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Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Sucks on January 4, 2021, 11:08 am

Per Danny Lake’s Facebook page, he was let go by WLS this morning. He’s a great guy and I wish him well. Onward and upward.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3221002194666860&id=100002713327547

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Jeremy Andrews on January 4, 2021, 11:15 am, in reply to "Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Read on All Access that they added Kid Kelly (Backtraxx USA) for evenings. Going to guess Brian Peck will be moving to Danny’s weekend shift as a result.
All Access

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by WYTZZ95FM on January 4, 2021, 11:48 am, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Or, Brian will end up on another weekday daypart. Or Brian is out the door.

WLS-FM sucks and wins by default. Piss poor excuse for a Classic Hits station. The music selection is predictable, stale, boring aka sucks. The imaging sucks. The production sucks. Now gutting the airstaff.

Terrestrial radio, keep replacing your airstaff with a hard drive or a national feed or a canned program. Your effort already sucks, now give people a reason to not tune in anymore, when they can go elsewhere and listen commercial free to product that most likely is better than yours.

Who needs format changes? Just keep pissing on the formats you already have.

Z

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Shizam! on January 4, 2021, 12:37 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

now give people a reason to not tune in anymore, when they can go elsewhere and listen commercial free to product that most likely is better than yours.

You mean like iHeartradio 80's KOSF-FM San Francisco? Not commercial free....BUT better music and better imaging, better feel even though nobody is live on there.

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by WYTZZ95FM on January 6, 2021, 12:07 am, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Shizam!

See, here is an example of a Classic Hits station where people perceive it to be an 80s station. But they are actually creeping in those "safe" 90s songs too.

Shizam, ironically, over the holidays, some of the KOSF San Fransisco jocks were live. Then one day "Christy" played the same break twice in the same show, meaning she was VT or partially VT. Martha Quinn AM drive show is atrocious. It is the frothy, sugary, female targeted nonsense and it is def not live. It is scripted and Voice Tracked.

KOSF is not as good as WXXY 80s Channel, but the best thing out there now. Music is OK. Imaging is awesome. Production is awesome. The jocks have a leash and are bland at best. PPM safe.

If you say "Play iHeart 80s" on Google Home or Alexa, it will bring up the 80s commercial free feed.

If you say "Play KOSF" it will bring up iHeart 80s @ 103.7 San Fransisco, with commercials which are localized where you live (if in a major market).

Z

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by WYTZZ95FM on January 4, 2021, 12:02 pm, in reply to "Danny Lake gone from WLS"

From his days as Bob Worthington, WCGO-AM and on WYEN, Danny has been in the market a long time. He has actually been let go once on WLS-FM and returned. Hope he bounces back quickly.

Z

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Jeffro on January 4, 2021, 2:26 pm, in reply to "Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Who knew this lesson from Sesame Street back in the day was about radio today? (See link)

Link: Sesame Street - Five Bears in the Bed

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by feder says 'kid kelly' coming on January 5, 2021, 11:28 am, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Robservations: 94.7 WLS goes syndicated on weeknights with Kid Kelly

After months without a host on weeknights, classic hits WLS 94.7-FM has signed Kid Kelly, a longtime New York-based disc jockey and former vice president of pop programming at SiriusXM Radio. Starting this week, the Radio Hall of Famer’s syndicated show airs from 7 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday on the Cumulus Media station. Kelly will customize the music on his show to conform with the station’s playlist, according to program director Wade Linder. Weeknights had been jockless on the station since Brian Peck shifted to weekends over the summer. In what was said to be an unrelated move, 94.7 WLS cut weekend and fill-in host Danny Lake Monday after a nearly 13-year run. Lake, whose real name is Bob Worthington, said he plans to continue to operate his voiceover/production company. “Who knows?” the Chicago radio veteran told Facebook friends. “We may be back on another station soon!”

Link: 94.7 WLS goes syndicated on weeknights with Kid Kelly

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by John, from Wisconsin on January 5, 2021, 11:09 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

If he started at Z100 (NYC) in '88, that's 30 plus years ago. Isn't "kid" a bit of an oxymoron?

