Rob Hart

UPDATED January 2012

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?

The original interview follows...





Rob Hart is a reporter and anchor at WGN Radio







Rick: I'm a big fan of the quality reporting coming out of the WGN newsroom--one of only two actual newsrooms still functioning in Chicago radio as far as I can tell. (In order to qualify, you need at least five full-timers). How would you describe your role in that newsroom?

Rob: Four days out of the week, I am the morning reporter. You can hear me on the street during the John Williams Show. I'm the guy at O'Hare on the day before Thanksgiving. During the Cubs playoff run last October, I was live on Clark street during morning drive watching the beer truck drivers roll kegs into the bars. I covered the Holy Name Cathedral fire. Back in December, I was one of the reporters staking out Rod Blagojevich's house the day after his arrest. My reports usually air during Andrea Darlas' newscasts, but I am also a contributor to the show. John will talk to me for a couple of minutes if I am at a breaking news story.

I'm also the news anchor on Dean Richards' Sunday Morning show, which is a lot of fun. We get along very well. (Photo: Rob with Dean Richards and Scott Childers)

After that, I update the WGN web site, shoot videos for the YouTube page, do the news podcast, and a bunch of other stuff.

Rick: You've covered quite a few big stories in your time at WGN, including most recently the Family Secrets trial. What are a few of the favorite stories you've covered for WGN, either out in the field or from the anchor chair?

Rob: The Family Secrets trial was like something out of a movie. Five feared members of the Chicago Outfit were on trial for a bunch of crimes - from extortion to murder. The feds said they were bad guys who did very bad things. I saw five old men wearing cheap suits. (Photo: Star witness Nick Calabrese)

Most federal trials are pretty dry. You could spend the entire day in a courtroom and get nothing more than attorneys detailing tax returns. Not this trial. On the first day, the federal prosecutor showed the pictures of the dozen or so men killed by the Outfit over the past 20 years. One week was devoted to secret tapes of mob enforcers shaking down an adult bookstore owner.

Every morning you had to wait in line outside the courtroom while US Marshalls looked for bombs.

Last October I got to cover playoff runs by the White Sox and Cubs. You can't argue with a week of free baseball games.

It goes without saying that the Rod Blagojevich saga has been hours of fun. I was on that story from beginning to end. I was standing next to Rod when he said he had nothing but sunshine on his shoulders, and the station paid my way down to Springfield for the vote to remove Blago from office.

Rick: Recently you've also had a chance to spread your wings a little and co-host a talk show or two. How did you like that experience, and would you be interested in doing more of that?

Rob: My career as a talk show host is still in its larval stage. I like doing it. But my expectations are rather low. I consider my show a success if the bosses ask me to fill in again.

Here's what I have learned so far - the preparation is much harder than the actual show. I spend so much time worrying about finding show material, that the actual program is a snap.

I would love to do it again. I would not mind making the jump from news anchor to host. But that's still a long ways off. I'm still working on the fundamentals.

Rick: You've worked with just about everyone at WGN. Tell us a behind-the-scenes story or two that helps to illustrate the atmosphere in the WGN hallways.

Rob: People ask me about the mood here since the bankruptcy. It hasn't changed much. We're still a bunch of cynical, funny, sarcastic bastards. Like every other newsroom in America. (Photo: Rob with Spike O'Dell and Dave Stewart)

I have a couple of behind the scenes stories. But they are so good, and so funny, they can never be told in public. Ever. I've got to work here, you know....

Let's just put it this way: there are a lot of creative people working at WGN, and if they weren't working here, they would probably be in jail.

Rick: You got your start in Milwaukee at another legendary station, WTMJ. Tell the story about the morning a bear climbed a tree...

Rob: April of 2005. Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. For a couple of days, there had been reports of a bear lumbering down the street. But police couldn't find the bear. A couple of days later, the bear was spotted napping under a tractor trailer at a warehouse loading dock. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department had to shut down US 45, a major expressway, as a precaution.

This happened during the morning show, so I did live play by play of the Sheriff's Deputies chasing the bear into a tree, shooting the bear with a tranquilzer dart, and then the bear falling out of the tree and clothes-lining itself on a branch on the way down. You could hear the crowd gasping in the background.

Of course, a bunch of other stuff happened in Milwaukee during that time. Three aldermen and a state senator went to federal prison, Green Bay Packer Mark Chmura was accused of teenage sex assault (he walked), and there was a near-riot at the Harley Davidson 100th Anniversary Concert. Bikers don't like Elton John, apparently.

Rick: When I met you I was surprised at how young you are. For all the talk of young people not breaking into the big bad Chicago market, here we have a 28-year-old man working at Chicago's biggest station. First of all, what's that like for a native Chicagoan like yourself to be working at WGN at such a young age?

Rob: I started at WTMJ when I was a sophomore at Marquette University in Milwaukee. It was my goal to get to Chicago by the time I was 30. I said that when I was 21, and it seemed reasonable that it would take nine years to get to Chicago.

I wanted to work in a larger market than Milwaukee (#31) before making the jump to Chicago. I interviewed at stations in Tampa, Cleveland, and Dallas. I could not get a job to save my life. In July of 2005, I cold called WLS, WBBM, and WGN. WLS and WBBM were full up, but there were several part time openings available at WGN. Six weeks later, News Director Wes Bleed offered me a job. In the end, it was easier to get hired in Chicago than it was in several smaller markets.

I was 25 when I started at WGN. I thought that was pretty cool. But then I did the math and figured out that all of the other full time reporters and anchors were hired at 25. There have been plenty of twenty-somethings in this news department. I'm glad I accomplished a personal goal, getting hired in Chicago five years ahead of schedule, but I wouldn't say I'm breaking any barriers here.

Rick: What advice do you have for your fellow 20-somethings trying to break into this market?

Rob: Good Timing. That's the name of the game. I could not get hired in Cleveland, Ohio. That does not mean I wasn't cut out to work in northeast Ohio. There were no radio news openings available when I was looking in late 2004 and 2005. I had the good fortune to call Wes just as (news anchor) Tom Petersen announced his retirement. Tom retired, Andrea Darlas went to the early morning shift, and the next thing you know I was a full time reporter/anchor at WGN.

