WCIU

A local food show in Chicago supporting restaurants during the pandemic has turned into a success for WCIU in Chicago. “It’s just fun and everybody can always get behind food,” says Molly Kelly, Weigel Broadcasting’s media strategy director.

The process, from start to finish, took about five months. The station used light painting photography to capture the flavor of real Chicago, beyond what the tourists see.

TV stations owned by Weigel, Nexstar, Sinclair, Gray, Tegna, Hearst, and Sunbeam in markets all over the country are responding to help those in need in their communities with food, toys, clothing, rent assistance and even restaurants hit by the pandemic.

Not many high school graduates can boast that Oprah Winfrey gave the commencement address at their graduation. But 35,000 seniors graduating from Chicago high schools will remember that Oprah was there, virtually anyway.

“We started with user-generated videos from local comedians, radio personalities and restaurants,” said WCIU’s Steve Bailey. “The videos are real people talking about one of Chicagoans’ greatest passions, their food. We are delivering Chicago Food To Go on multiple broadcast platforms to maximize our support for local restaurants.”

Not a misspelling, ‘soles’ as in gym shoes.  The month-long campaign encouraged Chicago residents across the city and suburbs to donate gently worn or new gym shoes to distribute to those in need by their community partner, Share Your Souls.

At the Promax Station Summit last week in Las Vegas, attendees filled the room for the session Zero Budget Magic, to see how imagination, and little more, is the only currency allowed in spots submitted from stations across the country. Here are all 40 of them.

Creating History will feature six individuals and how they are leaving their mark on the world through compassion for others.