Christopher Michael

Christopher Michael has been in broadcasting since 1967, and is currently a weekend news anchor on WGN Radio. He is also the owner of an independent production company, Sound Targeting, Inc.


Rick: I've heard you on various different shifts on WGN. What is your regular timeslot there?

Chris: My regular slot is Saturday night overnight. The shift starts at 9:30, my first newscast is at 10:30, and it runs until 5. I do fill in occasionally, although not as often as I'd like. I'd love to be there even more.

Rick: You've been broadcasting in Chicago for more than 40 years now in various different capacities and at various different radio stations. How does this WGN experience rank among those?

Chris: When I was first getting started in Kankakee, I dreamed of working at WGN one day. I finally attained my dream about seven years ago when they hired me. I love being on WGN. Who wouldn't? It's the premier radio station in the Midwest, one of the best in the country, and has exceptionally talented people working here. To be among that crew is a great thing. I really liked working with Brian Noonan (photo). I thought Brian and I had good chemistry together. As I listen to Brian on his Sunday show and on Sports Night, I can hear that he works very well with everyone, which tells me Noonan is an exceptional talent.

Rick: What are some of your favorite WGN moments?

Chris: From a news perspective, one of my favorite moments was the night there was a high-rise fire and I was filling for Paula Cooper on Steve & Johnnie's show (photo). It turned into an active story--we won the AP Silver Dome award for spot news coverage. It was truly a team effort. When it comes to news coverage, that's the stuff I remember most, and that's what I've primarily focused on the last 25-30 years of my career.

Rick: Let's go back to your earliest days in Chicago radio. How did you get that first big break?

Chris: The first break in Chicago happened when a radio station was signing on for the first time, WYEN, Des Plaines.

Rick: Didn't Garry Meier get his start there too?

Chris: Yes, he did. Garry came a little later. There were a lot of really talented people there. Rob Reynolds, who is a big ad agency guy, worked there at one time. Ron Davis (WFYR) was there.

I was told they were starting this station and interviewed with Ray Smithers. He hired me for overnights as a jock, but we did a lot more than that. We played UPI Newscasts, but we also read some local headlines. We did everything from picking out our records (remember those?) to writing news, and it was great fun. It was a great learning experience. The smaller stations and small market stations don't do that too much anymore. Now they feature a lot of automation, syndication, and voice tracking. In doing so, they have taken away that learning ground from young broadcasters.

Rick: Any "learning experience" memories there?

Chris: I was taken off the air one night by the cleaning lady. There was a little toggle switch in the back of the studio that turned the transmitter off, and I had no idea. She obviously didn't either, because she was dusting the air studio with a feather duster, and must have hit that switch. Nobody knew why we were off the air, because technically we weren't. That switch only shut off our studio from the transmitter, the transmitter itself was still on the air, but it was broadcasting silence. All of the meter readings were just fine. I couldn't figure it out, so I finally called the GM, who wasn't exactly thrilled that he had to come into the station. He immediately saw the switch was turned off, switched it back on, and oh boy, was he mad as hell at me. He held that against me until the day he fired me.

Rick: After WYEN, where did you go?

Chris: I went to an AM/FM station in Zion. (The FM there now broadcasts the Drive). People's hairdryers had more power than that station. They hired me to be part of their news deperatment, which believe it or not, was a five person news department at the time. I didn't know this, but I was brought in replace everyone. Once I started, they fired everyone else. I worked like crazy in that job. They wanted as much local news as possible, and I did a few 15 minute and even a 30 minute newscast. In Zion, Illinois a half hour of news doesn't happen, but I had to fill it, and that's where I learned how to scramble. Since we were technically broadcasting into Kenosha too, I was able to put all sorts of stuff together. We had a bus driver that would stop into the police station, get the crime report, and call it in to me. I called the Kenosha animal control and did a lost dog report. We did the local obits. I also developed a sort of bravery I didn't think I had. I was desperate, so I called public officials directly. I called them all the time, and they took my calls.

Rick: You were probably most prominent during your time at WMAQ, when it was an all-news station. I get the sense that you remember those WMAQ days fondly.

Chris: That was a tremendous place. I started when they still played country music and there were lots of attitude problems there at time. There had been some union disputes with NBC, but when Westinghouse took over, and we became all news, that was fun, and exciting. It was hard work, but that half hour was your own. We had the best news staff in the country. A couple of times we even beat WBBM in the ratings, but that wasn't too often. Nonetheless, it was terrific.

Rick: Favorite news memories from that time?

Chris: I remember one vividly, the night of the West Town explosions. I was on the air when it happened. They came in through the intercom to tell me "we've got someone on the line who heard an explosion", and this guy explained to me that flames shot out of his heater when we heard the bang. While he was talking to me he said, "Wait a minute, I just heard another one." We scrambled everyone out there to report on the story. There was a Bulls pre-game scheduled at 6:20, and we were contracted to go there, but somehow, miraculously, the story died down around 6:15, and the timing was absoltuelty perfect. Our last report ended twenty seconds before the game, and I did one last ID, and hit the time perfectly. When I walked out of the booth, everybody was applauding. Unfortunately, the tape wasn't working, so that whole thing was lost to the ether.

Rick: You and I met during your time at WJJD. You were the morning news anchor for awhile there, when our morning news anchor was Richard Cantu (at WJMK). How did you come to work there?

Chris: That happened by accident after WMAQ fired me--which had come as a complete shock. I really thought I would be there until I died. They had this idea to do a different afternoon show, and they had told me that they wanted me to anchor it, and even asked me who I wanted as a co-anchor. I said Nancy Benson, who is really good. It was to be a news program with live interviews, and we were really excited about it--it was going to be a great show. They took us off the air to rehearse it and we loved it. Then, on March 3 at 2:30pm, instead of putting us on, they fired us both, and put the program in the hands of Criss Cross and Derek Hill, sports talk guys. They fired us together. They asked if I had anything I wanted to say, and as someone who never seems to hold back I said: "You fired the wrong anchors, and you're gonna find that out in a few weeks, but don't surprised when you do, because it's just another stupid thing you've done."

Rick: Subtle.

Chris: (Laughs) Yes. So I worked fill in that summer at ten different stations, including WJMK when you were there, and one day I filled in for Kurt Schafer at WJJD. The Operations Manager Rick Patton asked me "How would you like to do it full time?" I assumed he meant they were going to add an afternoon newscast, but the more things he said, the more it sounded like Kurt's job. So, I flat out asked him, and when he told me I'd be replacing Kurt, I said I didn't want the job. He was a friend of mine and that wasn't right. Rick replied "Well, whether or not you take it, he's out."

So, I said, "Here's what I'll do. I will fill in after you let him go while you look for somebody else, but that's it. I'm not going to take his job." I went there on a fill in basis and did it for a few months, and by then Kurt was working at WMAQ, so when they said they'd like me do it full-time, I felt like it was OK. This is a hard business, and I love it, and I have a passion for it, and I know a lot of other people feel the same way, so to go in to take the job just because you want one is not humane. I like to think of myself as a good guy.

