Happy New Year: Randy’s court date gets delayed

Randy Michaels

Robservations on the media beat:

• Justice won’t come this year for Randy Michaels, the Merlin Media CEO who faces drunken driving charges in Ohio. Michaels, 59, was arrested in the wee hours of October 14 after police reportedly found his car stuck in the mud in a construction zone and smelled alcohol on his breath. After refusing to take a breathalyzer test, the former Tribune Co. CEO was charged with operating a vehicle impaired and driving on a closed street. Michaels' lawyer entered a not guilty plea. Wednesday was to have been Michaels’ day in court, but the hearing was postponed until January 13, according to Middletown Municipal Court records. In Chicago, Merlin Media owns all-news WIQI-FM (101.1) and classic rock WLUP-FM (97.9).

• Newcity’s 19th annual Best of Chicago issue hits the streets today with another roundup of highly debatable (but conversation-worthy) local media luminaries populating its lists. Among this year’s winners: NBC 5 reporter Lauren Jiggetts as best-looking female TV personality; Windy City Live host Ryan Chiaverini as best-looking male TV personality; WGN’s Paul Konrad as best TV weatherman, and WFMT as best radio station. Named best future owner of the Chicago Tribune: Warren Buffett. “What better billionaire to own our paper than one who wants higher taxes on himself, not the ninety-nine percent?” Newcity asks.

• Bozo’s Super Colossal Christmas Circus with Bob Bell, Roy Brown and Marshall Brodien, and Bill Jackson’s Please Open Before Christmas are among local treasures in Holiday Classics: The Best of Holiday Television & Radio Specials, David Plier’s online exhibit culled from the archives of Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications. Other highlights include Jack Benny, Fibber McGee and Molly, Suspense, The Honeymooners, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Charlie Brown, Mr. Magoo, Sonny & Cher, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days and Seinfeld. And who can resist the 1973 special Thirty Channel 7 Christmases, with legendary ABC 7 anchorman Fahey Flynn celebrating the station’s 30th anniversary — and reflecting on the meaning of Christmas.

• Chris Pena, former assistant news director at NBC 5, has been named managing editor of NBCLatino.com, an English-language news site targeting the more than 50.5 million Hispanics in the U.S. NBC News plans to launch the site, featuring a mix of “news, politics, lifestyle, parenting, education and other issues,” early next year, according to Broadcasting & Cable. Pena told the trade publication that he plans to feature content that “goes far beyond the usual coverage of Hispanics in the mainstream media, and include stories on ‘successful and inspiring Hispanics,’ as well as issues directly impacting the community.” Pena, who had been overseeing daily news operations and special projects at NBC 5 since 2008, left the station in June to take on what had been an unspecified management position with NBC News in New York.

• Me-TV, the Chicago-based network for classic television, wraps up its first year of national distribution with coverage over more than 71 percent of the country, including the latest additions of affiliates in Denver and Indianapolis. “If you stacked our 80-plus shows end to end, I’m sure we’d reach a mile high or more, so we are perfect for the Mile High City,” Neal Sabin, president of content and networks for Weigel Broadcasting Co., said in a statement. “We’re also thrilled to bring Me-TV to Indianapolis . . . People in Central Indiana have been asking for Me-TV since day one with emails and Facebook posts by the dozen, so we’re pleased to bring our memorable entertainment to Indy’s classic TV fans.”

• One of the few encouraging trends in local television news may be a renewed emphasis on investigative reporting. Last month NBC 5 brought back Peabody Award winner Katy Smyser and is close to adding a second investigative producer for its Unit 5 staff. Around the same time, Fox Chicago hired Patrick McCraney, a Chicago area native who most recently was an investigative producer at WITI-TV in Milwaukee. McCraney, who’ll work closely with Fox Chicago reporters Dane Placko and Larry Yellen, is married to NBC 5 morning producer Lacey McCraney.