My best advice is "be in the right place at the right time." But it's up to you to find that right place and that right time.

Rick: You're also, dare I say it, a White Sox fan. There can't be too many of you at WGN. Do you have a secret handshake or wink to let each other know you aren't drinking the blue koolaid? Are you secretly sabotaging the broadcasts? You can tell me. I won't reveal your methods.

Rob: There are three of us. I won't name names. We're like early Catholics. We meet in storage closets, and sub-basements. In lieu of secret handshakes we make the sign of Carlos Quentin (I won't say what it is, but it involves breaking your wrist).

It's pretty cool, actually. For all of the screaming and yelling, Sox fans and Cubs fans are a lot alike. With one very notable exception, it's not like the White Sox have a distinguished, Yankees-like history. There have been a bunch of fun seasons on both sides of town, with ton of crap in between.

Here's the one thing I don't like: If the Cubs win on Opening Day, the fans at WGN will start planning the World Series parade. Wait until May at least.

Mary Van De Velde

Mary Van De Velde is the afternoon traffic anchor at WGN Radio, 720 AM.






Rick: I think its safe to say that your world has turned upside over the past few months. After a long stable life in the morning traffic anchor chair at WGN with Spike O'Dell, you're now doing afternoons. How has that transition gone for you from a lifestyle perspective?

Mary: Okay...stay positive now...I have to tell myself that because instead of giving something up for Lent, I'm trying to be more positive. Yeah, right! Anyway...my life has actually turned upside down since I switched to afternoons. On the bad side, I miss being home with the kids after school and helping with homework and also being chauffeur to my youngest and all his activities. I especially miss coaching track, which is my passion. I'm hoping I can sneak away during a Cubs broadcast and make it to a few practices. On the good side, I don't have to cook dinner - which I hate, and I get to sleep 8 hours a night for the first time in about 16 years!!

Rick: I'm guessing the change from Spike to Steve Cochran is a bit of a transition too. Spike's show was meticulously planned out (a necessity in that time slot and format), while Steve is notoriously off-the-cuff and spontaneous. Has it required a different mindset for you?

Mary: I'm definitely sitting on the edge of my seat working with Steve (photo). He is so hilarious and quick...I never know what he's going to say. I'm hoping once I get to know him and his timing better, I'll be more "with the program". For now, I'm just going with it, knowing traffic may not always be "on the sevens"!!!

Rick: You've also now worked with what seems like a hundred different people in that 1-4 time slot, many of whom you've never worked with, and a few you've never met. How has that been going?

Mary: I never thought I'd be working Jerry Springer and Garry Meier (photo) all in one week, but here I am! It's definitely been an adventure and work is never boring. We've also had almost every other host on WGN trying out for the position, not to mention the superintendent of the Tribune Tower. When the lady who waters the plants gets an audition, I'm going to go for it!

Rick: When I interviewed Spike just before he retired I got the definite impression that he wasn't a big fan of that "traffic at the 7s" format instituted by former program director Bob Shomper. (Spike said it felt a little like he was doing the Mary Van De Velde show). Spike has since moved on, and Bob has since moved on, but the format remains. What are your thoughts about that format, and do you think it's going to remain?

Mary: It's hard to say...it seems once we get used to one format, it changes again. I'm not a programmer and every program director has their own agenda, so I have no idea what will happen tomorrow...I could be doing weather on the 8's...oh wait, I already do that!! The format used to be a bit looser with traffic about three times an hour, usually done at the end of interview segments. At least now, the listener has a better idea of when the traffic and weather are actually coming!

Rick: You have been at WGN now through several different eras, and you've seen it change dramatically. Talk about how things are different today than they were when you began all those years ago.

Mary: When I first auditioned for this job in 1997, traffic was done in the Showcase Studio with this huge map with lightbulbs on it. When traffic was heavy, the red lights would come on...when it was fine, the green lights were on. It was hilarious...especially when the bulbs went out! Sometimes some pretty weird characters would wander by the windows and just stare...so I was pretty happy when Traffic Central moved to the inside studios. Over the years, traffic continues to be a learning experience, especially when all the tollways now have two names - i.e. I-90 is also the Jane Addams Tollway and formerly the Northwest Toll, and I-88 is now the Reagan Tollway, not to mention it used to be the east/west...very confusing, not only for us, but for the out-of-towners.

Rick: Do you have any favorite memories from your time there?

Mary: Working with Bob Collins was a great experience. He was hard to get to know at first, but I found him to be a very compassionate and generous man. Whenever he went out-of-the country, his wife Christine would pick us out very thoughtful gifts. I once got a silk jewelry case from China, which I cherish to this day. I'd have to say though... my all-time favorite memories are the early morning "meetings" with Spike, Andrea, and Jim Wiser (photo: Andrea and Mary). We rarely discussed what we were going to do on the show because Spike always had us cracking-up about something he usually found on YouTube or Sky-Cam....or he had some new gadget to try out on us. His homemade beef jerky helped us wake up in the morning!

Rick: Before you started at WGN you were predominantly a news anchor. You're a broadcast journalism major from the University of Illinois, if I'm not mistaken. (I never miss a chance to mention that). Talk about the difference between doing news and traffic, and which one do you prefer?

Mary: My plan was to continue with news and possibly head toward TV, but as most of us know...having kids changes everything! In between maternity leaves, I was having trouble finding a news job and a friend of mine, Jim Sharp at Metro Traffic needed a traffic reporter FAST since they were acquiring a new station - WSCR, the Score. I had no clue how to do traffic, but I was trained rather quickly and started within a week. I love anchoring both news and traffic, but I was not a very good news reporter - I always hated the idea of shoving microphones in people's faces for quick interviews. At least with traffic, you don't have to do that...but you do have to deal with irate listeners calling to complain about traffic jams! I guess if you ask which one I prefer...it's neither one...I'd much rather be doing full-time voice-over work or even co-hosting a show...WOW...I guess I have goals after all.

Rick: You really worked your way up the traditional way, by starting in small markets and working up to the bigger markets. I love hearing some of those small market radio stories. Want to share a few of your favorites?