Rick: Here's what I remember from your time at WJJD. I remember walking into the newsroom before, during, and after the shows and hearing you and Richard Cantu engaged in "friendly political discussions."

Chris: (Laughs) Yes, it was sort of like a Point-Counter Point, wasn't it? "Richard, you ignorant slut!" (laughs)

Rick: Was Clark Weber still doing the morning show at that time?

Chris: By then it was Ed (Vrdolyak) and Ty (Wansley), and we weren't on the morning shift too long, because shortly after I started, they brought in Howard Stern to do mornings. I was moved to afternoons with Ed and Ty (photo).

I must admit, at first our relationship was a little frosty, but it got better. In fact in 1995, I got quite ill with a rare illness known as Guillain-Barre syndrome--a serious disorder that occurs when the body's defense (immune) system mistakenly attacks part of the nervous system. I lost the ability to walk. By the time they put me in the hospital, I had the use of my left arm and hand, and could still breath and swallow, but it was quite serious. I was in the hospital for awhile, and when I was ready to come back to work I still could't drive. Ed sent a car to pick me up. He was very good to me.

Rick: I know you work with Clark Weber at your independent production company Sound Targeting. How did you and he cross paths?

Chris: I met him when I was filling in for Kurt. Years later, I was working at a station in Waukegan. Clark came in one day because they wanted to get him on the air there. It didn't work out, but I had a nice conversation with him. I had fond memories of working with him--he really is a true gentleman, and at that time I had just started my own business. I had this idea for Clark. I wanted him to do a daily one minute essay of some kind. I finally got up the courage to call him, and he agreed to do it. We called it "A Senior Moment", and it will run until the end of this month. Clark has decided that it's time to retire from it, but it's been 6 years, almost seven years now.

Rick: You've obviously worked with some of the biggest names in Chicago radio (like Clark) during your 45 years of broadcasting. Of those, who were some of the personalities you were most impressed by?

Chris: There are some really really good people. I'm going to leave some out so let me apologize in advance. For one, Bill Cameron. He's the best. I employed Jim Gudas at one time. He works tirelessly to get his job done. He gives it 150%. I worked briefly with Joel Sebastian. I was there his last week on the air. I had no idea he was that ill. He looked thin, but I had no idea what he looked like before that. I worked with Paul Harvey (photo) for awhile. He was a great person to work with because he would trust your opinion on stuff even if he didn't always take it. I asked him how he managed to stay positive, and he said: "Tomorrow will always be better than today." Just a great, great attitude.

Some of these others, you might not know. Mike Doyle was a terrific reporter at WMAQ. I had a newswriter named Chris Havlik. I think he works for AP in Phoenix now, but he was terrific. I used to joke that I couldn't speak on the air unless he wrote it. You don't find that often.

Rick: I know you're obviously not retiring anytime soon, but you must look back at your career and all you've seen and heard, and think of a few big moments. What are some of those moments that immediately come to mind?

Chris: I think what comes to mind most are things that I did well. Sometimes it was the turn of a phrase, or something that made me or somebody else laugh, but most of all, it's just the satisfaction of a job well done. You say so many things on the air. Some are good, some are bad, and most are in between. Rather than whine about the bad things, I like to think of the good ones.

Steve Bertrand

Steve Bertrand is the morning news anchor on WGN Radio. He has been working in various different capacities at the station since 1985.







Rick: First of all, congratulations. You were recently given the Communicator of the Year Award by your alma mater, Marquette University. I know you've won a bunch of awards in the past (including a Peter Lisagor Award), but this one must be special to you.

Steve: Thanks. I've never been a big awards guy but I am honored with this one. Marquette is a great institution that continues to have an impact on me. I love going back up there to meet with students. I also love that their basketball team is as strong as it is. Now if I could just get Chicago media to give their scores more often. Marquette is a top 20 team, with more students from Illinois than Wisconsin. Who cares about Notre Dame?

Rick: You've been at WGN now for more than 25 years. For many of those years WGN was just about the most stable radio station in America. That has all changed recently. How have you adjusted to the changes?

Steve: Have the changes stopped? Let me start by saying I'm very happy with the direction we're headed. It's all good. But I'm not going to insult you or your readers by pretending there weren't a couple hellish years. I think everyone who worked at the station knew we needed to shake things up but the atmosphere became almost oppressive. I've come to hate the phrase "change is good." Change for the better is great but change just for change sake, without forward direction, is demoralizing. At one point I was told to stop pronouncing the "t" in President Obama. It sounded too newsy. So for more than a year I referred to the President of the United States as "Presdeh-Obama." I've pretty much kept my feelings to myself until now but am comfortable saying this knowing we are headed toward brighter days. The Tom Langmyer/Bill White train is a much more pleasant and productive ride. (Sucking up ends now.)

Rick: You have always been more than just the newsman on the shows you've been involved in, and to tell you the truth, when I heard that the newsroom was moving up to the 4th floor a few years ago, the first person I thought of was you. It must have gotten a little more difficult to chime in since the move. I was up there one time, and the atmosphere was almost like being in a library...very un-radio like.

Steve: That's a very perceptive question. My closest co-workers at the radio station have always been from every department, not just the newsroom, so I did not take it well when I heard we were moving to the Tribune's 4th floor. Because we were moved upstairs, I would go weeks without seeing Garry Meier (photo) or John Williams in person. It made it harder to do the job. Now, we built some great relationships with the Tribune reporters and I'm glad for that. I'm just gladder to know we'll all be together again on the 7th floor. (Did I mention we're headed toward brighter days?)

Rick: Now, of course, you're part of the Jonathon Brandmeier show. How are you adjusting to getting up so early in the morning? People who haven't done it, don't understand how taxing that can be on a person's health. Have you developed a routine yet?

Steve: I've been shocked by how well I've adapted. My wife will tell you I've always looked for a reason to go to sleep, so saying goodnight by 7:00 or 7:30 has been easy. The work at the station is made much easier by Justin Swain, who is the morning reporter/producer. He makes sure all the ducks are in a row. I get home from work around 1:00, take a quick nap and then hit the health club for an hour. Once or twice a week I stop by Black Dog Radio studios to record an author interview for my Facebook page. I like to cook so I make a nice meal for my kids each night (which they ignore) and then pack the leftovers for the next morning.

Rick: You sure sound like you're having a good time on the air with Johnny. What has that experience been like? Have there been any surprises?

Steve: I am having a blast. Each day is a surprise. I like that. We're still getting our feet under us as a team, but that's okay.

Rick: Any favorite moments so far?

Steve: He cracks me up. Everyone talks about how easily distracted he is. It's true. But at the same time, he doesn't miss a thing. I don't know how that works. He is so good at convincing people to let their guard down. I think it's because he's nice to them. He'll do an interview with someone who should be on the defensive and, before it's over, they'll invite him over for dinner.

