Fox 32, which lost two prominent reporters this year to NBC 5, has filled one of its on-air openings. Cassie Carlson, who joined the station in April 2022, was recently promoted to replace Lou Canellis as lead sports anchor on WFLD-Ch. 32.
It’s game on for Carlson, 30, who dreamed of becoming a sportscaster while growing up in the northwest suburbs and hopes to bring a fan’s passion and a “breath of fresh air” to one of the highest-profile positions in Chicago TV.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to make it my own and bring my own personality,” Carlson said.
A graduate of Palatine High School and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Carlson came of age during the Blackhawks’ post-millennium glory years, enjoying family watch parties as the team won three Stanley Cups between 2010 and 2015.
Carlson was inspired to become a TV sportscaster by Sarah Kustok, another homegrown talent who cut her teeth as a reporter for the bygone Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Kustok went on to become the NBA’s first female lead game analyst for the Brooklyn Nets.
“I always just watched her and thought, ‘Wow, she has the coolest job in the world,’” Carlson said. “She gets to talk about sports and be at the games.”
It’s now Carlson’s job to talk sports to passionate Chicago viewers for whom SNL’s “Superfans” skit is cinéma vérité. In addition to anchoring primetime sportscasts, Carlson will head up “Bears GameDay Live,” “Bears Blitz,” “Bears GameNight Live” and “Chicago Sports Tonight.”
Born 10 years after the ‘85 Bears won the Super Bowl, Carlson’s TV aspirations include getting to cover the team’s next title, which seems more promising as the Ben Johnson/Caleb Williams era unfolds.
“I would love to see what this city would be like during that time,” Carlson said. “Didn’t get to witness it in ’85 so I am looking forward to, hopefully, it happening in the next few years.”
Meanwhile Fox-Ch. 32 is still looking to fill the slot vacated by lead political correspondent Paris Schutz, who left the station last month to join WMAQ-Ch. 5.
Chicago TV station for sale
Want to buy and build a new Chicago TV station? Media broker Bob Heymann has been hired by family-owned suburban broadcaster Nelson TV to sell WAUR-Ch. 29, a low-powered station licensed to Aurora, which has been granted a construction permit by the FCC to move its transmitter about 55 miles east to Trump Tower.
WAUR is among the first low-power TV stations in the U.S. to get permission for a “major change” in service area under new rules implemented by the FCC in December.
“This is the only one that was granted as a result of this historic window opening up in Chicago,” said Heymann, managing director of Chicago-based Media Services Group. “I do have significant interest in it.”
While WAUR will have to reduce its power from 15kW to 1.4kW because of the increased antenna height at Trump Tower, its signal will cover most of the Chicago area, Heymann said. The asking price is $1.5 million, not including the cost of relocating from its current home in west suburban Plano and a new lease deal with Trump Tower.
TV megamerger in limbo
The owner of “Chicago’s Very Own” WGN-Ch. 9 is facing growing legal opposition to an already completed but politically fraught megamerger.
Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion acquisition of rival TV station owner Tegna, which was approved by the FCC and closed in March, is in limbo after a California federal judge issued a preliminary injunction last month rising out of a lawsuit brought by DirecTV and joined by attorneys general from 13 states including Illinois.
“DirecTV supports efforts to preserve a competitive and affordable media marketplace for Illinois viewers,” the pay-TV provider said in a statement to the Tribune.
The plaintiffs contend the deal creating the country’s largest TV station group would cut jobs, increase cable bills and decrease local news content.
In February, WGN-Ch. 9 laid off eight veteran reporters and anchors in one fell swoop ahead of the proposed merger. Sweeping layoffs also took place at Nexstar TV stations in Los Angeles and New York.
Dallas-based Nexstar Media bought WGN’s TV, radio and cable stations in 2019 as part of its $4.1 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Tribune Media — the former broadcast parent of Tribune Publishing. Under Nexstar, cable channel WGN America became NewsNation in 2020.
The Tegna merger required the FCC to waive a 39% national TV audience ownership cap. In September, Nexstar pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from its ABC-affiliated stations over comments the late-night host made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Some analysts saw Nexstar’s move as an attempt to curry favor with FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
During a first-quarter earnings call last week, Perry Sook, the chair and CEO of Nexstar, defended the merger as properly vetted by federal regulators and essentially, a done deal.
“The Tegna acquisition was approved. We do own the assets,” Sook said. “We feel it went through a fulsome approval process at both the FCC and the DOJ, the two expert agencies that regulate this industry, as opposed to the state AGs that have shown no real concern or support for local media, local journalism, local television until this election year.”
Dig out the rabbit ears
Cubs and Sox fans who didn’t upgrade their Comcast subscriptions to the higher-priced Ultimate tier this season where the Chicago Sports Network and Marquee Sports Network now reside, might want to get out their rabbit ears antennas.
This weekend they can watch both teams for free when the Crosstown Series airs on WCIU-Ch. 26.
The U will carry CHSN’s coverage as the Sox host the Cubs at Rate Field for three games. The old-school TV broadcasts begin at 6 p.m. Friday, 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday. For those playing catch-up, the first-place Cubs are among the hottest teams in baseball while the Sox are flirting with .500 as the always heated city rivalry plays out.
Cubs’ World Series win remembered
The Score, WSCR-AM 670 and 104.3 FM, the radio home of the Cubs, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the team’s 2016 World Series championship with play-by-play rebroadcasts through August. The Audacy-owned station is airing 16 pivotal games from that season, culminating in the Game 7 World Series win over the Indians.
Next up is the May 22 rebroadcast of the “Kris Bryant Game” from June 2016, when the Cubs third baseman became the first MLB player in the modern era to hit three homers and two doubles in leading the team to an 11-8 win over the Reds.
WBBM to lose CBS reports
Plans are still up in the air for another Audacy-owned Chicago station, WBBM Newsradio, which has yet to announce what comes next after the imminent demise of CBS Radio.
WBBM-AM 780 and 105.9 FM, Chicago’s all-news station and an original CBS Radio affiliate, will need to fill the top-of-the-hour network newscast after the familiar five-note sounder tolls for the final time next Friday. NBC and ABC are among the radio networks looking to replace CBS at the perennial Chicago ratings leader, according to industry analysts.
CBS News announced in March it was ending its storied radio news service after nearly 100 years of operation, blaming economic conditions and the changing media landscape. The network, which provides news to 700 stations across the country, will shut down on May 22.
This is the first installment of the biweekly Chicago Media Report column. Send tips about Chicago media moves and news to rchannick@chicagotribune.com.