Mary: I guess my favorite story is that I met my husband at my first radio job in the northwoods of Washburn, Wisconsin at WBWA. There were only two other women working at that station - the receptionist in leather and an older saleswoman....so when I got the job, I had three dates the first week. Of course, none of those dates was with my future husband (he waited two years to ask me out!). The only thing to do up there was go to a bar since the nearest theater was about 15 miles away, so it was quite different for a Chicago girl just out of U of I! More humor from a station I worked at in the Quad Cities - KSTT/ WXLP. When I left, the station was moving into a mausoleum and they wanted to put the newsroom in the crematory closet...nice!

Rick: A lot of people are concerned about the future of radio. Are you one of them?

Mary: No, I'm not that concerned...I think there will always be a place for radio. People want up-to-the-minute local information and they won't always get that from satellite radio or their I-Pod. Talk-Radio is always entertaining and I think listeners identify with certain personalities. It's kind of like a reality show on radio.

Neil Sedaka

He may have written a song called "Happy Birthday Sweet 16," but Neil Sedaka turns 70 years old today.

Last summer I interviewed Clark Weber about his new book, the foreword of which is written by Sedaka. I asked how he knew him, and Clark told this story that illuminates the kind of man Neil Sedaka is...



"I knew Neil from back in the 60s, and I decided to call and ask if he would do it, and he said hell yes. He and I were good buddies, and he would call on my office at WLS from time to time when I was the program director at WLS. The record company had their own promo people but if he was in town, he would come in personally. One time he was in my office and I got a phone call about a band cancelling at a church event in Evanston that I was supposed to be hosting. Well I went there that night, and I was ready to go on stage, and the people from the church said, 'You're not going to believe who is backstage to perform.' It was Neil, and he entertained the crowd for a half-hour."

Spotlight Update

After many of years of stability, the radio landscape in Chicago has undergone some drastic changes over the past year or two. At least a dozen or more of my interview subjects have changed stations, time slots, or markets. I contacted many of them this week to see how things are going with them now...

Some are looking for new opportunities...

DAN MCNEIL
When I interviewed Dan McNeil in 2008, he was the co-host of "Mac, Jurko & Harry," one of Chicago's top rated afternoon shows. In one of the more shocking moves of recent years, he was replaced by Carmen DeFalco a few months later...

Dan: I've had a few conversations with several companies and those talks will continue. I haven't been offered a position yet, just doing the 'getting to know you' kind of thing. I wouldn't say there is a front runner. It's an exciting time,trying to re-invent yourself. The next show will be much different in a handful of ways, partner or partners being only one of them.

Radio is in a tricky place right now, not unlike many other industries. I keep hearing that local radio is dead. That's crap. It's changed and dramatically, but traditional radio always will be in demand, especially in big markets. Local radio is not dead. It only has been forced to get better because there are so many alternatives. Podcasting, streaming and blogging all will be a part of the next project, but the over-the-air product will remain top priority.

The most satisfying thing about this time on the beach has been the volume of correspondence with former co-workers and other colleagues in the business. Nice to know there are people out there who respect what you've done and want to be a part of the next gig. Guess I'm not the monster an executive or two have led people to believe.


STAN LAWRENCE
When I interviewed Stan in 2007, he was the co-host of the Stan & Terry show on WCKG. When the talk format was dropped, Stan & Terry were among the victims there...

Stan: After WCKG flipped in October 2007, Terry Armour and I tried to find a new radio home for our show. Our agent advised us to sit tight, and something would probably open up in the spring (2008). When Terry died unexpectedly on 27 December 2007, I decided to take a job out of the media. I've been working as a project manager for a small engineering firm in Oak Brook, IL.

Take One Video Productions (630-953-8030) recorded the entire Terry Armour Birthday/Memorial Service, and has made it available on DVD. The celebration would have been in Terry's wheel house, and I was honored to be a part of the event. I gave Terry a lot of crap because his so-called "buddy" Russell Crowe always had an excuse for not calling into our show. I have to eat crow because the man came through for Terry. Here's the link if you'd like to order a copy.

http://www.take-onevideo.com

At Terry Armour's memorial service, Dean Richards invited me to sit-in on his Sunday morning WGN radio show. After being on Dean's show in November, I got a chance to sit-in with Bob and Marianne Sirott for a special Oscar's movie review, also on WGN.

Thanks to the support of Dean Richards and Bob and Marianne Sirott, I have an on-air audition Saturday, 14 March 2009, from 09:00am - Noon, on WGN 720 AM, with Dan Deibert.


Some are adjusting to new schedules...

LESLIE KEILING
When I interviewed Leslie Keiling in 2007, she was the afternoon traffic anchor at WGN. When Spike O'Dell retired, John Williams got the morning slot and brought Leslie along with him....

Leslie: I've been on this shift since December, and I still worry constantly about sleeping through the alarm. 3:15 is just an unnatural time to wake up. That said, I'm setting three alarms, but getting up as soon as the first one goes off. I promised myself early on that I would not succumb to the urge to hit the snooze alarm.

Besides, I honestly look forward to heading to work. John Williams is really committed to making this morning show something special. His attitude's downright infectious, and I can't help but want to be part of it.


(NOTE: Mary VanDeVelde is the one who switched time slots with Leslie. I will interview her next week for Chicago Radio Spotlight)


JULIAN NIEH
When I interviewed Julian in 2008, he was doing the night slot at B-96. A few months later Eddie & Jobo were fired, and Julian suddenly found himself co-hosting the morning show with JNiice...

Julian: Well, with the move to Mornings lets just say my RESPECT level has risen to the Nth degree to anyone who performs this daypart! It's definitely exciting to be able to express one's personality a bit more opposed to over a song intro BUT I won't BS ya and say its been a walk in the park.

With that said, I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world right now. I love the battle and have always been a soldier in the trenches. When you've worked solo your entire career and now involved in a multi-person situation there is a definite learning curve in regard to "thought process", character building, and just getting things fluid...so its just a matter of time when things come full circle.

Its the biggest challenge in my life right now and I'm learning about myself more and more everyday. I continue to strive to work the hardest possible and appreciate anyone who is willing to listen.


