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John Records Landecker Quits WLS
- Thread starter Dr Wayne
- Start date
ContinuousWave
Star Participant
With the NASH PD from Nashville moving to WLS you have to wonder....(IF Cumeless would SELL the FM and someone would run it like the BIG 89 WAS, it would smoke; firing Fried Winston was plain STUPID)
Brian Thomas has been named the new PD at WLS FM. Rumors are that another announcement concerning the station or its staff will be made later this week. Can we see a flip to Country coming? Some people indicate that there will be no change in format at least for a year. Right!
More changes at WLS... Looks like Biondi is staying in the same time slot and Jeff Davis will host JRL slot until a replacement can be found. JJ is still cracking the whip until Friday of this week. Rumor has it a new morning team will be in place before the end of the year.
Who would do mornings on WLS cheaper than they have now? Will they have a contest like the Lup did?
radioman148
Walk of Fame Participant
This sucks! Biondi should certainly be on the air earlier.
From Chicagoland Radio and Media
"With Landecker's exit from the station, Program Director Jan Jeffries, himself now gone from the station, lined up former WLS-AM host Jeff Davis to be the interim host of Landecker's shift until new Program Director Brian Thomas can get a feel for the station and decide who would be best suited for that role. A large group of friends and fans of radio living legend Dick Biondi have begun an email campaign to make sure Thomas knows of Biondi. This campaign wants Thomas to realize the Hall of Fame talent he has wasting away in overnights and wants Biondi to be moved back down to the night shift that he previously held before Jeffries arrived a few years ago. The group is hoping the new PD, who grew up in Lansing listening to Chicago radio and Dick Biondi, will move him to earlier hours so more can hear him. Should that happen, the move would be a major development in regaining some former WLS-FM listeners who left when they could not hear Dick Biondi, or left because they felt Jeffries was badly disrespecting Biondi and his incredible Chicago radio career. Those who have spoken to Biondi about this in the past week say he is very much open to moving to the earlier shift. Thomas began as WLS-FM Program Director yesterday and already has hundreds of emails about Dick Biondi to look over and think about."
"With Landecker's exit from the station, Program Director Jan Jeffries, himself now gone from the station, lined up former WLS-AM host Jeff Davis to be the interim host of Landecker's shift until new Program Director Brian Thomas can get a feel for the station and decide who would be best suited for that role. A large group of friends and fans of radio living legend Dick Biondi have begun an email campaign to make sure Thomas knows of Biondi. This campaign wants Thomas to realize the Hall of Fame talent he has wasting away in overnights and wants Biondi to be moved back down to the night shift that he previously held before Jeffries arrived a few years ago. The group is hoping the new PD, who grew up in Lansing listening to Chicago radio and Dick Biondi, will move him to earlier hours so more can hear him. Should that happen, the move would be a major development in regaining some former WLS-FM listeners who left when they could not hear Dick Biondi, or left because they felt Jeffries was badly disrespecting Biondi and his incredible Chicago radio career. Those who have spoken to Biondi about this in the past week say he is very much open to moving to the earlier shift. Thomas began as WLS-FM Program Director yesterday and already has hundreds of emails about Dick Biondi to look over and think about."
radioman148
Walk of Fame Participant
I agree wholeheartedly, Bring Dick Biondi back to his previous earlier evening spot. The station has gone downhill ever since they moved him to the ridiculous time that he currently occupies.
I enjoyed Landecker's last show. It was fun,unpredictable and great radio...the opposite of what is normally heard on 94.7. Great talent on the station. I never understood why Jeffries reduced them to liner card readers. Why not move Dick Biondi to 8PM? Could the reason be the fact he is 85 years old? I hope Brian Thomas shakes up the playlist, adds some more 60 s and 70 s mainstream hits and unmuzzles the personalities. I still miss Fred Winston, one of the funniest personable jocks ever.
Chicago is the only major market with two classic hits stations and the music is similar. Lets hope Brian does the right thing by expanding the playlist,re-adding great classic songs,let the jocks talk more and have some fun and move living legend Dick Biondi to evenings and let him entertain!
Chicago is the only major market with two classic hits stations and the music is similar. Lets hope Brian does the right thing by expanding the playlist,re-adding great classic songs,let the jocks talk more and have some fun and move living legend Dick Biondi to evenings and let him entertain!
Dick Biondi could start his own business..making appearances on his own..maybe MC private parties..write a book..if he hasn't already.. He doesn't need to work an airshift really.. He could do a weekly special artist feature show .. or maybe a podcast like everyone else is doing... He's only on one rated hour for 11-2am. WLS uses him for daytime and evening appearances.. I think Landecker just wanted to bow out gracefully and move on to other projects.
If he really wants to win, he has to do the complete opposite.
K
K.M. Richards
Guest
Come on, A ... you know the definition of "the right thing" for oldies fanatics never has anything to do with the station being competitively successful.
I love the oldies but I realize the demos classic hits stations must cater to. Are you suggesting they just continue to do what they are doing? Letting the personalities have room to be personalities seems like an obvious move. Both K HITS and WLS have very similar playlists. Is their room for both these stations doing pretty much the same thing viable?
No...that's why they will probably flip to country. But before they do, they're going to try one more time with classic hits, and do what they know works.
Personality radio is for WGN. They've got that format sown up. WLS has to play the hits. Brian Thomas knows this format and if he can't fix it, then it's done.
How do we know Biondi is "set up for life" and does not need the job?
Most of us in our younger years in radio did not save (we spent our savings on U-Haul trucks and apartment deposits). If we were lucky, we got to a point where we could start saving, but many never did that.
I recall somewhere around 1974 getting a call when I was Ops Manager at KRUX in Phoenix, where we were doing an oldies based chicken rock format. The call was from Dick Biondi, who was out of work and really in need of a gig. We did not have anything, but I was glad to learn that he got something stable in Myrtle Beach... but that market had the population of Cicero!
Oh, Midnight to 2 AM is rated. It is just not included in the data given to the media.
No one forced you to be in radio.. Nor Dick Biondi. No one owes you or Biondi a job. I was in radio too and moved around alot. No matter what line of work you're in..if you don't save money for retirement your going to have to work longer and maybe have to change professions or add other skills. Major markets pay extremely well.. Biondi is 82 ..he should have money saved. It's not the responsibility for WLS or any radio station to give him a job. He's lucky, as well as the other staff, that WLS wanted to relive the past and hire the old LS jocks. But who is the classic hits audience now anyway..say over 50? I didn't know midnight to 6 was rated? Biondi is on late for a reason.. The PD makes that decision.
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