Rick: What are some of the differences and similarities between Brandmeier and some of the other people you've worked with?

Steve: I have been incredibly lucky in my career to work with hosts who are very generous professionally. It was most obvious with Kathy and Judy. They would let me say just about anything and do just about anything on their show. We were like family. My God we used to get into snits off the air (mostly me). I'm sure it helped all of us, but it helped me the most. Even before them though, Roy Leonard and Spike O'Dell were completely open to anything I had to offer. That's a huge confidence builder for a young guy. I've told this to Roy many times, but I consider him my mentor, both professionally and personally. Just a great guy to work for.

Rick: I always enjoyed the dynamic of you and Leslie Keiling on John Williams show. Your on-air political arguments were almost exactly the same as the political arguments Leslie and I used to have off-the-air during our days together on John Landecker's show. It used to drive Landecker crazy. How did John Williams feel about it? Did he encourage it or discourage it?

Steve: When it comes to professional generosity, John is King. Leslie (photo) has a way of riling me up. She would probably say the same thing about me. The thing is, we completely agree that we love John and want to do whatever we can to help him succeed. I still listen to his show everyday. In fact, I just sent him an email to tell him about why he's wrong about Matthew Broderick and the Super Bowl.

Rick: One last thing before I let you go. You and I recently ran into each other at a banquet I was MCing. Sorry I pointed you out to the crowd and embarrassed you like that. I'm sure you had people coming up to you all night.

Steve: No worries. The response from people was nearly universal: you sound shorter on the radio.

Captain Whammo

Jim Channell was a big star in Chicago in the 1970s at WDHF and WMET. He was known on the air as Captain Whammo! He now works as the morning host and program director of Christian radio's Praise FM, in Ft. Myers Florida.






Rick: Back in your WDHF and WMET days here in Chicago you were known as Captain Whammo. What is the origin of that nickname?

Whammo: (Laughs) Wow, a tough question right out of the box. You know, I really thought I'd never tell this story again. I haven't told it in a long time, but here goes. I grew up in Chicago and went to a Christian school for eight years, "The Pillar of Fire", then went to Lake View High School. Going from that strict Christian school to Lake View High was quite a transition, as you might imagine. I thought "Man there are girls everywhere!" I had lunch with 8 different girls at one table.

My heroes in those days were the coolest, most stylish, best dressed big league baseball players; Bo Belinsky and Sandy Koufax. My buddy and I would find out what they were wearing, and we'd get the same attire to pick up chicks. For instance, Bo had black slacks, a checkered jacket, and hush puppies. So I got those too. (Photo: Bo Belinsky with Ann Margret)

So, anyway, we were dressed like Bo and Sandy one night trying to pick up girls, and we we're coming out of a pizza place in Old Town, and this guy on the street had this box and did a gyration, and said "I'm going to Hazel's house, and I'm going to get me some Whammo!"

So, me and my buddy, after we moved on to other towns would always mention this when we talked to each other. We'd call it: comparing whammo notes. It was an inside joke between the two of us. Well, one night I was on the air on WDHF in Chicago, and I said "I'm horny tonight, give me a call."

The PD hotlined me and asked: "Did you say what I thought you said?" When I told him I did, he said: "You can't say that." So I substituted the word "Whammo" instead, and he liked that. He liked that a lot. In fact, he told me to drop my real name, Jim Channell. He said: "From this day forward you are Captain Whammo!" I thought What the heck? But I didn't like the Captain part. So, for the first hour I just went by Whammo. He called me again and said: "You are Captain Whammo". He was the boss. So I did it. I knew I had to have some kind of a hook--I mean I was up against John Records Landecker on WLS!

Rick: Who was the PD?

Whammo: His real name was Ron Dennington, but he was known on the air as Robbie Knight. He looked a little bit like Mr. Magoo.

Rick: Did the Wham-O corporation ever come after you with a lawsuit?

Whammo: No. Never. I did have a few guys ask if they could use the name after I became a Christian. I said "I can't stop you, but I wish you wouldn't." And they didn't.

Rick: You weren't just a great Chicago jock, you were from here. What did it mean to you to make it as a big star in your own home town?

Whammo: It was a big thrill. That's why I went by my real name at first, I wanted people to know that Jim Channell had made it in Chicago. But I took kind of a strange route getting there.

My first love was the Cubs, and I wanted more than anything to be a ballplayer, but I realized early on that wasn't going to happen. I went to Columbia College to go into journalism. While I was there I met a guy from Racine in a radio class. He told me: "I know how to sneak into WCFL." That was my favorite radio station at the time. They had THE BEST talent on the air; Ron Britain, Jim Stagg, Dick Orkin, that was my favorite station. Ken Draper was the program director then.

So anyway, we went to the basement of Marina City, and there was one elevator that would go up. It would stop on the main floor, but my friend found out that if you stood on one side of the elevator the security guard couldn't see you when the door opened. Sure enough, it worked. We went up to the 16th floor, and that was an eye opener. Boy, all of the DJs had all these chicks hanging around, especially Barney Pipp. I thought "I gotta do this."

One day we went into the elevator and the PD Ken Draper was in there too, so I asked him a question. "What should I do to get into radio?" He said: "I don't want to underplay college, but go to a broadcast school, go to small town, and then work your way up."

I took his advice. I dropped out of Columbia and went to Midwest Broadcast School. The broadcast school had this box of index cards, and each card had an address of a radio station. We were allowed to send four tapes out. I have relatives in Ohio, so I picked out my four stations, including one in Chillicothe, Ohio. That index card mysteriously disappeared (laughs), so the only tape they got was from me, and that's how I got my first job.

Rick: How did it go?

Whammo: Got fired in one month. I made $60 a week, and worked six days a week. Even in those days that wasn't a whole lot of money. They had gift certificates for hamburger and chicken dinners that one of our personalities gave away on the air, so I grabbed a few, and forged his name on a bunch of them, and that's how I ate. What I didn't know was that the restaurant gave them back to the station for reimbursement. Well, one day the boss calls me in and says, "Jim I'm gonna have to let you go, the Dairy Queen has identified you as a forger. We have to reimburse them. If I were you, I'd get out of town."

Rick: (Laughs) Really?

Whammo: I got drafted shortly after that. I was in radio and tv in the U.S. Army and that kept me out of Vietnam.

Rick: I talked to a former colleague of yours from your WDHF/WMET days, Greg Brown, and he told me three things about you. You used to take a nap in the studio behind the cart rack before your show...DURING his show. He also said you wore shorts every day, regardless of the weather. And, that you were working on perfecting some sort of a gambling technique that would make you rich in Vegas.

Whammo: (Laughs). OK, let's take those one at a time. The naps. That's true. The station was too loud so it was hard to find a place to nap. We were on State Street at the time, so I either slept in the studio, or slept on the stairwell. I still remember that I found out Elvis had died while I was napping in the stairwell. When I got on the air, I played all the Elvis songs we had; but we only had two. I called our program director Gary Price and said: "Gary, we only have two Elvis songs, can I get some more?" He said no. So in my tribute on the air, I said "If Paul McCartney had died, at least we'd have more music to play."

