Posted on 10/06/2004 8:43:57 AM PDT by arkady_renko
September 23, 2004 BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
With the nation at war and a presidential election around the corner, you'd think that Chicago radio's flashiest news/talk station would be operating at peak form right now.
But WLS-AM (890) begins the fall ratings period today with no morning show, half an afternoon show, and cobwebs collecting in the vacant office of the general manager.
These are tough times at the Disney/ABC-owned station -- made worse by absentee management that chooses to ignore how badly confidence and morale have eroded at one of the once-great 50,000-watt powerhouses in all of broadcasting.
The most glaring sign of distress is the disappearance of Don Wade and Roma, the morning-drive franchise at WLS and highly rated mainstays of the station for the past two decades.
With their contract up and no new agreement in sight, the husband-and-wife team have been conspicuously absent since Sept. 14, when they signed off by reaffirming their love for their loyal listeners.
While management placates the audience by saying that they're "hoping to renegotiate a new contract with Don & Roma," insiders acknowledge that it could be weeks -- or even months -- before matters are resolved one way or another.
In the meantime, listeners are being subjected to a morning show hosted by two part-timers, the astonishingly mean-spirited and intolerant Teri O'Brien and the utterly bland Art Wallis.
The station's inability to come to terms with the Wades is all the more baffling in light of the collapse earlier this year of contract renewal talks with afternoon co-host Garry Meier.
Though undeniably talented, solo host Roe Conn desperately needs to have a partner of Meier's caliber to play off of. (Paging Bruce Wolf?)
Behind the scenes, WLS is plagued with problems ranging from an angry unionizing effort among producers to the extreme right-wing political tilt of its programs with hardly even the pretense of balance anymore.
To top it off, the station has been adrift without a president and general manager for more than three months. The abrupt departure of Zemira Jones, who quit last June when he learned he would be losing oversight of WZZN-FM (94.7), left WLS in worse shape than it already was.
Mitch Dolan, the ABC Radio Group president who has been nominally in charge of WLS in the interim, refuses to comment on negotiations with Don & Roma -- or talk to the press about anything else for that matter.
Through an intermediary, Dolan passed along the word that there was "no shortage" of candidates for general manager of WLS and that an announcement should be forthcoming within "a few weeks." He denied rumors that several candidates already had turned down the job.
"Mitch Dolan is interested in doing the right thing for the station long term and making the right decisions for the station long term," said ABC Radio spokeswoman Julie Hoover.
Asked why Dolan refuses to return calls, Hoover said: "He prefers not to speak directly to the press."Don & Roma aren't all that's missing from WLS
I still remember the morning of September 11, 2001 as Don and Roma introduced me to the brave new world of terrorism. I can still hear Don say (as he watched TV as the second plane slammed into the second tower) "You know what this is, don't you?" Great guy, Don. Roma grew a lot over the years as well. They have a son who has served in the military and they are an assett to Chicago. Give 'em whatever they ask for, ABC/Disney!
This from About.com
What Happened to Don Wade & Roma at WLS-AM, Chicago? According to the WLS-AM website: "Recently, WLS made an offer for a new contract, which Don & Roma rejected. ABC has a firm policy that talent can't go on the air without a contract. So, with the expiration of their contract extension on Tuesday, 9/14/04, Don & Roma cannot be on the air until a new contract is signed. We are hoping to renegotiate a new contract with Don & Roma. In the meantime, Teri O'Brien and Art Wallis will be holding down the fort."
While I agree that Don and Roma should certainly be signed to a contract and returned to the morning drive-time slot, I could not disagree more with your slam at Teri O'Brien who has the best sense of humor at WLS and is an extraordinary talent. Maybe Dick "Eddie Haskell" Durbin or Blagojevich or Barack Osama or Michael Moore would regard her as shrill but you cannot very well expect the charcoal to have mych affection for the barbecue.
A_R
Unleash Joel Sebastian.
As for me, bring back the '70s. WLS hasn't been the same since John "Records" Landecker and Fred Winston disappeared.
"Double you ELL ess, Chi-CA-go!"
A_R
WLSAM has been at the top of the ratings for internet streaming broadcasts. Roe and Garry were the top afternoon show. With the loss of Don and Roma, WLSAM management has managed to shoot both legs off. What idiots. I seldom listen to Roe in the afternoon. I only tune in in the morning to see if Don and Roma are back on.
Joel Sebastian: If you are referring to the great WCFL DJ from the 60's, I believe he passed away a few years ago.
She is way more entertaining than Don and Roma. I quit listening after years until I found out they were gone. Now I listen every morning during my short commute.
Great guy, Don. Roma grew a lot over the years as well. They have a son who has served in the military and they are an assett to Chicago. Give 'em whatever they ask for, ABC/Disney!
Don,,,is that you? LOL
really quite disappointed with what they did to Garry and what they are now doing with Don & Roma. The morning show does not have nearly the energy with both hosts now having the same view on almost everything. They need Don and Roma back as soon as possible! I has gotten to the point that I can only listen to Roe now. We need some home grown shows like we used to have instead of all of the syndicated shows. I want my WLS back!!!
Oh for the days when WLS ment the best Rock and Roll in the middle of America. Oh for the days when John "Wrecker" Slindecker was pouring out words of wisdom with rock at night.Where is the poetry of music and entertainment?
So do we know whether Don and Roma are ever coming back?
My car radio is pretty much stuck on WLS, and with the long commute I have, I am very familiar with their programming.
Not having Don and Roma is a big loss. I don't know why some agreement couldn't have been made after their being on the air for 20 years. But I also listened to almost their entire show every day and, even though Don was a reliable, no-nonsense conservative voice, there was a certain tiredness to their show. If they had to be replaced, I think Teri O'Brien and Art Wallis are a good choice. Teri can be an aquired taste (her theme song is "Devil in Disguise") but I always find her informative and entertaining, sort of in the "did she just say that!" sense. Art is a good partner for her--he's just as nice as she isn't. A few years ago he had a great Sunday morning show. He's conservative and he gives a thoughful presentation.
Roe Conn's show is a trainwreck after Garry Meier left. I used to listen every day, but now the show is reduced to Roe's serving up daily a brew of his obsessions -- bodily functions, sex, and booze. I seldom listen now -- when I'm on the road, I catch an hour of Hugh Hewitt on WYLL or listen to the Catholic station (820 AM), and I'm not even Catholic!
Otherwise, not a lot has changed. There are some good people there (I'm including Jay Marvin, too) and they should be able to recover with or without Don and Roma and if they find a fix for the afternoon show.
Relevant Radio, isn't it? I listen to it a bit and enjoy it. I am a Catholic and am glad that there is a Catholic voice out there with all the Evangelical stations (which I still tune in to as well).
I'm in total agreement on the afternoon show. They have pressed the news guy and the weather girl into service as a low cost sidekick for Roe. Sad. He used to do a pretty conventional talk show before Garry and it was OK. The moral content tanked with Garry. Now it just stinks.
A_R
What a lesson in management. Or mis-management I should say. The Roe and Gary contract negotiations were a trainwreck with weeks spent rambling over that instead of good stream of consciousness comedy. Now they've disabled their morning franchise. Massive stupidity.
I like them all. I listened to Don and Roma on the way in to work, Roe and Gary on the way home. I like Teri O'brien. I even like Jay Marvin and Eileen Byrne. I just like news talk. What I don't like is contract talk. It's boring and destructive. Keep it off the air WLS.
Um, Surge. I didn't say those things. They were in the article I posted.
A_R
That's the guy. He also did evenings on WLS at one point in his career, around 1969-72 or so. Sorry he is no longer behind a big boy voice microphone.
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