However, his run-ins with WGN management makes them feel his antics werent worth it. It was granted the sequentially issued call letters WDAP to Mid West Radio Central, Inc. in Chicago. [26] The next year another Chicago station, WFMT, moved to the vacated 98.7 assignment.[27]. WGN Radio AM 720 United States employs 59 employees. And nobody else could come close to having as much of that stuff as we had.. In a week filled with numerous Chicago media changes, heres another one and this turns out to be the biggest one of them all. In November, after the firing of controversial program director Kevin Metheny, Tom Langmyer instructed staff to identify the station as "720 WGN." I really miss,Nkck Digilio. This is a true loss and I am still looking for another radio station to listen to because I have stopped listening to WGN, and I now watch the news on TV and listen to music during morning drive. Sirott hosted The Noon Show from 2007-10 and was previously at WLS-AM with Murciano in 2017 before they were let go as the station shifted away from general interest talk. Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:01 pm. Dec 2015 - Present7 years 3 months. Jerald McNair: We dont want to incarcerate youth. He was notified after he got off the air Friday that it was his last show. [11] WTAS was deleted,[12] and the other two stations were merged with a dual call letter assignment of WGN-WLIB, although the latter call sign would be rarely if ever used. Looking to see where they will end up. But change has been in the air at WGN Radio during the new millennium, as the station struggles to navigate the fragmented digital landscape that has diluted audience and revenue for traditional legacy media. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. The station also left behind its Walk of Fame, where former WGN air personalities were enshrined in sidewalk plaques in Pioneer Court. Age: 58. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Lets work together on policies to protect them. The station played small amounts of music during the mornings and afternoon hours, moderate amounts of music on weekends during the day, aired midday and evening talk shows, and sports among other features. Read; Edit; View history; More. When Chicago radio enthusiasts Thorne Donnelley and Elliott Jenkins fired up a newfangled transmitter from the Wrigley Building on May 19, 1922, they launched one of the first experimental stations in the U.S., piercing the airwaves with a mlange of talk, weather reports and concerts as the precursor to WGN Radio. posted on November 18, 2021 at 8:25 am by Robert Feder. While residing in TX 09/2015 DeCastro fired Bob and Marianne. [64], On February 14, 2018, WGN was named the new flagship station of the Chicago White Sox, who were left without a station after Cumulus Media voided their contract to air on WLS as part of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. John Williams (including the Wintrust Business Lunch at noon) Movies. They tried that before and she is a ditz. For Sirott, this marks the third time he has been employed at WGN, returning to the station after he and wife Marianne Murciano left in 2015 after a two-year run. [9] In 1926, WGN broadcast Sam & Henry, a daily serial with comic elements created and performed by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll. Steve had such rapport with Dr. He also provided the original voice of the cartoon bird. The station aired middle of the road (MOR) music until the 1970s, when its switched to more of an adult contemporary-type sound. WGN Radio Nov 1997 - Nov 2022 25 years 1 month. [43] In 2005, Tom Langmyer was appointed as vice president and general manager of WGN. On April 2, 2009, WGN announced that Meier would join the station full-time as host of a program in the 1-4 p.m. slot (airing most weekdays when the program is not pre-empted by Chicago Cubs broadcasts); his first official show occurred that same day. Jalen Carter, a top NFL draft prospect and potential target for Chicago Bears, charged with reckless driving and racing in fatal accident. First Lt. Elmer McKesson, Capt. Steve was open and honest, refreshing and absolutely transparent. Radio Hall of Famer John Records Landecker, who's been a frequent fill-in host, just signed on as a full-timer. WGN is a radio station that I used to listen to for entertainment, news and current events. RADIO / BROADCAST HISTORY LIBRARY: Thousands of magazines . Steve made me think and laugh, while stuck in traffic on the Kennedy each morning. Like Cochran, Sirotts resume is quite long an alum of WLS during its Musicradio era and WBBM-FM during its progressive rock era and worked for four local television stations in a variety of roles and a stint as a correspondent for CBS West 57th newsmagaine in the mid-1980s. 9, while former on-air personalities including Lyle Dean, Spike O'Dell, Orion . WGNs hiring of Sirott tells us there is a lot of truth to what Joyner said because quite basically, relying on the same ol limited list of names to keep your radio station relevant is particularly asinine at a time when radio is failing to attract the next generation of listeners. Yes there is no replacement for Bob Colins (whom I now believe you would wish to fire). Sirott said he idolized former Cubs play-by-play announcer Jack Quinlan, who partnered with Lou Boudreau on WGN Radio broadcasts from 1957 to 1964. WGN is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, with studios on the 18th floor of 303 East Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. This 50 watt transmitter was built up from component parts by station engineers and was moved over to the Drake Hotel at the latter part of 1922. Good that Bob Sirott is back yes he is more laid back than Steve Cochran but Bob will be respectful to the listeners that call in. After all, success in radio is based on building and maintaining connections between hosts and the