Wearing shorts every day? Also true. It wasn't like I was wearing my boxers. I was at least wearing Bermudas. My goal was to be comfortable. I took my shirt off, wore my bermudas, and did the show standing up.

The gambling story is also true. I never wanted to be a 50-year-old rock and roll disc jockey, and thought "What am I going to do when this ends?" I had run a gambling operation at Lake View High School. I would pick the team I thought was going to win, and then I'd go to each class, pass out a piece of paper with my team on it, and if you thought I was wrong, you could bet against me. I was about $50, $60 bucks ahead, and I had all of my betting paraphernalia in my pocket, when they caught me. They took me down to the principal and he called my dad. Boy did I pay for that one.

Anyway, when I grew up, I started to devise a system to do it legally. For four years I worked on that system. I knew Wally Cover, the head of the ushers at Wrigley Field and Chicago Stadium, and in exchange for some radio swag, he gave me great seats to analyze the teams. At that time none of the Chicago papers published the odds. I think only The New York Daily News had the odds. So I bought the Daily News every day, and kept track of my picks. I didn't actually bet the money, I wanted to make sure it was a winning system before I bet real money. The first year of the system I got stomped on. But by the fourth year I was averaging $20,000 a year. I'm sure it would still work.

Rick: Is it true that your own siblings weren't allowed to listen to your show because you were considered a bad influence?

Whammo: Wow, you've really done your homework. Yes, that's true. My sister was in high school (Lane Tech--just after it had gone co-ed), and my dad wouldn't let her listen to the show while she was in high school. He was mad at me because I was living with a girl at the time (a bible school girl), and he didn't approve of my lifestyle. I didn't care. I was having a great time on and off the air.

Rick: Anyone that grew up in Chicago in the 1970s remembers your high energy show on WMET. You just exploded through the microphone. What are some of your favorite memories from those days?

Whammo: Everything was wrapped up with meeting girls. That's the first thing that comes to mind. I'd go to my car, and two or three of them would be waiting for me. If they called me and I got their number, I had a whole scenario I would go through. I would talk for ten or fifteen minutes on the phone with them, and decide if I wanted to see them or not. Then I'd "meet" them, and afterwards, I went home to the girl I was living with.

I loved the music too. Queen came to the station and did some liners for me. They were listening in their limo on the way to the Stadium for their concert, and invited our music director to see them in their suite. When they saw him, they were literally saying "Whammo!" They wanted to do an interview with me. That was a big thrill. I got an autographed album.

Other highlights; I had my picture taken with Ringo Starr. I spent a day with Bob Hope. One of the nicest guys. He really was a gentleman. Met Alice Cooper twice. Great guy. There are some DJs that think they are too cool for the room, but I loved every second of it.

One time I had backstage passes for a Rolling Stones concert, but they wouldn't let me go. I had to be on the air. One time I took a helicopter to and from Great America, and I had them circle Wrigley Field, before we landed at Meigs Field. That was incredible. I also was a judge at Miss Nude America twice, and both years I picked a winner.

Rick: And you were named one of the top 4 DJs in the country by Billboard Magazine during that time, too.

Whammo: That's true. I was living in Evanston at the time, and the PD called me up and asked me to do a one-hour aircheck he could send to Billboard Magazine. He said just do an hour, no editing. I stumbled on one of the intros, and I knew that wasn't going to fly. So, I went back and did the same hour again. In those days when I answered the phone, I called it the Whammo Line. There was one great caller that called all the time (I called her the midnight caller--but her name was Cathy Moyer). Well, on this particular night she made a wonderfully suggestive call and that became part of the tape that got me the Billboard Magazine award. I believe the other three jocks were Don St. James, Charlie Van Dyke, and Bob Berry from WOKY in Milwaukee.

Rick: Tell us what happened on November 5th, 1978 that changed your life forever.

Whammo: I had recently been fired from WMET by Bobby Christian (ironically). When he came to town, he changed the format of the station, and my approach didn't really fit. So, I was thinking of gambling for a living, and had gotten a job at KENO Radio in Vegas. We had just arrived in town, I hadn't even gone to the station yet, and I had won the first five bets I made. I'll never forget, I was standing on the Hoover Dam, when Bucky Dent hit the homer to beat the Red Sox in that one game playoff, and my money was on the Yankees. Anyway, I woke up the next morning and said "Let's get outta here." I didn't want to stay in Vegas.

I never called the radio station, never told them I wasn't coming, just loaded up the truck and went to Reno and Tahoe, and then headed back to Chicago. I hadn't given notice. I left the furniture and everything.

So while we were gone, my girlfriend Rhoda's parents were looking for her. Her parents knew about me, but they didn't know she was living with me. They called, and when nobody answered the phone, her mother called my mother to see if she knew where to find Rhoda. My mom spilled the beans, and that's how her parents found out we were living together without being married. Her mother called and said to Rhoda "Why don't you come to Iowa?", but she didn't say why. Rhoda went.

While her bus was pulling out of the station, I was already going down my list of phone numbers calling every girl I could. When I finally called her mother to check on her, her mother told me that she wasn't there anymore. She was in Madison, Wisconsin. When I reached Rhoda in Madison she said: "I'm leaving you and getting my life together with the Lord."

I had just paid cash for this brand new Camaro, and I told her I would drive up there and take her to church. When I pulled up to her sister's house Rhoda was wearing her hair the way I liked it, and wore the dress I liked, and I thought "You idiot, you're a fool for letting her go." I told her "I want to buy you a ring and get married." But now she was telling me it didn't feel right. I was telling her I had found the Lord, but I was misquoting Bible passages. She knew it wasn't real. I wasn't getting anywhere with her.

So, when I came back to Chicago, I looked in the mirror and realized that everything that had gone wrong was my own fault. Thanks to my time at "The Pillar of Fire" school, I believed in heaven and hell, and believed in God and the devil, and I really felt that I was going to hell when I died. I had gone to a big crusade the year before to be saved, and I went with all sincerity, but it didn't work. I thought I was beyond salvation. I thought "I'm really going to hell."

So that night, November 5, 1978, I turned off just north of Rockford, and started crying like a baby. I had everything I had always wanted: I had made it as a rock and roll disc jockey, I had money in the bank, I had all of these chicks, and yet, that wasn't the answer at all. I turned on WMBI, Moody Radio. Warren Wiersbe was on, and the show was called "Songs in the Night." I cried out "God forgive me. If I could live differently, I would. I can't change without your help. Please change me. You're going to have to do the change." I thought if I'm going to get that girl back, I had to be sincere. And I was.

Rick: Did you get the girl back?