GEOFF PINKUS
When I interviewed Geoff Pinkus late last year he was doing a Sunday night show on WIND. He is now the full-time overnight host at the station (Mid-4AM). His producer is former Stan & Terry producer Bonnie Sporn.

Geoff: Chicago Overnight has really been a great experience. We're getting calls from true third shifters, we hear from people on their way to work, on their way home. Because we're on a political station, we do talk the talk, but we're not restricted to one perspective and that's what our listeners seem to like.

Our listeners include the voices of true Chicagoans; policemen who want to vent, insomniacs that have found a friend, and truck drivers that need the companionship and more. Our guests are lively and informative; we had Vic Guistino, aka The Professor, give us the history of Chicago with all the nitty gritty stories, we had James Laski explain his personal sabotage with the dirty games of Chicago politics, and then we've also had bar owners telling us their 3am drink specials.

The discovery of this new sub-culture of late nighters has been exciting and beneficial for both the host and we think the audience as well.


Some have brand new gigs...

KEVIN ROBINSON
When I spoke to Kevin last summer he was with Audience Development Group, a consulting firm. A few months later he was named program director of 106.5 The Arch in St. Louis...

Kevin: The new opportunity at 106-5 The Arch is going extremely well. This is the most successful Adult Hits brand by any yardstick in the country. The latest trend delivered #1 25-54 for the month and is trending up over the last three trends! The difference is that THIS Adult Hits station followed a customized blueprinted for St. Louis, not national success.

It also presents a foreign opportunity for me. Every one of my previous station-level programming call-ups were rescue missions. Stations which needed immediate triage care and eventually rebounded. At 106-5 The Arch, I've inherited a wonderful brand populated by excellent professionals at every level. My job - don't mess it up!

Plus, Bonneville is a wonderful company that has values in line with my own. Far more than the bottom line, Bonneville honors their people as their most valuable resource - above all. Nice to see that in this or any climate.

The previous 2 1/2 years has taught me that of the 11,000+ radio stations in our country, the best ideas are developing out of local, small market properties. Free of the encumbrance of publicly-traded, corporate mis-steps, the nimble owner-operated brands are producing truly great radio for their markets.

For years, smaller markets were often scoffed at for sounding - 'small market'. You and I evolved out of small markets. Now, in this environment of large-market cookie-cutter formats and nationalized talent syndication, the small market station is emerging as the place many long to return be, in order to reclaim their craft.


And sadly we lost a few local treasures, like Terry Armour, Paul Harvey, Eddie Schwartz, and...

NORM VAN LIER
I never interviewed Norm about his radio career for this blog, but his former producer at WMVP, Tom Serritella, wrote a tribute to Norm for my daily blog. I thought it was quite touching. You can read that here: Remembering Norm.





Next week I'll be back with a brand new interview.

Remembering Paul Harvey

A few previous Chicago Radio Spotlight interviews have discussed the Chicago icon, Paul Harvey, who we lost this past weekend at the age of 90. I dipped back into the archives to highlight a few of those memories...



Jack Landreth was one of his producers in the early 90s...

Jack: Every day, I would get to the Harvey offices and listen to Paul’s 7:30 broadcast. When he was finished, he would always stop by my office, take half a step in, and in his booming delivery, exclaim “Good Morning, Jackson!”. I will never forget those days. It was THE Paul Harvey, but I always saw him as the news guy. If I put him on any other pedestal, I would never have gotten my job done! Mr. Harvey will always be a news guy no matter what, but first and foremost, he was a family guy. The love he had for his wife Angel, and the pride he had for Paul Jr. was so prevalent during the short time I worked for him. Mr. Harvey is a legend in real man’s clothes. I love him!

Rick: What was your role when you worked with him, and can you give us an insight into how he puts his newscast together?

Jack: I would go through every newspaper from every town in the country. Again, this was before internet, so all of the “For What it’s Worth” stories came from the small town print papers. Besides working on those stories, I would help out where I could from mail to phones. In Paul Harvey’s office, no one had titles, no one was better than anyone else. Most of the time, Paul changed the ribbons on the news wire machines, simply because he was the first one in.

He would get in early, 4am or so, and put on his blue smock. It was one of those smocks that doctors wear, complete with an ABC logo patch, and the name “Paul” stitched on the right pocket. All of the wire machines had spit out stories all night, and he would scour each and every fiber of those paper rolls. He would then go into his office with the stack of stories, and start typing his scripts, large type and double spaced. He would then take the daily stories, add his famous live reads (Page two!), stack the stories and include whatever we had for him. Then off to the studio where he did Paul Harvey News for the world to hear. After that newscast, it was off to Rest of the Story land, and whatever else needed to be done. When the morning was over, he would walk down to the garage and drive off in his Buick. Yes, he drove a Buick every day. And yes, it took his assistant June Westgaard years and years to convince him NOT to park on Lower Wacker!

A few years ago I asked Bob Sirott which air personalities he most admired, and he answered...

Bob: Paul Harvey continues to entertain me endlessly. Many of his stories are quite interesting, but the way he writes them, the way he delivers them, the way he slides in his own "take" on them--well, let me just say you better listen to him every day because when he stops broadcasting that will be the end of an era that will be gone forever.


I agree with Bob. The passing of Paul Harvey isn't just the end of a broadcasting idol, it's the end of an era. He will be missed.

And finally, Bruce Dumont, interviewed here a few weeks ago, just released the following statement at the Museum of Broadcast Communications...

"Paul Harvey was the greatest of American broadcasters -- a master of words and speech who brought intellect, dignity and humor to each broadcast and demonstrated an ability to connect to his audience for over six decades. Paul Harvey was a proud salesman of products and ideals who had the good fortune to share his life with a personal and professional partner of unlimited grace and class.

In memory of Paul and his late wife Angel, the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago will name its special events venue the Paul and Angel Harvey Center. It will be the site of future Radio Hall of Fame inductions. Fans and industry leaders are invited to share their respect with a memorial donation to complete the Center at www.Museum.TV"

Maura Myles

UPDATED 9/13/10

Maura Myles now co-hosts the morning show at WLS-FM with Dave Fogel. I caught up with her to ask how she likes the new gig...