audience. [65], Tribune Media was acquired by Nexstar Media Group for $4.1 billion in September 2019, marking the first time since 1924 that WGN radio would not be owned by any iteration of the Tribune Company. The disc jockey became important in Chicago radio during the 1930s, well before the term "disc jockey" was coined in the 1940s. For many years, it was a national broadcaster for Major League Baseball, the National Football League and Notre Dame football. [3] The ship's call letters were changed to KFSI. Lisa Dent has long been a significant and well-known presence in Chicago radio, Mary Sandberg Boyle, vice president and general manager of WGN, said in a statement. Lets not yell and scream about it. Nexstar also dropped their affiliation with ABC News Radio and instead is supplying national news updates for WGN America's national newscast, NewsNation with WGN newscasters and audio from Nexstar-owned television stations. My brother-in-law listened to WGN too. One major issue was Cochran not coming to work on time and starting late for his show. On May 15, 1933, after the FRC requested that stations using only one of their assigned call letters drop those that were no longer in regular use, WLIB was eliminated and the station reverted to just WGN. Whatever happens to newspapers and magazines Im sorry to say it, but I think radio is next on the list. On July 25, 2017, it was reported that WGN would leave Tribune Tower in 2018 and relocate to a new studio and office across the Chicago River. We have stood in front of microphones and spoken our minds. Above: Political analyst, Paul Green. Cochrans demise started 3 years ago with Trumps election and his own self centered beliefs, really believed his own BS. Dent will join Steve Bertrand in the 2-6pm slot starting Monday, January 3, 2022. This afternoon news-oriented program led by Steve is a welcome addition to our WGN Radio weekday lineup.. I listen every morning while driving to work from 5:30 to 7am and had to change to a another station as his comments did NOT Make my day as a Customer Service Manager. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune). [17], In May 1940, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the establishment, effective January 1, 1941, of an FM radio band operating on 40 channels spanning 4250MHz. Bring back Bill & Wendy! You can find a comprehensive archive of his material here. That did it never listened again until today. Couldnt stand the way he interrupted his guests. Flying Officer Baldy was killed in a helicopter crash, while on duty, on May 2, 1960. On April 5, 1948, WGN-TV Channel 9 signed on the air. A lot of companies, they have heritage stations, but they dont necessarily put a lot of value on that history, Harrison said. where his students included WLS-Ch. Required fields are marked *. Meier hosted four shows, which is believed to have caused a surge in interest among younger people, who traditionally rarely listened to WGN. Trailblazer at WMAQ and WGN radio dies at 92. The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign holds the WGN Radio Station Studio Orchestra Music Library and Records, 19251956,[41] which consists of scripts, programs, production notes, correspondence, music library rental records, sheet music manuscripts, and music scores with annotations that document the WGN Studio Symphonic Orchestra from 1925 to 1956. [70], This article is about the radio station. A perennial ratings powerhouse, WGN Radio had double-digit audience shares and millions of regular listeners from the 1960s through the 1980s, when Wally Phillips, Bob Collins, Roy Leonard and other legendary broadcasters ruled the airwaves. it is broadcast in its local area of the Chicago metro, and in Northern Illinois and parts of Central Illinois, and is also broadcast in Southeast and Northeast Wisconsin, parts of Eastern Iowa, and Northwest Indiana. I looked forward to good things. Jonathan Brandmeier and Garry Meier were released and their programs canceled immediately, with repeat shows airing through the end of December. Jerald McNair: We dont want to incarcerate youth. 2. Nextstar is destroying what was a legend in radio . Larry Wert has said he has not decided on naming a successor to DeCastro, so for now the sales and programming operations will report directly to Wert. Here's what they wrote: "We have lived a dream. Looking at how Sirotts ratings were the last time he was at WGN or WLS, dont look for him to even come close to matching Cochrans numbers. Steve was too negative constantly focusing on the political scene from Only his prospective. I have been listening to WGN since high school. Not much different than the next. WGN Radio AM 720. Love Pete. Never a big fan of Steve Cochran and Bob Sirrot will be a lot better without his wife tagging along. weekdays at 3 p.m. in Meier's former WGN AM afternoon show . Steve Bertrand, who has been hosting afternoons solo since he replaced Roe Conn in September 2020, will continue with Dent from 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays. Ironically, Cochran had been fired before by WGN in 2010 when he was afternoon host by the late Kevin Methany, another former protege of Michaels. Im so disappointed with WGN. Coinciding with the hire of Jarrett, WGN dropped its "News/Talk 720" brand and began identifying itself simply as "Chicago's WGN Radio 720." Sirott is horrible and his wife is worse. The pioneering WDAP shifted its studios to two handball courts atop the Drake Hotel in July 1922 after a sudden violent storm destroyed its inaugural antenna, with pieces picked up in all directions for weeks, Jenkins wrote in a 1923 edition of Radio Broadcast. In black-appeal radio, the disc jockey role was pioneered both locally and nationally by Jack L. Cooper, who began playing . Just started listening to WGN last year for something different. Please Dont bring Sirott back! 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