Posted on 09/28/2004 4:01:09 AM PDT by Musket
Don & Roma aren't all that's missing from WLS (or The powers that be are trying to kill Conservative Talk Radio in Chicago(my title))
BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
With the nation at war and a presidential election around the corner, you'd think that Chicago radio's flashiest news/talk station would be operating at peak form right now.
But WLS-AM (890) begins the fall ratings period today with no morning show, half an afternoon show, and cobwebs collecting in the vacant office of the general manager.
These are tough times at the Disney/ABC-owned station -- made worse by absentee management that chooses to ignore how badly confidence and morale have eroded at one of the once-great 50,000-watt powerhouses in all of broadcasting.
The most glaring sign of distress is the disappearance of Don Wade and Roma, the morning-drive franchise at WLS and highly rated mainstays of the station for the past two decades.
With their contract up and no new agreement in sight, the husband-and-wife team have been conspicuously absent since Sept. 14, when they signed off by reaffirming their love for their loyal listeners.
While management placates the audience by saying that they're "hoping to renegotiate a new contract with Don & Roma," insiders acknowledge that it could be weeks -- or even months -- before matters are resolved one way or another.
In the meantime, listeners are being subjected to a morning show hosted by two part-timers, the astonishingly mean-spirited and intolerant Teri O'Brien and the utterly bland Art Wallis.
The station's inability to come to terms with the Wades is all the more baffling in light of the collapse earlier this year of contract renewal talks with afternoon co-host Garry Meier.
Though undeniably talented, solo host Roe Conn desperately needs to have a partner of Meier's caliber to play off of. (Paging Bruce Wolf?)
Behind the scenes, WLS is plagued with problems ranging from an angry unionizing effort among producers to the extreme right-wing political tilt of its programs with hardly even the pretense of balance anymore.
To top it off, the station has been adrift without a president and general manager for more than three months. The abrupt departure of Zemira Jones, who quit last June when he learned he would be losing oversight of WZZN-FM (94.7), left WLS in worse shape than it already was.
Mitch Dolan, the ABC Radio Group president who has been nominally in charge of WLS in the interim, refuses to comment on negotiations with Don & Roma -- or talk to the press about anything else for that matter.
Through an intermediary, Dolan passed along the word that there was "no shortage" of candidates for general manager of WLS and that an announcement should be forthcoming within "a few weeks." He denied rumors that several candidates already had turned down the job.
"Mitch Dolan is interested in doing the right thing for the station long term and making the right decisions for the station long term," said ABC Radio spokeswoman Julie Hoover.
Asked why Dolan refuses to return calls, Hoover said: "He prefers not to speak directly to the press."
I sure hope you're wrong. One thing's for sure, King Richie and his Goon Squads and the Rat Boy Governor Blago are all very happy to see Don Wade go away.
Here's another good station that has a great line-up, that you can listen to online.
It's www.ksky.com out of Dallas (and that won't be a hot link, so copy and paste).
It's got everybody but Rush on it, it seems.
I listen early to Laura Ingraham, and then you can always go over to Rush on wls after she's over.
Laura's just so much fun to listen to, and so sharp, I'm really happy that someone posted about ksky a few weeks ago around here. I had been trying to find a decent station that carried her.
One other good online radio source, out of LA, is http://www.krla870.com/programguide870.asp
Thanks texasbluebell! I'll check them both out!
Hope it helps!
Has anyone checked out Mike North who's now on in the mornings on WSCR 670? Might be too much sports talk for most people though...
Excerpted from www.suntimes.com/output/feder/cst-fin-feder141.html October 14, 2004 BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Now that Disney/ABC Radio has appointed a new boss for news/talk WLS-AM (890), the fate of morning stars Don Wade and Roma finally may be resolved at last. But in taking so long to get down to business, ABC unwittingly allowed a door to open for the Wades at another Chicago station. Four months after Zemira Jones left as president and general manager for a top operations post at Radio One, ABC this week named John Gallagher, a 19-year ABC veteran, as his successor. Gallagher, who most recently was director of sales at WJR-AM in Detroit, also will head Radio Disney's WRDZ-AM (1300). Gallagher inherits a station that has been without its morning-drive franchise since Sept. 14, when the Wades' last contract extension expired. Long-stalled negotiations with WLS are getting under way in earnest just as a new suitor has entered the picture. Salem Communications, which is about to acquire WIND-AM (560) in a swap with Univision Radio and transform the Spanish-language station into a general market news/talk outlet, is believed to be a serious alternative for the Wades. Although Salem's official plan for WIND is to air Bill Bennett's syndicated morning show, luring the Wades from WLS would be a major coup. Fueling the speculation is the fact that Salem's director of network programming is Tom Tradup, the former president and general manager of WLS who retained the Wades when the station turned to news/talk. While most observers expect WLS to come to terms with the Wades eventually, the sudden emergence of another player provides a distinct advantage to the husband-and-wife team. The soap opera surrounding Don & Roma's contract talks is just one of several dramas being played out on Chicago's morning radio stage.Talks with Don & Roma getting down to business
Nice to hear some good news about Don and Roma for a change.
Thanks!
I've been a fan of Don & Roma since before they were on WLS.. before the days of Rush, in fact. Actually, I'm a talk radio junkie although I'd never listen to WGN.
I think that bringing back WIND into the market could be a good thing as well as poetic justice if they are to host some conservative shows. I remember a long time ago when WIND was still in English and one of their main hosts was a very liberal character by the name of Dave Balm. WIND in those days was a liberal-light version of WGN.
WGN became WDNC after Bob Collins died.
If what Feder says holds true, it's gonna be the following Salem line-up-- Bill Bennett, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Prager, Michael Medved and Michael Savage.
Whoa! Medved is excellent. I like Savage for his blunt and direct attitude, but he can be trying at times. The only way I can hear him locally is via streaming audio on the net. I can't say I've ever heard Laura or Dennis.
Now let's hope that WIND doesn't put something really good up against Rush's slot or I'll have to tape-delay my listening.
Collins was a moderate at best, in my opinion.
I'm thinking that WIND will be looking for local shows. Hmm.. "Chicago FreepNet"?
In all the election excitement, I forgot to mention... Talk Radio WIND is off and running!! WOOOHOOO!
Pass the word! AM 560
WOO-HOO! HAPPY ELECTION DAY!
Don & Roma will be returning to WLS as early as next Monday morning.
Hi Price,
Where did you get this info?
"Don & Roma will be returning to WLS as early as next Monday morning."
I've started listening to the new WIND 560. I like it. I thought D & R might go there. As far as talk radio, it's giving WLS a run for it's money. They just need some local shows.
Wow! That's FANTASTIC NEWS! Thanks a ton! Could this week get any better!
The story is in today's Chicago Sun-Times.
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