Posted on 09/08/2006 7:06:52 AM PDT by Wrangler22
Bill Bennett has gotten the boot from Chicago radio! The management at conservative talk radio station WIND 560 has decided that they need a local flavor to their morning drive and sent the brilliant Dr. Bennett packing. According to a column that appeared in the Sun Times, http://www.suntimes.com/index/feder.html, they were looking to boost their ratings and at local talent to their lineup.
The result is that they have hired a long time Country Music Radio host and local musician “Big” John Howell and given him a side kick named Cisco Cotto. They have done this to try to compete with WLS 890 radio hosts Don and Roma, a husband and wife team that is a Hannity and Colmes want-to-be as Don is the conservative and Roma is a liberal.
Apparently Chicago is a big city that does not deserve national talent, they “need” local flavor. There are numerous talk radio stations in this market that offer local talent and that is what made WIND 560 stand out in this market. They were the GO TO station for national talk radio. One has to ask who is going to be the next National talent kicked out of Chicago for local yokels? Laura Ingraham is in the time slot immediately following Bill Bennett, is the WIND going to blow her out of town as well? If you have any comments on this matter you can contact the station ‘s General Manager Dave Santrella. dsantrella@salemradiochicago.com
Hey the radio business is tough. People and programs get fired all the time. Ratings are paramount.
I forget - is Bill "Goofus" or "Gallant"?
Isn't he the chain smoking ex DEA chief who had others for doing drugs?
The Chicago airwaves air filled with local talent. It was nice to have at least one station that offered a national perspective. By dumping BB they have just become another one of the local morning shows.
Ex secretary of education and ex drug czar. I don't know about the chain smoking but you can see him periodically on talk shows representing the conservative perspective in the face of a panel of liberals.
I know, but I had to vent.
Gallant
Maybe I was his only fan in Chicago.
Overlooked is the fact that Cisco Cotto is coming from WLS.
Not so....I listened to the good Dr. Bennett up here in Toronto (on the Internet) for several months while working on my computer at work...it'll be sad to see his go from that station. Guess I'll have to find another affiliate to listen to his show on....
A good choice is http://www.920wgka.com/ in Atlanta. We in Dallas had to look elsewhere for Bennett when our local station went with "local" talent Mike Gallagher.
Here's an idea for WIND - if they think they must have local talent for the morning drive time, they could play a rerun of Bennett's show during the afternoon drive time in place of Michael Savage. I can't stand Savage's schtick and much prefer the mellow Dr. B.
AngelEyesGBU
I will have to listen on the internet, so be it.
Thanks for the link.
Bless you, I knew the Freepers would come through with some direction.
Savage is good for the humor, however. I know he is over the top, but he does make me laugh. I just wish they would leave the format alone, but business is business.
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