Maura: Would have to say it's been surreal, to reach what I had always thought of as my dream job... mornings, on (I can hear the jingle in my head!) "Musicradio WLS" - and in the Catherine Johns position (I had just idolized her - and the way she represented that a girl could grow up to do something so cool). So honored that Scott Shannon and Michael Damsky let me do it.

It's also been a fun change, after listening to very much political discourse (on the AM)... and very much, only one side of the issue, each time.

But, I have been surprised, for both better and worse, to find that the big hits, which we grew up with, still rock us, so well (old and young!)... but the way in which they are packaged is still so very guy-announcer-oriented... almost like Mad Men, if they had continued on in advertising, virtually unchanged by time... LOL.


The original interview follows...



Maura Myles is the midday anchor and traffic reporter at WLS Radio. She also co-hosts the weekend show "Women of Mass Discussion" with Wendy Snyder on WLS.





Rick: First of all, I have to ask you about your WLS weekend show because I love the name of the show so much...Women of Mass Discussion. You co-host it with Wendy Snyder. How would you describe that show to people who haven't heard it before?

Maura: Do you love the name? Pretty creative! I can't take credit for it - only the concept. Wendy (photo) is one of the top Chicago talents, ever - and underrated, & underutilized, I believe. And you really can't let Rick Kaempfer interview you, without mentioning or crediting Wendy Snyder... it's tradition, right? (laughs) I was a big fan of Wendy & Buzz, middays on the old 'CKG. I will admit that's the only show I ever called in to, besides Bob Sirott on WLS, when I was a kid. And that's radio love, right there.

Kipper McGee came up with the name, while he programmed WLS... kind of like a secret weapon, right? Always grateful that he took a chance on us. And it conveniently stands for Wendy, Maura, Dorothy, as well as Weapons of Mass Destruction or Women of Mass Discussion. Dorothy is still one of my closest friends - such a doll - and a tremendous talent, in her own right. She's actually a brilliant content-producer and manager, hiding behind the cutest voice ever.

If you haven't heard us before, I'd say you're in for a mess - a yummy, odd, intriguingly good mess! It's really very much like a favorite of ours: the Roe Conn Show on WLS... or like Seinfeld's "show about nothing"... the conversations you end up having, while you're trying to have the first one. And it's that table at the bar you want to walk over to... we're having fun. Or we're really, really into something.

It's also a little rebellious, without meaning to be... it's just that you rarely hear a show without a male lead... don't get me wrong - I LOVE MEN! It's just that Kathy & Judy, and my dear friend Melissa Forman, are about the only female leads in this mega-market. Isn't that odd? Women are half the population, and make most purchasing decisions for households... but aren't yet heard on radio here, as much as they are in real homes or offices or stores. Silly.

Rick: As you mentioned, that show was put together by previous program director Kipper McGee. How are things going these days with the new sheriff in town; former WGN program director Bob Shomper.

Maura: You know, it's funny, and it's true - after several years working here, you mostly know everyone in our little Chicago radio business, or your close friend knows the person you don't. It's like that with Bob (photo) - old friends like Mary Vandevelde or Leslie Keiling have gotten to enjoy working with him, but I've just met him - and heard only good things.

When you get to the level where you run a WGN or a WLS, you've shown you have some kind of a big clue about how this all works - and it shows. That's true with Bob as it was/is with Kipper. Great guys. I like when the programmers program, and they let us anchors ank... Or hosts host... you know? On top of programming, he's great with guidance and organization and diplomacy - that's all you can ask for. It's an honor for me, to work at my favorite station ever, with the folks who know their stuff.

Rick: Anyone who listens to WLS, even occasionally, has heard your voice on the air there. You do the local inserts on Rush Limbaugh's show, but you're also a part of the Mancow & Cassidy show. Mancow & Cassidy are still getting their sea legs beneath them, but that really is a radio's oddest couple. I know you're not physically in the studio with them, but how do you feel that show is developing, and how has that transition gone for you personally?

Maura: I love Mancow & Cassidy. I never would have put them together - I'm not sure they would have, either! But they are truly the Odd Couple. I was so honored, well, first of all, that they pulled me into this - still am. Then, I was tickled-to-death to hear them use the Odd Couple theme, that first day... because I told Kipper that's all I could hear in my head, when I heard Erich and Pat together. It's brilliant - like peanut butter & jelly or Burns & Allen or the northwoods and Tab.

Plus, I've had the pleasure and honor of working with Pat (photo) at WMAQ - it's WONDERFUL to get to hear what he actually thinks of the news, now... the insightful and brilliantly informed questions he can ask, now that he's not mindcuffed by "newsradio" formatics. Didn't you always wonder what Pat actually thought of this world, as he told us all about it?! I sure did. He brings welcome, laid back common sense to any discussion.

And Erich is symphonic-conductor-genius. If you've never seen how a fully-involved, morning-show type of shift is actually orchestrated, you'd be amazed at what's accomplished, behind the scenes. But "Mancow" takes this to a truly sophisticated level of engineering, theatre, personnel management and timing - both literal and comedic. He's firing on 12 cylinders while the rest of the world prides itself on 8.

That makes each day fun for me, because I'm challenged to keep learning, and to "play up." Just like tennis, the best way to improve your game, and really have fun, is to play with the folks who play better.


And I've been blessed to work with Jerry Agar (photo), as well. He brought WLS to the number one position on the AM dial, in middays. Though we disagree, generally, politically, I love that guy. Jerry's got a great heart, a passion for people - he really wants to make this world better.

Rick: I appeared on the Jerry Agar show a few times while you were co-hosting. Whenever the Democrats did something he disagreed with (which was often), he brought you on to defend it because you were the official show liberal. Did working on that show sharpen your debating skills, and how politically interested were you before you started working with Jerry?

Maura: Rick, WAS I REALLY THE OFFICIAL "SHOW LIBERAL"?! (laughs) Oh, that's so sad - because I would have LOVED to have taken that on, for real. Good manners, protocol, old fashioned decorum - pick whatever you like - have kept me from "bringing it," when the show doesn't bear my name. That was Jerry's show - on a conservative station - so, my roll was simply to 1) foil, 2) report news, or 3) offer comic relief...all good.

