Listened to him back in my CHICAGO days:
On-air slur sidelines McNeil
By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune sports media reporter
June 28, 2007
Dan McNeil's summer vacation started earlier than planned.
McNeil, the lead voice on WMVP-AM's highly rated "Mac, Jurko & Harry" afternoon show, was set to take a two-week break beginning Monday.
But several sources confirmed McNeil didn't appear on Wednesday's show as part of a three-day suspension he received for calling Lissa Druss Christman, an executive producer at Comcast SportsNet, a "bitch" on the air.
Christman declined comment, but CSN officials released a statement saying: "We are disappointed by the inappropriate comments and personal attacks made by Dan McNeil against one of our employees. ... We hope and expect that WMVP is taking appropriate disciplinary action."
Efforts to reach WMVP general manager Jim Pastor for comment were unsuccessful, but sources say station officials believe McNeil crossed the line with his remark.
Given his past transgressions -- he served a 19-day suspension last June after an on-air spat with co-host Harry Teinowitz -- observers wonder whether McNeil, who declined comment, could be finished at the station.
While WSCR-AM 670 gives its hosts leeway in name-calling, ESPN-owned stations such as WMVP have stricter on-air standards.
Sources say Tuesday's incident occurred after the "Mac, Jurko & Harry" hosts praised CSN for showing the Cubs fan who ran on the field toward pitcher Bob Howry during Monday's game. The hosts debated whether WGN-Ch. 9 would have shown the incident.
A producer at WMVP called CSN to ask whether the stations use the same cameramen. Christman declined to answer and referred the call to another CSN employee.
WMVP then got the answer from a WGN producer. (The stations use different crews.)
Sources say McNeil and Christman have a history so it was not shocking McNeil would insult her. But his word choice drew the ire of Christman and WMVP officials.
Lissa Druss Christman is married to Jim Christman, media services manager of the Bears. A source said Christman's Bears affiliation did not influence WMVP's decision to punish McNeil.
On-air slur sidelines McNeil
By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune sports media reporter
June 28, 2007
Dan McNeil's summer vacation started earlier than planned.
McNeil, the lead voice on WMVP-AM's highly rated "Mac, Jurko & Harry" afternoon show, was set to take a two-week break beginning Monday.
But several sources confirmed McNeil didn't appear on Wednesday's show as part of a three-day suspension he received for calling Lissa Druss Christman, an executive producer at Comcast SportsNet, a "bitch" on the air.
Christman declined comment, but CSN officials released a statement saying: "We are disappointed by the inappropriate comments and personal attacks made by Dan McNeil against one of our employees. ... We hope and expect that WMVP is taking appropriate disciplinary action."
Efforts to reach WMVP general manager Jim Pastor for comment were unsuccessful, but sources say station officials believe McNeil crossed the line with his remark.
Given his past transgressions -- he served a 19-day suspension last June after an on-air spat with co-host Harry Teinowitz -- observers wonder whether McNeil, who declined comment, could be finished at the station.
While WSCR-AM 670 gives its hosts leeway in name-calling, ESPN-owned stations such as WMVP have stricter on-air standards.
Sources say Tuesday's incident occurred after the "Mac, Jurko & Harry" hosts praised CSN for showing the Cubs fan who ran on the field toward pitcher Bob Howry during Monday's game. The hosts debated whether WGN-Ch. 9 would have shown the incident.
A producer at WMVP called CSN to ask whether the stations use the same cameramen. Christman declined to answer and referred the call to another CSN employee.
WMVP then got the answer from a WGN producer. (The stations use different crews.)
Sources say McNeil and Christman have a history so it was not shocking McNeil would insult her. But his word choice drew the ire of Christman and WMVP officials.
Lissa Druss Christman is married to Jim Christman, media services manager of the Bears. A source said Christman's Bears affiliation did not influence WMVP's decision to punish McNeil.
