CBS Radio pulled the plug on its century-old network Friday, ending its top-of-the-hour news service to 700 stations across the country, including WBBM-AM 780, which actually flipped the switch to ABC News a day early, denying Chicago listeners one last chance to hear the iconic five-note CBS network news sounder.
It also silenced, at least for now, radio veteran Jennifer Keiper, who for the past 5½ years has anchored the network’s afternoon and evening newscasts from her Chicago studio. She signed off Friday as the penultimate voice of CBS News Radio, which ceased broadcasting at midnight.
“I’m sad about it,” Keiper said. “It’s rich history that’s gone, and another newsroom that’s not filled.”
A Pennsylvania native who moved to Chicago after her childhood home was washed out by the 1972 Wilkes-Barre flood, Keiper discovered broadcasting while doing a cable TV news show at Oak Park and River Forest High School. She went on to earn her master’s from Columbia College, and has been shifting across the Chicago radio dial for three decades.
Starting as an intern at WBBM-FM 96.3 (B96), Keiper was promoted to public affairs director and then laid off in the first of several corporate downsizing events during her broadcast career.
“The first time I got fired, I cried,” Keiper said, “The second time I asked, ‘Where’s the severance agreement?’”
Saying her goodbyes at B96, Keiper was asked by the news director at WBBM-AM if she was afraid of heights. She was promptly hired to do traffic reports for the station from the Sears (now Willis) Skydeck.
Since then Keiper has bounced between anchor/reporter gigs at WLS-AM 890, WBBM-AM 780 and a Waukegan station, even serving six years as Midwest correspondent at Fox News Radio. In 2020, while back at WBBM-AM, Keiper got a call from CBS News Radio in New York.
“When CBS called me that summer, I jumped,” Keiper said.
Keiper was hired to host “World News Roundup Late Edition,” as well as afternoon and evening newscasts. She was the only Chicago-based anchor at the network.
In December, CBS canceled “World News Roundup Late Edition” and Keiper saw the writing on the wall, updating her résumé and aircheck. The network 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.
Keiper said she’s looking forward to the “Summer of Jen,” akin to the “Seinfeld” episode where a recently fired George Costanza envisions a carefree summer of leisure. While Costanza’s plans go awry, Keiper has sketched out an itinerary that includes archery, getting her violin restrung and road trips with her husband.
But the Chicago radio anchor hopes to get back behind the mic again soon.
“It’s kind of nice to not have an obligation to have to do something, but I’m readily available,” Keiper said. “If an anchor gig opens up full time, I’m there.”
Former WGN anchor lands federal court gig
When WGN-Ch.9 laid off eight veteran reporters and anchors in February ahead of parent company Nexstar Media Group’s planned acquisition of rival TV station owner Tegna, it sent shockwaves through the Chicago media ecosystem.
Three months later, the $6.2 billion merger is frozen by a federal antitrust lawsuit brought by DirecTV and 13 attorneys general, while at least one former WGN newsperson has already moved on to a post-broadcast career.
Sean Lewis, longtime weekend morning news anchor at WGN-TV, started a new gig last week as spokesperson for the U.S. District Court in Chicago.
“When the job offer came through, I was ecstatic, because I can’t imagine a better place for me to be, as a political science nerd,” said Lewis, 51. “I get to take all of everything that I’ve experienced and learned and put that into this job.”
Disappointed by the abrupt end at WGN, Lewis had nonetheless been mulling a new career path for the better part of a year amid broader industry contractions.
A week after his layoff, Lewis saw the job opening and the opportunity to make the switch from reporter to spokesperson at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where he had covered stories for years.
The biggest change for Lewis may be getting his own office.
“My entire career I had a small desk in the middle of a newsroom without windows, and now I have a whole office to myself with my name on the door, and I have a door, and I have windows,” Lewis said.
WXRT tops radio ratings
Radio ratings are in for April and the station long billed as Chicago’s Finest Rock came out on top for the second month in a row. Audacy-owned WXRT-FM 93.1 bolstered its No. 1 position in Chicago with a 6.3 share among listeners 6+ in the latest rankings from Nielsen.
Newsradio WBBM-AM 780 and 105.9 FM, the all-news combo also owned by Audacy, tied for second with Hubbard’s adult contemporary station, WTMX-FM 101.9, The Mix, with a 5.7 share, according to Nielsen.
Rounding out the top stations are classic rock WDRV-FM 97.1; country WUSN-FM 99.5; adult contemporary WLIT-FM 93.9; urban adult contemporary WVAZ-FM 102.7; contemporary hit WKSC-FM 103.5 and news/talk WGN-AM 720.
CHSN scores record ratings during City Series
The first round of the City Series went to the Sox, who won two of three games from the Cubs in thrilling fashion May 15-17 at Rate Field. The Chicago Sports Network, the pay-TV home of the Sox, was equally thrilled with the results, scoring the team’s three highest-rated games since 2021 — pre-dating the inception of the fledgling regional sports network.
The CHSN broadcasts, which were simulcast on WCIU-Ch. 26 as part of a 10-game package with Weigel Broadcasting, averaged about 200,000 viewers throughout the weekend, according to the network.
For Comcast subscribers that didn’t pay up for the Ultimate tier, where CHSN and the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network now reside, the over-the-air broadcasts on The U — also available on basic cable — may have been the first opportunity to watch the teams this season.
“I’m sure that played a role in it,” said Mike McCarthy, president and CEO of CHSN.
The Cubs’ opening win averaged 207,600 viewers, the White Sox’s victory Saturday averaged 172,600 viewers and the Sunday afternoon finale, a White Sox walk-off win in extra innings, averaged 219,700 viewers, according to Nielsen data provided by CHSN.
The combined viewership on CHSN and WCIU topped Marquee across all three games, according to CHSN-provided data.
A joint venture between the Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and Nashville, Tennessee-based Standard Media, CHSN went live in October 2024, but didn’t strike a carriage deal with Comcast until last June.
McCarthy, a veteran sports executive who formerly served as general manager at Marquee when it launched in 2020, said having both Chicago teams playing well at the time contributed to CHSN’s ratings success.
“We’re lucky enough to be able to point the cameras on it, but that’s where it all starts,” said McCarthy.
In addition to big TV numbers, Sunday’s win over the Cubs was also CHSN’s most streamed game to date, generating over 2 million minutes of online viewership, the network said.
CHSN’s direct-to-consumer streaming app costs $19.99 per month for the White Sox or $29.99 per month to include the Bulls and Hawks. The Marquee streaming app is also $19.99 per month to watch the Cubs.
The excitement around the City Series led to a 35% increase in direct-to-consumer subscriptions for CHSN, McCarthy said.
“We had one hell of a weekend on our DTC subscription rate,” McCarthy said.
Weather a family affair at NBC 5
The only father-son weather team in Chicago TV will have a moment in the sun Saturday with the premiere of “Meet the Millers,” a 30-minute documentary featuring longtime NBC 5 chief meteorologist Brant Miller and his son, Joey Miller, a weathercast producer at the station.
A lighthearted celebration of the elder Miller’s 35 years at NBC 5 Chicago, the special focuses on the unique working relationship with his meteorologist son, who joined the family broadcasting business in 2010.
“This documentary shows the real fun behind the forecast, and the joy of getting to do this job with family,” Brant Miller said in a news release. “Chicago has trusted me for decades, and now they get to see why Joey still claims he’s the ‘normal’ one.”
“Meet the Millers” airs Saturday at 6:00 p.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5.
Send tips about Chicago media moves and news to rchannick@chicagotribune.com.