But, yes, Jerry and WLS have indeed sharpened my skills, I believe (and "miles to go, before I sleep"! - still / always improvement to make!). I confess I've always been politically interested, but hadn't thought I'd move into political debate as part of my career in my beloved radio.

Rick: I interviewed Melissa Forman a few years ago and she mentioned you as one of her radio idols. Her exact quote was: "She was the first great female co-host I heard who wasn't a giggly side-chick, and she had great chemistry with her partner. I wanted her job, I wanted that feeling." Is there anyone in radio that inspired you similarily when you were first starting out?

Maura: Melissa Forman (photo)- what a great talent she is, and a sweet person. As with so many of the performers who prove really great, tested & true over time, Melissa has that gift of bringing real smarts and skill to a huge and high-pressure task, while making it seem effortless, natural and just plain fun. For Melissa to say that I inspired her in any way is a happy honor. She inspires me, too - she did when I first heard her work, about 18 years ago.

Though we're only a couple of years apart, she came on as an intern with WLRW in Champaign, while Steve Grzanich (now WBBM) and I were working with John McKeighan. It was clear to all of us that she was incredibly talented. When I had to quit "John & Maura in the Morning" to start married life, she was the only person I could wholeheartedly recommend for my job. And Saga had flown in some "co-hosts" (translation: female radio hosts) from much bigger markets, to interview, but Melissa shined brightest - even back then.

I wonder if folks realize how many truly great women help them laugh or learn something each day, thanks to radio. I'd love to get friends like Melissa, Kathy Hart (photo), Bonnie Greene - I could go ON & ON & ON - all together, for some really fun WMD shows... but contracts will not allow that. Ah well.

I'm just thrilled that I get to sit in the same seat as my favorite Catherine Johns once filled for WLS, and try to honor her, and Karen Hand, and all the great women who've inspired me. Guys have, too! It's just that, when I was 7, and first loving BTO's "Takin' Care of Business," and falling in love with radio, I didn't hear a lot of roles for girls. So the voices of these amazing women were keenly heard by my heart.

Rick: You've been in radio now for more than 20 years, and you've worked in just about every different format; from the Loop (with Pete McMurray in the mornings) to the Fish (Christian rock/with my good buddy Tom Sochowski) to US-99 (as a country music jock) to WLS-Talk radio. Which format has been the best fit for you over the years?

Maura: Wow, Rick, you couldn't just soft-pitch it, could you? (Laughs) What a tough question. Sometimes, I felt challenged to have to keep wearing different hats to stay employed - but mostly I feel blessed that I've gotten to enjoy so many different ways of trying to encourage, inform or bring laughter.

Pete, MY BUDDY, will always be treasured - LOVE working with him. Talk about a talent - in the form of Brandmeier - phenomenal.
And I've been blessed to work with over 30 different top-notch hosts, from Big John & Ramblin' Ray to Steve Downes, to Dave Fogel, to Pete, to Jerry, to Wendy & on & on.

My heart is so happy when I can share my favorite country music with you from inside the big speakers at US 99. And I hold dear the public trust in me to bring unbiased, concise news of the day. But my most rewarding work of all, has absolutely been to host mornings at "The Fish" (Bloop, bloop!). Talk about great people to work with: Tom, Abby Ryan, Eric Zapchenk and the rest - the best. And though I am simply a spiritual deist who wants us all to be good to each other - as opposed to what some folks call a "thumper" - I was humbly thrilled to try to provide respite or laughter or thoughtful consideration to any one who may have needed that little bit of encouragement, that particular day they heard me try to offer it.

Rick: Do you have a few favorite radio memories from your various different stops along the radio dial?

Maura: I treasure so many - but flubbing my own name, on WMAQ, because I felt my first baby (Dillon - who's now a "Baby Van Halen" at 14) kick for the first time... that's one of them. Or when Jim Frank (God rest him) announced my second baby's birth (Quincy - who's now a "Baby Urlacher" at 11) with the TV theme "Quincy M.E."... that's another. I sure loved laughing with Fogie on the Mix.

I even loved when Steve Dahl would roast me, almost daily, at about 2pm... he challenged me to do better work... and he's just really, really smart and funny.

But maybe the best of all is this one:
About 20 years ago, my father was a regular contributor to Don & Roma, on WLS. He suggested they name their sailboat outing the "Gotta," like slang for regatta... so they thoughtfully included him; and he thoughtfully included me, as his daughter-date. I had just been picked by Nick Farella (God rest him) for an internship at WXLC in Waukegan - but hadn't yet really started my radio journey. Well, I was simply mesmerized by the masterful work of the Wades on the waves. And then it happened. Roma called me to the microphone, put her arm around me, and offered me a beautiful poem to read ON WLS...WLS!!! I'll never forget it, as long as I live... and I can't believe that moment - thanks to the love and thoughtfulness of others - has brought me full-circle to this moment, when I may treasure my own work on WLS, still treasure Don & Roma on WLS (tremendous!), and hopefully honor the treasured memories of my great dad.

Rick: Over the years you've done your part of the show live in the studio with your co-hosts, and remotely from the Metro studios. When I interviewed Leslie Keiling about this a few years ago, she said she kind of liked not being live on site during her Steve & Garry days, but that it was challenging from a performance standpoint. What are the pros and cons of each from your perspective?

Maura: You know, Leslie's got it right, on both counts, I think. Plus, when you're removed from the simmering inside-politics of these high-profile stations, there's a little more job security. But you're also not fully immersed in the work. When you love what you do, that matters much. I should point out that Metro Networks and Shadow Broadcast Services provided lots of talented folks with good, regular work, when deregulation began to seriously take that away, about 15 years ago. Some people think that's a relatively new problem... it's not... it just finally made it up from the trenches to the mega-managers. Now we're all multi-tasked to the gills.

Rick: I mentioned this to you when I asked you to do this interview, but it really is strange isn't it? We know all the same people, and we've worked at some of the same stations and markets for twenty plus years, and we've even been on the air together, but we've never met.

Maura: It's the strangest - yet it's become modus operandi for so many of us... The whole time I worked with Steve Downes (photo), each time I've gotten to work with Kevin Matthews, John Landecker & so many other great people (including you!), I never laid eyes on 'em.