Whammo: No, I didn't. But Hammond Indiana's Jack Hyles baptized me, and after teaching broadcasting school for awhile, I finally got a job in Christian radio in Dundee. I put my radio talent in God's hand, and he started opening doors. Soon I was at WCFL, which was Christian at the time. Now, I do a Christian Oldies show, Classic Christian Gold. It's worldwide. It's in the US, Canada, England, South Africa, the Philipines, New Zealand, Paris, Stockholm and Australia. And God has really opened the doors. We've never asked for money and we've never had a sponsor, and yet we're still going strong. Miracle after miracle after miracle.

Rick: You should really write a book.

Whammo: I'm planning on it. My wife is an excellent writer. And it will be brutally honest. We're going to put a warning in the book--in the next 85 pages we'll reveal what a rock DJ did on and off the air. If you're offended by this, move immediately to page 86. I've talked to pastors and so forth, and to a person they said, people in the Bible did some crazy things too. David committed adultery. Noah got drunk. If you don't put it in there exactly as it happened, it won't be as powerful. When they read it they'll say: "If God can save Captain Whammo, he can save anyone." My goal has always been to share my story at Moody Founders Week. I did share my story at their church once, but to share it for Moody's Founder Week would be the ultimate.

Rick: Can I ask you a favor?

Whammo: Sure.

Rick: Next time you talk to You Know Who, could you ask him to help out our favorite baseball team here in Chicago. We could use a little divine intervention.

Whammo: (Laughs) If the Cubs ever win the World Series, they better have the National Guard on hand just in case. It's gonna be crazy. By the way, here's a prediction: With Theo, the Cubs will the World Series within the next ten years.

Brendan Sullivan

Brendan Sullivan was a producer on the Jonathon Brandmeier show for ten years, and is now working as a creativity coach. He has also recently become the co-author of a novel (with yours truly) called "The Living Wills"




Rick: You were in radio in Chicago for ten years, but that really is almost an asterisk in your long career, isn't it? You were an actor, a improv artist, a writer, and more. Tell us about a few of those pre-radio highlights.

Brendan: Way back when, thirty years ago now, yikes, I actually had a real job selling national advertising for the New York Times. I retired when I was 28 and started doing improv, studying at Second City. I landed at the ImprovOlympic and was a member of Blue Velveeta, an improv group that did very well. Radio was never part of the plan.

Rick: We met when you started working for Jonathon Brandmeier at the Loop in the early 1990s. How did you meet Johnny and get involved on that show?

Brendan: Blue Velveeta, my improv group, was getting a lot of press at about the time "Johnny B. on the Loose" (TV show, summer of 1991) was being produced at Channel 11 studios for NBC Productions. We'd just won a national improv competition. Johnny hired a group of us including Brian McCann, Andy Richter and Kevin Dorff who all went on to Conan, Jay Leggett who has done very well in LA acting and writing, and me. We generated ideas for the show. When the TV show ended, Johnny invited me to join the radio show, at first part-time, and later full-time.

Rick: Officially I believe you were classified as a producer, but how would you describe your list of job duties during those years?

Brendan: "Producer," I have learned, is a term in radio that can mean everything from getting coffee and answering phones to making big decisions about the nature, direction, tone of the show. I didn't do any of that. And I didn't book guests. And I had no technical experience to run a board. I suggested, researched, created, generated 'bits' for the show. Hey, Johnny, there's a guy in Wyoming with three testicles. Why don't we call him and say that you've only got one. Would he be willing to donate his extra? Very high brow stuff. I also wrote pre-recorded bits that we called 'theater of the mind' and did some character voices live on the show.

Rick: I may be biased because of my heritage, but I always got the biggest kick out of the Nazi Stormtroopers bit that you did with Jeff Hoover. What was the origin of that bit?

Brendan: As I recall, we were on the Loop, and one morning the announcement was made that our AM station, which shared our space, WMVP was either going all-sports, or the all-sports concept was being dumped. It's a blur. But people were getting fired that morning and Johnny painted this picture of Nazi Germany with staffers hiding under their desks and stormtroopers marching down the hallways and cleaning out the offices. He told Hoover and me to 'do something with that.' And so we created Helmut and Wilhelm, who owned the radio stations and ruled with an iron fist. It was really more like Hogan's Heroes. Let me stress that. Helmut and Wilhelm were soulless idiots, and that's where the humor came in. For the biggest promotional error I was ever a part of, some beer company sponsor sent us in 'uniform' to some bar in Morton Grove or Skokie. No one there knew that there was a radio promotion going on. They just thought we were Nazis, and they were not happy. We drank heavily and wrapped it up quickly before the riots broke out.

Rick: Talk about fellow storm trooper Jeff Hoover. He's obviously doing great work these days working as a producer on the WGN-TV Morning News. What was it like working with that nut every single day?

Brendan: Hoover is the funniest guy I know, and by far the most talented voice actor. Tell him that we need a horny, Swedish elf and BAM! he's got the voice and he's got material. He does the legendary Jerry Lewis, from "Laaaady!" all the way to Percodan Jerry, well enough to fool other celebrities on the phone (on the air) who know the real Jerry. Working with him was a riot. I was there first, and Johnny hired Hoover a couple years later. Every day we would brainstorm bits, bounce them around and throw them back to Johnny. Hoover made my stuff better and, I hope, vice versa. We laughed a lot, and when the schrapnel was flying, we had each other's backs. It was a riot. Hoover also happens to have a heart of gold.

Rick: In ten years of working for Brandmeier you saw and did a lot of things. When you look back on those years, what are some of your favorite moments?

Brendan: Wow, there were a lot. Too too many to mention here. My favorites were probably when I cracked Johnny up. I had a bit idea where we recreated a scene from Pulp Fiction. Word for word, we recreated the "Royale with Cheese" scene with John Travolta and Samuel Jackson. Except I had Jim Volkman read Travolta's lines as Harry Caray and Hoover read Jackson's lines as Jerry Lewis. My concept, but Volkman and Hoover (and Jimmy McInerney's audio magic) made it work. Hard to explain why it's so funny unless you know the original and hear the parody. There was also a morning where Johnny's Eddie Abler interviewed a teenager who'd changed his name to Trout Fishing in America after the philosophy book. Well, "Eddie" thought the kid had named himself after a fish. The kid believed he was actually on "Eddie Abler's Good Outdoorsman Show." When "Eddie" found out it wasn't about fish, he said he oughta wrap a 50-pound line around the kid's scrotum and drag him around the lake. I happened to be in the studio with Johnny (Eddie), which was rare, and Johnny was on the ground, laughing so hard he was crying, and trying to hold down the mute button while the kid was profusely apologizing to "Eddie."

Rick: I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but how would you describe the difference between John Brandmeier the person, and John Brandmeier the performer?

Brendan: There is none. I've seen hosts who turn it 'on' and 'off.' The energy, personality, craziness and split-second thought processes that Johnny has on the air, are exactly the same off the air. Anyone else would collapse at that pace. It's not an act.

Rick: You were with Johnny at two different radio stations (The Loop and WCKG), but when that show ended at WCKG in 2001, you decided to leave radio. Was that a hard decision for you, and do you miss it at all?

