Chicago Trib hires media reporter

Robert Channick, a freelance writer who ran his family’s southwest suburban country music radio station, has been hired to cover media for the Chicago Tribune, reports Robert Feder of Time Out Chicago.

Feder writes, “Starting Monday, Channick joins the Tribune’s business section as a beat reporter covering media and advertising/marketing, according to an announcement Thursday by Michael Lev, assistant managing editor of business. ‘What distinguishes Bob’s reporting and writing is a relentless curiosity, an appropriate sense of fun and an ability to understand and explain business issues,’ Lev told staffers in a memo.

“His hiring is part of an expansion of the Tribune’s editorial product, including the addition of more pages and personnel for its business section. On the media beat, Channick will pick up from Phil Rosenthal, who shifted this week to covering the broader world of business in his column.

“Channick, who served as general manager of WCCQ-FM (98.3) in Joliet for 12 years, has been freelancing for the Tribune since 2002. His most recent piece in Wednesday’s paper was about sports management programs at graduate business schools in the area.”

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