 and will supplant the channel currently known as the Discovery Health Channel.

OWN’s mission is to create multiple platforms for women, men and their families with a purpose and a passion: to celebrate life, to inspire and entertain, empowering viewers around the world to live their best lives, and by doing

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Rosenthal reports today that CBS 2’s Antonia Mora will be departing Chicago this week for a new gig at CBS’s WFOR-TV in Miami. Mora recently had his duties trimmed from anchoring both the 6pm and 10pm newscasts to just the 6pm newscast. At that point, it was clear that Ch. 2’s plans didn’t include a major role for Mora, who came to the station in 2002 from ABC’s “Good Morning America”.

It’s unfortunate that Mora is leaving the market, as…

Feder reports today that journeyman broadcaster Bruce Wolf will be leaving WMAQ-TV Ch. 5 when his deal expires on February 15. Wolf jumped to Ch. 5 in 2006 after spending 18 years at WFLD-TV Ch. 2.

Starting on Channel 5 as a traffic reporter, he segued to host of “Barely Today,” a freewheeling showcase for his wit and wisecracks, airing in the predawn mist of 4:30 a.m. After that was deemed a noble but unsuccessful experiment, he was deployed as

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