Brendan: Remember, I never had plans to get into radio in the first place. I didn't apply for the job, it came to me. And I just followed it. I had a blast but it felt like time to move on and see what else the universe had in mind. By the time I left, I was married with three sons (I now also have a daughter) and the hours and the pace were wearing on me. I thought about other shows, but frankly after the wild ride with Johnny, I also thought it would be hard to replace that experience. I still had no technical skills, didn't want to answer phones or book guests, so it wasn't like I had a lot of interesting options. I got out just before I had to show up at my kid's school for career day and tell them that Charlie's dad writes fart jokes for a living. Once in a while, like when you're asking me these questions, I miss it. But it's a lot more glamorous from the outside.

Rick: Now you're working as a creativity coach. Tell us what that is and where and how you practice this art.

Brendan: I learned a lot about collaborative creativity doing improv on stage, and creating content for radio. I also had that corporate background with the New York Times. So now I help organizational teams and leaders to be more innovative, to generate more creative ideas, and to provide a healthier, more supportive work environment where talented people can thrive. Most of my clients are Fortune 500 types (Kellogg's, PepsiCo, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, etc.) but it works with any group that wants to be more collaborative, creative, healthy and productive. Usually it takes the form of workshops, seminars and keynote speeches. It's always interactive, practical and engaging. There's more at www.creativitycoach.net. I've been doing that for about 10 years now.

Rick: And finally, of course I have to ask you about our new novel "The Living Wills". We've obviously been doing a lot of publicity together on radio and television, and at appearances around Chicagoland (including 2pm this Sunday Jan 29 at the Beverly Arts Center), and a lot of people have been asking us about the process of two people writing a novel together. For you, what was the most rewarding part of writing this novel, and what has been the most surprising part of the process?

Brendan: Well, you and I used a lot of the techniques that I learned in improv and radio and other ventures, which are the things I have also been coaching in the business world for the last 10 years. So the most satisfying thing about the novel for me is that these techniques actually work. The novel is a tangible product of these concepts I've been preaching, which I can hold in my hand as actual proof that I'm not insane. And people actually like it. The most surprising part of the process is the response we've been getting. My goal was just to hold the book in my hand. But every day now I get at least one email or phone call from someone who just finished the book, and they say gushy things about how the book affected them. I guess I'm also surprised that two guys who were known for satire, comedy writing and improv would write a novel that people are calling profound and moving. Pretty weird.

Spotlight Update: Steve Cochran & Brian Noonan

Before I get back to doing Chicago Radio Spotlight interviews with people I haven't interviewed already, I had to check back in with a few of my previous interviewees that have had dramatic changes in their careers since we last spoke.

Steve Cochran was unhappily trying to make it through his remaining days at WGN when we last spoke. He's now back on the air in Chicago at WIND. Brian Noonan was languishing on weekend overnights when we last spoke, and he has since been promoted to co-host of Sports Night from 7-10 PM every night on WGN.


STEVE COCHRAN

Rick: Welcome back to Chicago. Are you physically back in town too? I know you're doing two shows a day now, one in St. Louis and one in Chicago.

Steve: I never left. I was only down in St. Louis maybe once a month, if that, and now I'm here all the time. Mostly, I did the St. Louis show from a Comrex in my house, which is about the size of an old tape recorder. All you have to do is plug it right into the computer, and voila, you're in St. Louis.

Rick: How are you liking it over at WIND?

Steve: It's great. The St. Louis people are great and continue to be great, but when this came along, I told them it was something I really wanted and needed to do. They totally understood and helped make it work. Basically, I'm on the radio all day--I'm either A) A complete egomaniac or B) I need to be kept off the streets. I think I'm going with B.

Rick: But you're not ruling out A.

Steve: Good point. Let's make it A and 1/2.

Rick: Your schedule sounds slightly crazy. Take me through a typical day.

Steve: Well, I tape interviews and prep for the early show in St. Louis between 8 and 10, and then I'm on the air there from 10-12. 12-1 is post show stuff, taping promos, that sort of thing. Then I've got a little bit of time between 1-2:30 to get stuff done in my real life. Between 2:30-5, I'm prepping for and recording interviews for the other two shows. Then I'm on the air in Chicago between 5-7 on WIND. 5-6 is only in Chicago, but the 6 PM hour is also the first hour of my night show in St. Louis. That 6:00 hour is on in both cities. Then, I'm on from 7-9 PM only in St. Louis.

Rick: Is it hard to do a show for both markets in that 6:00 hour?

Steve: Well, I don't try to hide it. It's programmed for Chicago mostly, but I've never blown off an audience in my life, and I don't do it now either. Fortunately I've got a great producer here and a great producer in St. Louis too. The producers do have co-ordinate a little, but it's not as hard as it looks.

Rick: So you really are on the air all day long.

Steve: Well, Rick, let me tell you. Some hosts like to do one show and syndicate that to a hundred stations. I like to do a hundred different shows. Keeps me limber and in shape.

Rick: Are they all the same sort of shows?

Steve: Not really. No. Not at all. The morning show is more of a magazine show. It's more comedy. More my foundation. More like the old WGN show before GN went to hell. The 5-7 show on WIND is very political, but we still have our yucks. The trick is doing that show to the hard right audience here at WIND, while respecting the old WGN audience that heard me as more of a middle of the road--sometimes right and sometimes left. This show leans more hard right, but it's done with respect. The night show is a little more sports. It's comedy and sports.

Rick: Wow. That's all over the map.

Steve: This is great for my ADD.

Rick: Do you keep track of your old station and what they are doing these days?

Steve: I don't really because of my schedule. I hear Blackhawks games because I'm a big hockey fan, but that's been about it. I'm a big Brandmeier fan and sent him a congratulatory note when he got the job, but I haven't really had a chance to listen to him because I'm usually working at that time. I've got a lot great friends there and I wish them all well. I really like Garry Meier, but my job now is to kick Garry's ass. This station is the little train that could, the little station that people think "Oh are they on the air too?" But I like our chances. We're very serious about taking this thing to the next level.


BRIAN NOONAN

Rick: Things have changed a bit for you since we last spoke, haven't they?

Brian: Wow, I can't believe it's been almost 3 1/2 years since you were gracious enough to interview me the first time. To say a lot has changed for me at WGN would be an understatement. The time since last November 2010 has been the most eventful, but the two years before that need to be addressed so I'm not accused of having "selective memory".

My weekend overnight shows were doing very well. I had two great producers and news guys to work with and we were really hitting our stride and growing our audience. Some of the goofiness that I put out was really good, some was awful, but we were having fun doing it and the audience seemed to be having fun too. I was doing a lot of fill-ins during the overnight shift during the week as well. It's no secret that during that time, WGN got new management that implemented a lot of changes. For reasons known only to them, I was not part of their plans. Luckily, since I held down the last segment of the schedule they were worried about, I was able to keep my head down and avoid their wrath, except for losing all fill-in spots. Just when I had gotten some indications that the end of my run at WGN was on the horizon, all those people were sent packing, and without any exaggeration, within 24 hours my fortunes changed.

