WGN Chicago

The longtime journalist at Tribune’s Chicago CW affil is promoted to succeed the retiring Greg Caputo.

Tribune-owned CW affiliate WGN Chicago (DMA 3) is adding Courtney Gousman as a general assignment reporter, effective July 9. She will be reporting on WGN’s evening newscasts. Prior to WGN, Gousman […]

The Cubs plan to announce Thursday that they are ending a 90-year run on WGN-AM, but that may not be the only change on the airwaves next season: WGN-TV, the Cubs’ television home since 1948, is on notice, and perhaps on the way out. The Cubs exercised an option to end their agreement with WGN-TV last year, making the team a television free agent in 2015.

The busiest television newsroom in Chicago is about to get busier. Tribune’s CW affiliate WGN, which leads the market in producing 54 hours of local news each week, plans to add another hour of news — from 4 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday — starting in September.

While WLS is certain to keep Windy City Live on its weekday schedule at 11 a.m., and WCIU will continue You & Me This Morning at 6 a.m., could there be another locally produced daytime talk show coming to Chicago television this fall? WGN, which already airs 54 hours a week of live local news, is considering jumping into the daily talk show business, too.

Greg Caputo, a widely admired and respected television news executive who headed three Chicago news operations over more than three decades, is retiring as news director of Tribune Broadcasting’s Chicago CW affiliate WGN. Caputo announced today that he plans to step down in June, one month before he turns 65.

Tribune-owned CW affiliate WGN Chicago (DMA 3) today launched its first traffic app, WGN Traffic. It is available for free download through the Apple Store here. Chicago-area commuters can use WGN […]

Tribune Broadcasting is reaching out to its station in Cleveland to fill the longstanding vacancy for president-GM of its Chicago CW affiliate WGN. Moving up from the 19th largest market to the third is Greg Easterly, a 17-year veteran of WJW-TV, Cleveland’s Fox affiliate.

This TV, the 24/7 free digital network from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., is now on airing on WGN Chicago’s ch. 9.3 and, starting in December, will be on the following cable […]

Since May 2009, four Chicago stations — CBS-owned WBBM, NBC O&O WMAQ, Fox-owned WFLD and Tribune’s CW outlet WGN — have been pooling camera crews, assignment editors and other resources in order to share run-of-the-mill news content on the cheap. First to announce it was bailing was WMAQ and now WGN says it’s leaving too.

The Chicago Cubs have exercised an option to get out of their broadcast contract with WGN-TV after the 2014 season, sources said Wednesday. The team notified the Tribune Co.-owned station on Tuesday it had 30 days to agree to substantially higher fees for the 2015 season and beyond, or the broadcast rights would be opened up for negotiation with other media, according to a source close to the situation.

After a year as acting GM of WGN Chicago, Steve Farber is moving back to a corporate job with Tribune Broadcasting where he’ll oversee the company’s digital networks.

Effective Sept. 3, Tribune’s CW affiliate WGN Chicago (DMA 3) has promoted reporter Dan Ponce to co-anchor of the 4 and 5 a.m. newscasts of WGN Morning News alongside co-anchor […]

WGN Chicago reporter Pat Tomasulo was apparently sick and tired of people waving and making funny faces behind him while he was trying to tape standups — so he decided to get even.

This is the second in a series of articles previewing the finalists in the 2013 PromaxBDALocal Awards. The winners will be announced at the PROMAX Station Summit on Thursday, June 27, in Las Vegas. The category today is News/Information Program Spot, which is any video created to promote a news, information or current affairs program, etc. The finalists are WJBK Detroit; KPIX San Francisco; WPFO Portland, Maine; WGN Chicago; CP24 Toronto; and CTV-BC Vancouver.

Fans of Chicago’s WGN Morning News anchors Larry Potash and Robin Baumgarten and the rest of the madcap morning gang may get to enjoy them for an hour longer — from 9 to 10 a.m. Monday-Friday. Nothing is official, but insiders say that’s the most likely scenario this fall when the syndicated Live with Kelly & Michael leaves the Tribune Broadcasting station. In one form or another, the show has been airing in the 9 a.m. slot on WGN for more than a decade.

It’s like an earthquake rattling up from the depths, a seismic shift could rock many corners of broadcasting and production in Chicago. The Cubs not on WGN-TV anymore after serving as ancestral programming since the station first signed on in 1948?! That possibility is looming as a 2015 reality now.

Chicago CW affiliate WGN spent a few minutes during Friday’s morning newscast in breaking news mode, reporting on a small plane that had crashed on King Drive in Chicago. The only problem: the plane crash was actually being staged for the filming of an episode of NBC’s Chicago Fire and was not breaking news at all.

Tribune-owned CW affiliate WGN Chicago (DMA 3) announced that as of October, its WGN-TV News Live Stream on wgntv.com reached more than 1.4 million video views. This is a 370% […]

The FCC on Friday cleared the way for Tribune Co. to emerge from bankruptcy by allowing the owner of the Los Angeles Times and KTLA Los Angeles to transfer ownership of its newspaper-TV station holdings in five markets to a new owner. But in four of the markets — including Los Angeles — the new owners may have to seek FCC waivers to continue holding the combined media properties for more than a year, according to the FCC’s order.

In Chicago, the broadcaster is preparing to use Brainstorm’s computer-generated set for its 24/7 cable news channel as well as for special events and sports and talk shows on the channel and on flagship WGN.

The Tribune Chicago CW affiliate picks Tribune’s programming operations VP to be interim general manager following the move of Marty Wilke to WBBM.

WGN’s GM, Marty Wilke, is moving over to CBS O&O WBBM, succeeding Bruno Cohen, who is taking over the GM slot for CBS’s San Francisco duopoly, plus its KSTW Seattle. Cohen succeeds Ron Longinotti, who is leaving the company.

Viewers of the Tribune CW affiliate can now go to googletv.wgntv.com to watch the latest news and weather streaming 24/7 on their televisions, phones or just about any device. The SmartTV site is also available as an app in the Google Play store for Android devices.

Today is Groundhog Day so I wanted to take this opportunity to launch a preemptive strike by whacking the weasel with some facts about his forecasts.

WGN Chicago’s Morning News Drive-Thru Toy Drive celebrated its ninth year on Tuesday; its second tied to Jennifer Hudson. This four-hour event featured carolers, Santa, holiday fun, and an appearance […]