Posted by Bud on May 13, 2010 at 11:31:29:
Courtesy of Phil Rosenthal at the Chicago Tribune:
Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co., which has been trying to dip its toe back into the syndicated television business, plans next month to tape pilot episodes for a potential daytime talk-show with radio host Bill Cunningham in the old "Bozo's Circus" studio at WGN-Ch. 9.
The program, tentatively called "Willie," will be tested on Chicago's Channel 9 and other Tribune Co. stations. If green-lit in July, it would start airing on Tribune Co. stations in January in advance of national syndication in fall 2011.
Richard Dominick, who exited "Jerry Springer" after 18 years as executive producer in 2008, will produce the Cunningham project being developed by Tribune Broadcasting programming chief Sean Compton.
A Tribune Co. spokesman declined comment.
An earlier pilot in which Compton paired Cunningham and Springer for political debate, taped in Cincinnati, recently was scrapped. A reason cited was that Springer's commitments to "Springer" and the cable game show "Baggage" did not leave him enough time for another program.
The "Willie" pilot is just one of two pilots Tribune Co. plans to produce next month at WGN's West Bradley Place headquarters. Details are sketchy on the other one, although one source flatly said it would not involve "a Chicago personality."
"Willie," which sources described as not political but topical and opinionated with a studio audience, is being tailored to mesh with NBC Universal conflict talk shows "Springer," "The Steve Wilkos Show" and Maury Povich's "Maury." Those shows also run on many Tribune Co. stations although only "Maury" airs on Chicago's WGN.
Springer and Wilkos taped their programs in Chicago until the start of the current TV season, when NBC Universal moved production to Stamford, Conn., because of state tax credits offered there.
It has been about two years since the company's
Tribune Entertainment declared it was getting out of the syndicated program and distribution business. Shows it was distributing at that time included "American Idol Rewind" and "Soul Train," which moved to other companies.
WGN was, from 1974 to 1982, home for production of Phil Donahue's syndicated daily talk show.
Cunningham, who does a daily talk show for Cincinnati's WLW-AM, where he first came to know Compton and Randy Michaels, now Tribune Co. chief executive. His nationally syndicated program airs on around 300 stations, including Sundays at 9 p.m. on Chicago's WLS-AM 890.
The plan, if the TV show goes forward, would be for Cunningham to spend two to three days a week in Chicago working on it while doing his Cincinnati radio program from a remote studio here.
Tribune Co.'s television stations are heavily reliant on syndicated programming and its relationship with the CW network.