Rick: So who saw the diamond in the rough?

Brian: The day after the changes, WGN's GM Tom Langmyer asked me to fill-in on some of the newly vacated 7-10pm shifts. He had a vision for a show that was "sports focused, but not exclusively an X's & O's sports show." One that would cover a wide range of topics, while still being true to WGN's sports tradition. I did that show for about six week's and then it was announced that David Kaplan would be returning to that spot to do the new show "Sports Night" with a group of rotating co-hosts. I was asked to be one of the group, which was great since I was the only "non-sports" guy in the rotation. The show would also include Andrea Darlas in a combination role of news anchor and co-host. Kap and I had never worked together before the first show, but something happened, and the chemistry was perfect. By the end of February it was decided that there would be no more "rotating hosts" and that the lineup of Kap, Andrea and I would be the faces of the franchise, to put it in sports parlance. We've been together for a year and the show seems to be doing very well. Most people really seem to enjoy the fact that we can talk sports, but also go wherever we want. Each of us brings something different to the program, and the combination seems to be working.

Rick: And I'm also hearing you a lot in other dayparts as well...

Brian: My new role on "Sports Night" combined with new management that seems to value what I do, has lead to other changes as well. I'm doing a lot more daytime fill-ins during the week, and on December 31st 2011, I did my final overnight show. Starting January 22, I will be on Sunday evenings from 6-9. I'm looking forward to the new spot and bringing some of the "Radio Irreverence" that we had in the overnights to a new audience. Leaving the overnight slot was a little bittersweet. While it will be nice to sleep at normal hours, the audience during the overnight is very loyal and diverse, and I will miss the interaction I had with many of them. Oh yeah, I also got an office that I share with our "Sports Night" producer. I'm like George Jefferson, movin' on up.

Rick: And if a man can say this to another man, I have to say, you look fantastic these days. You're a shell of your old self. What's going on there?

Brian: For a number of reasons, not the least of which is that because of "Sports Night" we're doing more remotes and I'm in the presence of professional athletes, I've lost nearly 100 pounds. I've still got a way to go, but watch out. Soon, I'll be in nothing but leather pants and mesh t-shirts. With that horrifying visual, I'll thank you again for asking me to do this and apologize for being so long winded. It might have something to do with filling a six hour overnight shift for the last few years.

Spotlight Update: Spike O'Dell, Robert Murphy, and John Records Landecker

Before I get back to doing Chicago Radio Spotlight interviews with people I haven't interviewed already, I had to check back in with a few of my previous interviewees that have had dramatic changes in their careers since we last spoke.

John Records Landecker is now once again saying those famous call letters (WLS), Robert Murphy is now back in Chicago doing mornings on Rewind 100, and Spike O'Dell is now living the good life of retirement.


JOHN RECORDS LANDECKER

Rick: So one day you're doing a talk show on WIMS in Michigan City, and then suddenly out of nowhere, it's the John Records Landecker Music Explosion! How did that happen and why?

John: (laughs) I was doing the afternoon show with Paula Griffin as a talk show and one day she had to go somewhere, and it was just going to be me by myself, so as a joke I brought in a bunch of songs and did the John Records Landecker Oldies Extravaganza! Well, it got a huge reaction. People really loved it...and you know what? I loved doing it. The owner of the station, Ric Federighi, was chatting with me in the hallway afterward, and I said "What if I did that all the time?" He said "We've been waiting for you to do that!"

That's how it started. I re-named it the John Records Landecker Music Explosion, and I played songs off my iPad, and people e-mailed me songs from all over the country--because they were listening online, and it really took off. Radio guys started sending me jingle packages, and customized things, and I played it all. It was a blast!

Rick: Is that when WLS came calling?

John: Yes, but that's not why. The WLS thing was something I had put in motion a year ago or so. I heard that all the Citadel stations had been purchased by Cumulus, and one of my good friends--someone that I had worked for years ago in Chicago, Jan Jeffries--was the guy that ran their programming. I called him up and said: "Look I want back in." I knew that I never should have been let go from there in the first place, and now they were even using the call letters W-L-S again, and it seemed so natural for me to come back.

Rick: But it took quite a while for the sale to go through.

John: It took over a year, and this was no ordinary transaction. We're talking multi-billion dollars. Jan was doing a million things during that time, so I didn't want to bother him, but eventually the sale went through--and then he let me know he was moving to Chicago. And now, amongst his bazillion or so responsibilities, he was actually going to program WLS-FM! We finally met up not too long after that, and hit it off just like we always did. He said, "Why don't you try it out quietly over the weekend to see if you like it, and if you still sound good we'll let you do a weekend shift." And it went great! Now I'm doing weekends and fill-ins. I've been on for Scott Shannon quite a bit over the last few weeks.

Rick: So you're working seven days a week now?

John: Well, that's not going to work, unfortunately. I was on the air last week on WLS, and on Facebook I gave everyone the wrong call letters to listen online. I thought to myself, I can't do both anymore. My last show at WIMS was Thursday.

I loved being on WIMS. I really did. I loved working with Ric Federighi and Johnny Rush and Paula Griffin. They are great people and great broadcasters, and I'll miss working with them. But the opportunity to come back to WLS, working for someone like Jan Jeffries was too good to pass up.

Rick: I can hear how happy you are through the airwaves. Just hearing you say those call letters...it just sounds right.

John: It feels fantastic. Unbelievably cool. Just way beyond anything I could conceive of. It's like somebody built a radio station for me to work on. And Jan and I get along unbelievably well. This is his concept, and he's the driving force behind it, and I'm there to have a good time and be the icing on his cake from the WLS music era.

Ever since I left nights at WLS in the 70s, everything has been a challenge. I did different shifts. Afternoons. Mornings. Talk radio. I sought out those challenges, but in all of those situations I never would describe it as being in a comfort zone. I'm glad I did 'em, but this is a party. This is the best thing I've done since coming to WLS since 1972, and I think Chicago is going to eat this station up. I consider this a new beginning.


ROBERT MURPHY

Rick: It was great hearing you back on Q-101 last summer...obviously I wasn't the only one that thought so. Rewind 100 snatched you up.

Robert: After my brief (but totally rockin') stint last summer at the transitioning Q101 (thanks to John Gehron & Joann Genette), the Commandants of Hubbard Broadcasting decided I would be a great fit for 100.3's 80s and 90s format. I had to agree.

Rick: Any trouble climbing back into the saddle?

Robert: Since I had been professionally hibernating for several years, there were some new "teachable moments" but I quickly remembered how much I enjoyed having a daily interaction with Chicago via radio. It's all I have ever done and I was thrilled to get "back in the saddle". I've been provided with a clear set of goals and a great and supportive staff. The only drawback: When I first started getting out of bed at 3:30am to do a morning show, I was in my teens. Now that I am just slightly older, it is just a bit harder. Okay, I'm a lot older and it's a lot harder.