But that's the great thing about radio, isn't it, Rick? You create the whole picture in your head, anyway! So, our friendship (yes, we may claim it!), may be one of the most rewarding and entertaining BECAUSE we have not physically met... I can remain tall and blonde - or whatever I am for you... and you can be that fabulously sexy brain & brawn which I have concocted. Deal?

That's, I think, what got us into this whole beautiful mess, in the first place.
; )

Bruce DuMont

Bruce DuMont is the founder/CEO/and President of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. He also has had a distinguished broadcasting career himself (in radio and television), and currently hosts the nationally syndicated "Beyond the Beltway" radio show.





Rick: The board of the Museum of Broadcast Communications voted to sell the half finished building on Kinzie, and I read your statement on the website about it. The bottom line on that story...Governor Blagojevich promised the money ($6 million), and then didn’t come up with it. Is that right?

Bruce: Right. The initial promise was $8 million, then down to $6 million, but it did not come. While we were waiting for that to materialize, we had raised an additional $11 million, and then the economic downtown hit, which was really the final nail in the coffin. The requirements during the economic downturn changed, the banks changed their loaning rules, and we saw the writing on the wall. We’re in the process of selling the building now, and we’re looking for an owner that will still house the museum on the 2nd & 3rd floors. (It’s 4 floors). We’re not sure at this point how it will all shake out.

Rick: Is it possible that the funds will come from the new stimulus bill? I keep hearing the term “shovel-ready”? Isn’t this a project that could meet all those requirements?

Bruce: That’s definitely a possibility. We could get up and going again in as little as 3 weeks, and it’s something that somebody can cut a ribbon on in ten months. It’s a project that can employ people during the building, and after it’s completed, and it could be an attraction that draws people and revenue.

Rick: I often recommend that people check out the website (www.museum.tv). It’s a really well done site. I would have killed to have this available when I was still producing a show. Is your goal to eventually have all of the material in your archives up on the site?

Bruce: Honestly, that’s several years away because you have to go from the raw material in analog format, and you have encode and digitize it, and put it online. That’s an extremely costly and time consuming process. We have about 7200 assets now on-line, but that’s just a small fraction of what we have. We have more than 50,000 other assets.

Rick: I really don’t think that a lot of the current members of the media realize that Chicago was the center of the media universe in the early days of network radio, and even in the early days of television. Talk about some of the big-time shows that originated from here.

Bruce: You’re so right about that. A number of the radio dramas originated here, and some of the most famous shows....like "Fibber McGee and Molly," and of course "Amos & Andy," which is controversial now, but in the 1930s it was the be-all and end-all.

Chicago was also the home to "Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club." (Photo: Don McNeill 1948) What people now know as the Tonight show format was created by Don McNeill. Everything from the orchestra, to the guests, to entire concept of the show. You have to remember that radio was used much differently in those days, it was essentially a prime-time medium. He had to prove in 1935 that people would listen to radio in the morning. He created the concept of morning radio, and in so doing created the concept of the variety-type show that lives on in that Tonight Show format.

As you mentioned, Chicago also pioneered some of the early television as well—the wrestling explosion started in Chicago (when it aired on the DuMont network). We also had "Super Circus," "Kukla, Fran & Ollie," "Mr. Wizard," the introduction of animals in television, and we had Dave Garroway. "Garroway at Large" evolved into the Today show. There’s a lot that has come out of Chicago.

And we’re still a powerhouse today. Chicago also has Paul Harvey. He is the most listened to man in radio history. And we have Oprah too. She is obviously one of the most legendary television personalities of all-time, and arguably television’s biggest star. These two legends broadcast only three miles away from each other. Trumpeting Chicago’s place in media history isn’t just hometown boosterism.

Rick: Every year when the Radio Hall of Fame announcements are made, I hear the usual grumbling about who was or wasn’t nominated. I don’t think people realize that they can nominate people to the Hall of Fame themselves...

Bruce: Anyone who wants to make a recommendation can do it. All they need to do is send the steering committee a letter along with some background information on the individual. Once we receive that, we go back to the state broadcasting association that is most closely associated with the person in question, and ask them if they want to second it, and when they do, those names go onto the roster for the steering committee to discuss.

Once you’re on the roster you can be discussed year in and year out. Four names are selected from the recommended roster in each category, and those names are moved to the nominated list. Those names go on-line, and anybody can vote. Again, that’s another way for people to become directly involved. Out of that process comes four winners, and they become the inductees.

In addition to the inductees that go through that process, the steering committee picks someone who is not an on-air performer and that person becomes the fifth inductee each year.

Rick: What happens to those that don’t make it?

Bruce: They go back in the pile and can be nominated again (up to 5 times).

Rick: And the induction ceremony is broadcast nationwide, isn’t it?

Bruce: Yes. This year the broadcast is November 7th, and the Premiere radio network is doing the show. Westwood did it last year. We rotate it every year.

Rick: You were also the chairman of the Peabody awards for awhile. I see Stephen Colbert holding his Peabody up for the camera nearly every night.

Bruce: (laughs) You’re right. The proudest winner of that award has to be Stephen Colbert! I found the deliberation process the most enjoyable thing I’ve done in my entire career. It’s not publicly controversial like the Radio Hall of Fame, but there is plenty of controversy behind the scenes. Getting a Peabody award really is a big deal. If people knew the process, they’d appreciate it even more. The winner must be unanimous. The vigor of the debate is brutal. When you get one, you’ve really earned it.

Rick: I’d like to talk a little bit about your background in the business. You worked with some of the biggest names in Chicago radio and television, who for some reason or another, are not really discussed much anymore: Howard Miller, who was a very controversial radio host, and Lee Phillips, who was the queen of Chicago television. Why do you think they aren’t top of mind these days considering the considerable influence both of them have had?

Bruce: People grow old, move on, and the new generation that comes along does not take the time to see who walked before them. That’s happened in every generation. David Letterman to Steve Allen to Ernie Kovacs to radio before that.

I was on WIND the other night talking about Eddie Schwartz, and he’s another example. Eddie, Bob Sirott, Pat Sajack, and I were all at Columbia College together, and Eddie was the first one of us who broke into the business. It was a big deal when he got that job at WLS. Now that he’s been off the air for awhile, people simply forget how much of an impact he had.

