As bad as radio has degraded for most of us discerning listeners, there are many who still listen to Chicago music stations.
I was recently in a UPS store. WXRT-FM was playing and when I asked, they said it's their go-to station.
A trip to a sandwich shop had WLS-FM playing. The problem was the last song was ending before they went into an 8-minute commercial break. The TOH was announced along with HD1. I thought this ID was over with. The next song was so-so and it got me to thinking. Eight minutes of ads and a song which is not a power tune. The listener has just wasted nearly 12 minutes or more.
If I'm advertising on any station, I don't want my commercial buried in a cluster this long.
A second trip to the sandwich shop has WLS-FM still playing, however, the signal was not coming in very well. I asked one of the workers if changing the station to a stronger one would be possible. I may have well of been speaking a foreign language. This hour of FM static on WLS-FM is brought to you buy....
Many of us listen to our personal music libraries at home or in our cars. I am one of them. It's the digital age.
There is the segment of friends who are very loyal to a Chicago FM station and will tolerate long commercial loads. I wonder if they hold a PPM device? Sometimes, a CD or get this; a cassette is inserted, and their music is heard in that fashion.
I have mentioned the fact many stations are either running jockless or using voice-tracking. It doesn't seem to make a difference with some listeners. They want **their** music. Sort of reminds me of Jack-FM with the snarky liners.
I recall reading in the radio trades ads for a DJ on a major or medium market station. Some of the requirements were good working the phones, running the board, cutting commercials, attending station events and living the lifestyle of said station.
Today, DJs are hired to be fired. It's just a matter of when and not if.
I study the writings of WYTZZ95FM. He's been around for a very long time and gives it to you straight. I'm glad he's an active member here.
The same for Jeremy Andrews. Both men are radio encyclopedias. There are other valuable writers who are too numerous to mention. Keep posting and thank you for furnishing all of this knowledge.
Well thought out post. Thank you for the kind words. Some stray thoughts.
Businesses do not want to pay for radio to be piped in. (SXM has a commercial offering that is separate from their consumer feeds). But it is bad business to pipe in music when a competitors advertisement comes on. There are certain businesses especially considering size and types that just can't rebroadcast FM transmissions to their customers.
Jeremy knows better than me about this, I believe WLS-HD1 also covers the FM (being assumed). In the past, your call sign on the license was to be announced. No exceptions. To the FCC, if your license says WXXX-FM My City, announcing WXXX My City is a violation. It has been relaxed currently as most stations are lax on legal ID's.
Advertisers have no clue about the spots. It is accepted it might be 10 minutes long and buried toward the end or before/after a Legal ID. That is a whole crap show in itself.
Sometimes, a CD or get this; a cassette is inserted, and their music is heard in that fashion.
That tells me they are not tech savvy, don't like it, are older or just like old school. Those numbers are dwindling.
I read research once (sorry I don't recall the site/link) where the current P1 (target) listeners of radio are bringing in a lot less than they did in value from the past. Add in that the average age of a CHR listeners is 50+ female (wonder why all those golds are on CHR's and less more current titles and songs lasting a lot longer in rotation?) Writing is on the wall kids.
DJ's used to be the driving force of radio stations. Now they are to put in their 10 seconds, read liners and are backseat to the music. Stupid as they are the most valuable asset of terrestrial radio.
Literally no one calls radio stations anymore. When you hear phoners on air, they are usually old recorded ones or are produced in house. Social media and text are the way, if they communicate at all. The remote station events have also dried up pretty much, which was lucrative bonus money for jocks in the past.
Boards for the most part have been replaced with computer automation. Commercials, if done in house, are someone's duties along with up to 5 or more other tasks to consolidate. Cluster stations might have someone working a position or 2 over all their stations, sharing resources.
AI will be the final death knell in terrestrial radio's coffin.
All this happy news! How da hack are all of you doing?
Back in the day, Chicago radio had people like Jonathon Brandmeier, Kevin Matthews, Steve Dahl & Garry Meier, Chet Coppock and other people who could move the needle. Same was true with Mancow when he arrived about 30 years ago from San Francisco.
Fast forward to now. Coppock is now in that radio station in the sky. Brandmeier's most recent radio deal with Westwood One wasn't renewed. BOTH Matthews & Dahl have had health issues. Meier was podcasting at last check.
The point I'm trying to make is that personality driven radio is long gone and terrestrial radio hasn't been nearly the same since Howard Stern bolted his syndicated radio show in 2006. Stern's current contract with SiriusXM Satellite Radio expires at the end of this year. There's been whispers that Stern could call it a career at age 71.
Dahl also podcasts. He has loyal, If not terrestrial sized followers.
Matthews has taken a faith based path since falling ill.
Stern might retire, but SXM will try hard to retain his library and keep airing it for as long as possible. I just do not know what price they can fetch for it. Will someone else pay more? Does Stern care to keep his legacy living on? Would he bother @ his age to launch personal venture to do a pay based model? You call SXM you can get the unlimited package for $10/mo to retain you. The Sat business is transforming to go online via IP like iHeart and other media. The Satellites cost a lot to create, launch, maintain, sunset. Not sure if their profit margins can maintain Stern going forward. (But their sub numbers are largely reliant on his programming).
The 25 minute commercial load and PPM along with heavy debt load has decimated terrestrial radio being able to maintain those type of jocks, monetarily and how they run their shows. The last time E&J were on WLS-AM, the commercial spot load was so heavy, it as hard to get into them as they were restrained what to speak about and how long. I tuned in, I tuned out, as much as I love them.
Yeah, I know that Steve Dahl has become quite a podcaster and has a loyal following since he left terrestrial radio. This was before Dahl revealed that he has prostate cancer.
He's also in that broadcast studio in the sky, but I remember for many years after he passed away of a heart attack at age 67 in 2018, Nick Michaels' voice was still heard on 97.1 FM The Drive long after he died. I also remember WDRV used to air "The Deep End with Nick Michaels" late on Saturday nights. I also remember that many radio stations also had the option to continue airing Michaels' syndicated show months after he passed away.
As for Howard Stern, I used to listen to his old syndicated radio show before he went to SiriusXM Satellite Radio. You could tell in those final months when Stern was still employed by CBS Radio, he couldn't wait to get the hell out of there fast enough. That in addition to all the FCC restrictions and the fact he was fined lots of money over the years for what they thought was considered indecent.
I don't know how much longer Stern will continue to broadcast once his current SiriusXM deal expires at the end of this year. I think a big reason why he's still at SiriusXM is the lack of government interference and that he can push the envelope even further than he ever did at CBS, then Infinity Broadcasting at the time.
I just think the days of personality driven radio are long gone.
A few weeks ago I was in a sandwich shop in Orland Park where they always had 94.7 WLS-FM playing -- but I recall on some visits the reception was funky. My last visit, I heard 97.1 The Drive there. Problem apparently solved
on March 19, 2025, 5:40 pm