This morning, Chicagoland radio and TV outlets were interrupted by the Emergency Alert System, then dead air, and then the voice of WGN-AM’s Spike O’Dell, who wondered what the heck was going on. The cause? a FEMA contractor’s installation of the state’s Emergency Alert System satellite receiver in Springfield as part of a nationwide upgrade.
Hard to believe that a fine-looking woman like Rocsi Diaz – who’s now on 106th & Park on BET -once worked for Power 92 (WPWX-FM) in that dumpy neighborhood in Hammond (The station’s studios is right off Calumet Ave. – the only notable building on the entire street. I often pass it on my way to get ripped off at […]
WLUP-FM, or The Loop, has dumped afternoon personality Zakk Tyler after two years of underperforming ratings in the afternoon time slot. A rotating wheel of guest jocks will fill in until a new afternoon show is ready. A lot of people have criticized Tyler for his obvious lack of talent. Who knew?
Mrs. Fortman – Joey Fortman, that is – is leaving the morning show at Nine FM, so she could can move to Philadelphia with her husband, who was named program director of WPEN-AM. No word on a replacement. Also, Kenard Karter has been named music director at urban contemporary WGCI-FM, replacing Tiffany Green, who exited the station in February. Karter […]
Former WGN-AM programming head Tisa LaSorte has been promoted to the newly created position of brand manager of The Loop (WLUP) and Q101 (WKQX). She’ll oversee both stations’ programming, marketing, promotions, and new media. She’ll report directly to Marv Nyren, who is a regional vice president and marketing manager of Emmis’ radio cluster in Chicago. And believe it or not, […]
To coincide with Bob Barker’s retirement from The Price Is Right next month, The Sun-Times reprinted an interview in today’s editions with Robert Feder conducting an interview with him in New York on August 6, 1985. In this article, Feder bought items from a grocery store and played a pricing game on ol’ Bob. He missed every one of them […]
Elroy Smith, one of Chicago’s – and the nation’s most successful urban radio programmers – has resigned from Clear Channel Chicago after a fifteen-year run in the Windy City. Smith ran WGCI-FM until last March, when he was replaced. Smith was previously WVAZ-FM’s program director.
WLS-AM is rewinding back on Memorial Day for a trip back to the days when it was “The Rock of Chicago.” The Big 89 Rewind will feature former jocks Larry Lujack, Tommy Edwards, John Landecker, Fred Winston, Chris Shibel, and Jeff Davis (hey, where’s Brant Miller?) The event will start at 5a.m. and will end at midnight. WLS-AM was the […]
Dance Factory, a biweekly show spotlighting dance music that airs Friday and Saturday Nights on Nine FM, is now going to be “stripped” – seven nights a week. Starting Monday, the Newsweb-owned triplecast -WKIE/WDEK/WRZA -FM, will strip Dance Factory weeknights and Sundays at 9 p.m and Saturday Nights at 8 p.m. What’s unusual is that Dance Factory skewes younger than […]
April from Chicago, who is 24 years old, 5’9″, and 32-24-34. She beat out 15 other girls who particatped in the classic rock station’s annual model contest at 115 Bourbon st. in south suburban Merrionette Park (The bar is located right across the street on the border of Chicago’s Mount Greenwood neighborhood, near 115th and Homan.) April will be paid […]
In honor of WBBM-FM’s 25th anniversary as a Contemporary Hit/Top 40 station (which flipped from a downtrodden adult contemporary format on May 3, 1982), we dug up this gem – a commercial that aired shortly after the format was launched (it adopted the “B96” moniker a little bit later…) B96 would be the station that would end the two-decades dominance […]
Arbitron released the Winter Chicago radio ratings yesterday. Analysis: * As Robert Feder points out, the stations that benefited the most were the black and Hispanic-targeted stations, taking 5 out of the top 10. WGCI-FM remains No.1 (In other words, don’t write off hip-hop yet.) *Urban AC WVAZ-FM (V103) was a big winner, moving up to fourth place. *Top 40 […]
This time, its WFNY-FM’s (“Free FM” – or “FraudFM” as many have dubbed it) The Dog House with JV and Elvis, suspended indefinitely for racist comments made on the air in a phone prank made to a Chinese restaurant. This follows another incident last week at a Augusta, Ga. station, where a talk-show host repeated Don Imus’ infamous comments on […]
Overnighter James Van Osdol exits; so has afternoon guy Todd “Fook” Fooks.
Instead of the garbage that’s being posted on Radio-Info and the blogs from the major newspapers on the Imus controversy – read this: From TV Barn’s comments page: Our one-week-long national nightmare is over “Of course there’s a place for it … it’s called radio.” “Sad but probably true. Radio is desperate for attention. It’s irrelevant to entire generations, having […]
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