Howard Miller is an even better example of a radio giant who is overlooked as time marches on. He was #1 in Chicago for 21 years. #1! He was the top music disc jockey in America. He could make or break records because he had such a huge audience. When he left WIND in the morning because of something he said in 1968 (he was technically suspended), in the very next book—all of Howard’s audience vowed not to listen to WIND ever again, and they didn’t. They defected en masse to WGN. It happened in one book. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. Howard’s audience simply went to WGN and Wally Phillips.

I produced Howard in 1970 when he had moved to WGN drive time (after his hiatus), and what he was doing in 1970-1972 is very reminiscent of what Rush Limbaugh is doing now. Miller was the preeminent conservative talk show host in America—when no one talked politics, and certainly no one was talking conservative politics. He also did a one hour TV show every night. Howard Miller should be in the Radio Hall of Fame someday, but unfortunately, in every market in the US, there is someone similar to Howard. We have to be sensitive to that.

By the way, just as a side-note, that one ratings book I was talking about happened at the same time WBBM went all news (May 4, 1968), WIND launched a talk show, and WGN created extension 720.

Rick: Was Milt the first host?

Bruce: No. Extension 720 initially had five different hosts and five different producers. It was not too long after the College of Coaches the Chicago Cubs tried, and for several months, WGN tried it too. They soon decided to have one host, and one producer, and I became the producer. The first full-time host was Dan Price who had been fired at WBBM. One of his frequent guests was Milt Rosenberg.

Rick: You were also the original producer of Chicago Tonight with John Callaway. Tell us a few things we don’t already know about John Callaway.

Bruce: Oh boy, let’s see. He’s a voracious reader, and an obsessive prepper, but I’m sure everyone already knows that. I’ll tell you one thing. He’s very funny. Very very funny. We had editorial meetings every day, and the humor going back and forth made it so much fun. Those meetings were rollicking.

He was also gracious about sharing the spotlight and sharing the microphone. When he approached me I was working on a documentary series with Harry Porterfield at Channel 2 in 1982. He approached me at a luncheon, and said he had been following my work and asked me if I would be willing to come over to Channel 11. I told him that my goal was to do on-air work, and he was very gracious about making that happen. I made the move based on that promise, and he delivered.

Rick: And this was before Chicago Tonight existed, right?

Bruce: Right. In December 1982 I left WBBM and went to Channel 11, not knowing what the show was yet, and what timing! Along came the legendary 1983 Mayoral campaign (Harold Washington, Jane Byrne, Richie Daley), and the first thing I did was negotiate the mayoral debate. I also did some on-air work on the race to city hall. We later produced a show called “Callaway” in 1983, and then in December 1983, they told me they were launching Chicago Tonight. It premiered in the spring of 1984. (4/24/84)

Rick: Let’s talk about your radio show, Beyond the Beltway, which is a nationally syndicated Sunday night show. (It airs here in Chicago on WLS). That show also airs on television (Sunday WYCC, Channel 20, and on the Comcast cable system.) When you’re doing it, do you think of it more as a radio show or a television show?

Bruce: It’s a radio show that happens to be filmed. It’s evolving a little the other way, but in my heart, philosophically, it’s a radio show. We’re on about 45 stations around the country, plus XM and Sirius. The fact that I’m sitting in the XM studio on the West Side of Chicago and I hit a button and I’m talking to someone in Fresno, or Massachusetts, or Atlanta—that’s still magical to me. It’s still fun. It’s what I always wanted to do.

Since I was 10 years old, I wanted to work in television and radio. On my 10th birthday I had a chance to have a special relative-tour of the DuMont studios (my uncle was the founder of the network) in New York. I met all the stars of the DuMont network. I was a little surprised all the sets were made out of cardboard, but it was still magical to me.

After that, in those days of large refrigerators and ranges, I’d ride around the alleys looking for old boxes and pull them out of the garbage. I’d makes sets out of them and pretend I was on television. My whole world of imagination—from 10-16 was all about that magical world of television. Then at night I would put a transistor radio under my pillow and listen to the ball games (I heard Harvey Haddix’s perfect game). One thing I’ve discovered meeting all of these inductees to the Hall of Fame is that this kind of childhood experience is a real common denominator among everyone in this business.

Rick: The show has been on the air now for more than twenty years. Do you have a general philosophy of what “Beyond the Beltway” is trying to achieve?

Bruce: Yes, the name of the show is the philosophy of the show. We don’t have the usual professional-type pundits from Washington; we’re hearing the opinions “Beyond the Beltway.” The idea emerged out of the Inside Politics program I started in 1980 on WBEZ. That was the year of Reagan, and Ted Kennedy facing off against Jimmy Carter, and I said I would like to do a show for and by political junkies. I told them that people only casually interested in politics, wouldn’t enjoy it. There wasn’t anything on the air for us political junkies, and I wanted to change that.

Rick: Which is funny, because what was considered radical in 1980 is now commonplace—hard core politics is probably the number one subject of many talk shows.

Bruce: True—on TV and Radio. Not so in 1980, believe me. By 1991 that had changed. That’s when we first offered the show nationally. It was initially on about seven or eight public stations. Then, in another piece of good timing, about 3 weeks later, the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings started.

Rick: Is that when you renamed the show?

Bruce: No, not yet. In that first national show I used the term “Beyond the Beltway,” but I didn’t rename the show for awhile. It wasn’t until the Republicans took control in 1994, that I decided it was the time to do it. In Jan ’95 it became “Beyond the Beltway.”

Rick: How do you feel about the way politics on radio/TV has evolved?

Bruce: In some cases I’m happy about what it’s become, mainly because it’s become so popular, but in some ways I’m not. The passion was real when we started—the arguments were robust and spirited, but now it seems like people are faking it. It’s become somewhat of a mockery. Some of these characters are saying outrageous things on purpose. It’s moved from theater to circus.

Rick: I take it your show wasn’t a part of Governor Blagojevich’s latest media blitz.

Bruce: (laughs) Ahhh, no. Rod has never been on the show. His father-in-law Dick Mell was a regular for many years though, and so was Rahm Emmanuel.