Next, WLS-FM can replace the 100 watt light bulbs with 25 watt bulbs. It'll save money!

Geez!

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by WYTZZ95FM on January 6, 2021, 12:13 am, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

John, Kid is the pillar of 80s (just not from Chicago) and he was a legend @ WHTZ Z100 New York. Even in his later years he rocked it on Hits 1 doing CHR.

He does not belong on WLS-FM every night. I imagine he will record special breaks for WLS-FM and the music will be programmed from Chicago or what corporate wants Chicago to air.

Cumulus gives 0 shits about what they air and their audience. They figure they can do anything and their numbers will be there. Someone bring in an 80s station or 90s station and put 1/2 effort into it (iHeart should have done that on 95.5) then you will see WLS-FM wither away overnight. They are a lame, WDRV-Lite wannabee station. You listen closely, they avoid playing a lot of non white tracks and the off beat one hit wonders that made the 80s.

Z

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Dave on January 7, 2021, 6:06 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

To an extent, the numbers will be there for Cumulus even with a narrow playlist because they have no real competition. I don't count 87.7 because it is oldies/soft AC and can't even be picked up by most radios. Lite is soft AC too, and IIRC SHE largely ignores 80s music and more closely resembles a hot AC station.
I don't get why radio owners in Chicago are so averse to variety hits when it is a successful format in other cities, and there's a lot of stations that aren't doing so hot in their current formats. A lot of Chicago stations sound pretty much the same anyway, the area could use for one to be somewhat different.

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Lazy_Feder on January 5, 2021, 11:11 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

I don't know how the magnificent radio and media scribe could not track down the real name of Kid Kelly. Feder is so infatuated with people's real names, but likely has no non Chicago contacts who proudly share personal information at Rosebud.

By the way the the New Jersey based wax figure looks almost as lifelike as the promo picture of himself its holding.

Horrible move for stuggling Cumulus in market #3.

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by WYTZZ95FM on January 6, 2021, 12:26 am, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Want to share with us Kid Kelly's real name?

He is reported to be 64 years old. I would peg it closer to late 50s as he started out in the early 80s and lived in his 1970 Chevy at the time. He looks WAY better than most jocks at his age.

We agree on your last line, but as I said in another post, Cumulus gives 0 shits about it. Beginning of the end, final curtain call for FM radio.

Z

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Lazy_Feder on January 6, 2021, 5:12 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Z, the message was more to Feder and a query as to why he did not work to report Kid Kelly's name. Not sure why he feels the need to print or post people's actual names (after told by hiring managers).

But when he simply reports a personnel move like a new hire or in this case a recent fire? Why is it needed if there's no crime to report on?

But yeah does anybody have Kid Kelly's actual name? Not that it matters except maybe to Rob.

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by WYTZZ95FM on January 6, 2021, 5:42 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

But yeah does anybody have Kid Kelly's actual name? Not that it matters except maybe to Rob.

LOL. That is actually an awesome post.

If you notice, he does not always print peoples real names. That might be the bigger clue! I believe it might be a lil more personal. =)

Z

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Stever on January 6, 2021, 6:15 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Bob Worthington was on the air in the Chicago area for a long time under his real name, mostly with his live syndicated oldies show. So I think the use of his real name is probably justified because it was not a breach of personal privacy, but rather a reminder of who he is to those in the market who don’t recognize the name Danny Lake. I never understood why he would come into a market where he was heard for many years under his real name and then use an alias. I think he does a good job on-air, sad to see another solid broadcaster out of work to save a few dollars.

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Ark Hubkush on January 9, 2021, 3:01 am, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

I was hoping Ricki Lake would take his place.

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Going once, Going twice...... on January 13, 2021, 11:26 am, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Maybe he was let go for other reasons. Not money.

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Donnie_Iris on January 13, 2021, 8:00 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

Probably just kept him around thinking they would plug him in when they moved some 94.7 airstaff onto a future Loop-after the rumored Entercom stick purchase. When that didn't happen there were too many filled on-air chairs and that plan exploded.

Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS

Posted by Ah Leah on January 13, 2021, 11:16 pm, in reply to "Re: Danny Lake gone from WLS"

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