With a new format and a full hour, Chicago Tonight is hoping to pull in viewers beyond the public TV demographic. The changes have created some controversy, as well as pitching opportunities.
Chicago is a more tradition-bound city than New York or Los Angeles. Perhaps that's why local public broadcasting outlet WTTW ran into such a hailstorm of media criticism this summer when it announced a major format change for its long-running public affairs show
Chicago Tonight.
The old show "was always ...