Writer and producer for the WGN Morning News. Junior member of the “9 at 9” team. Creator and host of the World’s Greatest Newspaper Television Podcast.
This one time, Paul Konrad sniffed my armpits on live television.
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CHICAGO — Wednesday was a beautiful day for a teddy bear picnic on the WGN Morning News, until it was crashed!!!! The “Humboldt Park alligator” made its way out of the Humboldt Park lagoon and chased some of Channel 9’s finest around Circle Drive at the WGN-TV studios. The gator was first spotted Tuesday morning by photographer Ren-Horst Ruiz who was taking pictures with clients. Officials couldn’t say how the beast got in the lagoon in the first place, but […]
It was his first year at WGN… Photojournalist Mike D’Angelo grew up watching Tom Skilling, and now he was about to hop into a hot air balloon to capture video of the iconic meteorologist for a weather story. There was just one problem: Mike doesn’t like heights. But he didn’t dare tell that to Special Projects Producer Pam Grimes. She was a legend in his eyes, and this was a big opportunity for him. He wanted to impress her. And […]
Dean Richards has been broadcasting over Chicago airwaves for more than four decades. He got his start in radio. But since he doesn’t have a face for radio (check out this headshot): …you can also catch Dean on television, on the Old Number Nine, breaking down the latest entertainment stories on the WGN Morning News. He’s interviewed all the biggest stars, and he sees all the latest movies… He’s a really big deal. But when he’s not out there living […]
Ben and Lourdes have been anchoring the WGN Evening News at 4 p.m. for two years now. That made Brian and Ross wonder… what do they hate about each other? Do they like each other more than their previous co-anchors? What’s with Ben’s weird airplane obsession? Will Lourdes invite us to her wedding? Should Ben bring back this stache? Duarte and Bradley: an unrelenting investigative duo. But with the script flipped, it’s their turn to get into the hot seat. […]
Paul Konrad is an international sex symbol. But you knew that… For Episode 6 of the World’s Greatest Newspaper Television Podcast, Brian and Ross sit down with the Morning Show weatherman. He tells us about his storied upbringing… from his days performing with his family’s Austrian folk group, the Traveling Konrads… to that time his father threw a television down the stairs… to that other time he was locked up in a Russian jail. Paul’s a survivor, and an artist. […]
It’s the first episode of the new year…. This time, Brian and Ross sit down with Morning Show funny man Mike Toomey. He’s been making audiences laugh for more than 37 years as a stand-up comic. He’s also the announcer for the 9 a.m. show on the WGN Morning News. So you know this episode is gonna be funny. Seriously…look at this old picture of Mike: Funny, right? If you said yes, check out Mike Toomey’s show “TV&ME” in St. Charles on […]
It’s been a couple months, but we’re back…. In this episode…Brian and Ross explain why it took so long to bring you this lovely new episode. Then, they have a [PHONY] interview with Snoop Dogg, which is 100% [MANUFACTURED] credible [FAKE] and not at all [FAKE] faked/or edited [NOT REAL]. And in Conversations with the World’s Greatest, we sit down with WGN Director of Production Bob Vorwald. Bob is in charge of getting sporting events up and on the Channel […]
Director John Anderson joined the WGN Morning News Friday to talk about his new documentary “Horn From The Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story.” Paul Butterfield grew up in Hyde Park, and would go on to learn the blues from Muddy Waters and other blues masters on the city’s South Side. He’s considered one of the greatest blues harmonica players of all time. The interracial Paul Butterfield Blues Band released its first LP in 1965. It’s been called the #11 Blues […]
It’s been 40 years in the making…. Orson Welles started shooting “The Other Side of the Wind” in 1970. Principal photography wrapped six years later, but the film was never finished. Welles died in 1985. Now, nearly 50 years after he started shooting it, the film is being released on Netflix. And that’s not all… A documentary about the making of Welles’ final film is also hitting the streaming service. “They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead” follows the frantic production […]
WGNTVP turns three episodes old this week… In this episode, Ross returns from his honeymoon, and describes his favorite moment in an aural adventure like no other. Plus, do you know who Frazier Thomas is? Can you pick him out of this lineup of WGN personalities? A viewer text message inspires Brian to quiz some of the millennial WGN anchors to see if they know their station history. And after that, Brian sits down with WGN Security Director Friday. She […]