SPIKE O'DELL

Rick: Spike, every time I check out your facebook page it makes me smile. People are supposed to enjoy retirement, and it's so obvious that you're in hog heaven.

Spike: Life is good! We really like living here in Dixie Land. We are in the Nashville area. It is such a fun town with everything you want in a big town, but packaged up in a small town feel! I'm even listening to some country music nowadays! Yee-Haw!

My children live here and they keep us busy with grand kids and going places. (we have 3 grandsons now with a 4th arriving in the spring) I spend my time golfing and doing a lot of photography. Tennessee is such a beautiful place to take pictures.

Rick: Have you been following what's going on at your old station?

Spike: A lot of changes at the 'ol "Love Pump" I see. Change is always going to happen and I know it takes some people a little time to get used to it.

I'm glad the powers that be are returning the station to more of a personality approach and pulling back the elements a little for the talent. It's the right thing to do. I fought the "traffic and weather on the 7's" hard, but to no avail. It was very restrictive and limited your ability as a host to do much of anything but get ready for your next "traffic and weather on the 7's". There were already a couple of stations in town that were doing that...why try to sound like them? I never understood the thinking there.

It will be fun to sit back and watch how the station progresses over the next year or so. Strong personalities are in place...you've got the Cubs and Hawks and great college sports on the radio. Sounds like a pretty solid mix to me.

Spotlight Update: Rob Hart, Charlie Meyerson, and Lise Dominique

Before I get back to doing Chicago Radio Spotlight interviews with people I haven't interviewed already, I had to check back in with a few of my previous interviewees that have had dramatic changes in their careers since we last spoke.

All three of these radio pros are part of the radio experiment known as FM News 101.1. I've been listening to it quite a bit recently to see how it sounded and it sounds quite different than it did during its rocky start up a few months ago.

ROB HART

Rick: When I last spoke with you, you were a member of the WGN Radio news staff. Now you're the morning co-anchor at FM News 101.1. How has that transition gone for you?

Rob: One day I'm going to write a book about the early days of Merlin Media. Because I've got plenty of good stories. I left WGN at the end of June. I spent the first two weeks at my new job working out of conference rooms. I arrived at the Merchandise Mart on a Friday morning....eight hours after the Q101 DJ's, past and present, signed off with a wild party. The studio was awash in empty liquor bottles, beer cans, beer bottles, and bottles of champagne. I wasn't at WGN anymore. It was a sign that my new gig was going to be....different.

It's been a hell of a lot of fun. The station's early growing pains have been well documented. But what can I say? News/talk radio stations are complex entities that take a long time to gel. Thankfully, we had the right manager to keep us positive. The first couple of days of the format were so bad, they are best heard through a pinhole in a paper plate. Even so, Andy Friedman (our supervisor, for lack of a better word) told the troops they were doing good work, and that things would only get better.

You know what? Things did get better. An ill-conceived and poorly executed attempt at "lifestyle news" was jettisoned in late September. Our technical capabilities and procedures came together in a matter of weeks...and now we have ourselves a darn fine radio station. We are first on breaking news more often than not. We had dozens of guests during our three hours of commercial-free coverage of the Blagojevich sentencing hearing. I'm looking forward to flexing our muscles during the first big snowfall.

We don't have much of an audience - yet. But we all know news/talk formats take a long time to build. We have managers who know this. Andy Friedman was around for the first days of the talk format at KFI in Los Angeles. Our executive producer, Diana Bodkins, helped launch the talk format at WLS in 1989. In both cases, it took years to catch on with the audience. It will take time. Thankfully, everyone involved in Merlin has plenty of patience.

I love this job. I love the fact that you have the opportunity to do great things every day. I love the idea that we are building something that could be around for a very long time. I'm well aware of the fact that some people in the industry are rooting for us to fall on our asses. That would be a very bad thing for radio in this town. If Merlin is successful, it will demonstrate to the world at large that local radio is a worthwhile investment. If not...we're back to where we were: tired music formats, syndicated talk shows, and a radio environment that punishes risk. Who wants that?


CHARLIE MEYERSON

Rick: When we last spoke the new WGN program director Bill White had just replaced you as the news director of WGN (with himself), but you weren't out of a job for very long. How are you liking this new station?

Charlie: In my job as Chicago Bureau Chief for FM News Chicago, it’s been a joy to get back to reporting the news. My main role is to explain politics and policy, giving me a daily ringside seat to the unfolding of Rahm Emanuel’s administration. But I also have freedom to cover stories about consumerism, tech, the arts, lifestyles, human interest -- anything that makes great radio. I’ve been encouraged to break out of the connect-the-dots reporting routine. I’m having fun, every day -- something I hope comes through in our coverage, including a series I've called "Who’s Mayor Emanuel Ridiculing Now?"

Rick: This has been a little different experience than WGN, hasn't it?

Charlie: FM News is a work in progress. But, boy, that startup mindset's exciting. This organization is fulfilling a prediction I made in 1998: "There's a real place on the FM dial for an all-news format station that presents a hipper, more intelligent, more innovative approach to news."

We have a talented and energetic team, encouraged every day to try doing things differently. That prompted three hours of commercial-free discussion and analysis when Blagojevich was sentenced, and more than an hour talking about Steve Jobs the night he died.

We want to hear how listeners think we're doing. I hope people will share story ideas, suggestions and criticism. I'm at cmeyerson@fmnewschicago.com, and tips or feedback for the whole station are welcome at our Web site or by email at tips@fmnewschicago.com.


LISE DOMINIQUE

Rick: Lise, you've been there since the beginning too.

Lise: I joined FM News in June as an Anchor and Reporter. I saw it as a terrific opportunity to work full-time in radio as I had been working part-time at WLS-AM and WILV-FM for the past couple of years.

Rick: Rob and Charlie have both talked about the bumpy early ride. What have been some of the pros and cons of being part of this radio experiment.

Lise: Pros: The people that I work with are hard-workers, and dedicated professionals. There are no egomaniacs. It's just a really great group of people. Also, when reporting, I have been given an incredible amount of creative freedom to pursue the stories that I am passionate about. That makes it so much fun! Andy Friedman has been a positive and motivating force who has challenged us to do our best. (Photo: Lise with Sam Sylk on the left, and Andy Friedman on the right. From GazeboNews)

Cons: The confusion about format was stressful and the constant changes were exhausting. The only saving grace was that we were all in it together. This is a start-up and I didn't know what to expect since I've never been involved with the 'birth' of a station before. Starting from bare bones has been a tremendous learning experience and I wouldn't trade what I have learned the past six months for anything.

Now that the format is close to gelling, it's time for the station to put some money into promotion and let Chicagoland know that we're here!


Coming next week: An update from a radio legend that has retired since we last spoke, another radio legend that has unretired since we last spoke, and one more radio legend that is back on the air in Chicago on the station that made him famous.