It's official: Ben Shapiro to replace Steve Dahl

It is that official Robert Feder is reporting that Ben Shapiro will replace Steve Dahl as the afternoon host on WLS, and that is show will run from 2:00-5:00 PM
https://www.robertfeder.com/2018/11...=/2018/11/13/wls-taps-ben-shapiro-afternoons/, the first hour will be his podcast that will move to 2 PM and then his live 2 hour show, with nothing confirmed for the final hour of Steve Dahl's show, or what will replace Ben Shapiro's podcast at 9 PM. And it will be interesting to see once January 7th comes which will be his first day of his syndicated show of what the ratings will look like, or how listeners will react to an afternoon show being heard on WLS the will not be a live and local show. So look for syndicated programming to air between 9 AM to 5 PM.

If having local talk is an issue, Chicagoans have WGN. They are live and local all day.

Michael Savage might go in there somewhere. This coincides with his show being reduced to an hour.

TheBigA said:

If having local talk is an issue, Chicagoans have WGN. They are live and local all day.

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I don't know if I would say they are live and local 24/7, but they are for sure that during the week, since they moved Justin Kauffmann to mornings, and moved his Download show to the internet, as he would pre tape some of the interviews that he broadcasted when he hosted nights, and would play them back on the show. There would be times he might have some live interviews, when you pre record interviews that for sure isn't live. Then weekends Dean Richards does play back recorded interviews with celebrities that he records either mainly from New York City, or Los angles with sometimes else. And don't forget that you have WGN Radio theatre, where they play pre-recorded old time radio shows. I know that you didn't say 24/7, and also don't forget that they do have syndicated programming for 1 hour on Sundays. But for the rest week days they are live and local. It also depends on how you feel about their programming hosts, you have Steve Cochran that is never there for cross talk, and then he is late for pretty much everything, and then you have Roe Conn on afternoons, that used to be WLS afternoons until his show with Richard Roeper was canceled by WLS AM to make room for Steve Dahl. So when you look at it, Roe Conn might not be as much of an improved over a syndicated talk show that is scheduled for 2 hours, and a pre-taped 1 podcast. I have never listened to Ben Shaprio's podcast, so I don't really plan to start now. And besides most of the time I am not near a radio or internet stream when his podcast will soon begin airing. And Roe Conn shouts and yells at pretty much everything to my understanding, never really listened to his WGN show as best as I can.

mjb1124 said:

Michael Savage might go in there somewhere. This coincides with his show being reduced to an hour.

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That could happen, but Robert Feder is reporting that insiders are reporting that one case scenario is Big John Howell gets moved to a 2 hour show from 5:00-7:00 that is of course WLS AM back Mancow to host their morning show, and that they expect Ramblin' Ray Stevens to leave WLS. And that might be a better options so that at least some local radio gets heard on air, otherwise what is the point of having a radio studio, when weekdays you will barely have anybody in their hosting a show. Chris Plante originates his show from Washington DC, Rush Limbaugh originates his show from West Palm Beach. It sounds like Ben Shapiro will originate his show from Los Angeles. Soon to be the only local show on WLS AM's lineup will be the morning show. The weekend line up is set with a couple of new shows one that has started already, on occasion their lineup for weekends might switch up, like this past Saturday as they aired in its entirety from 2:00-6:30 The Northwestern football that they won that will set them to the Big Ten Championship on December 1st, with a win and a couple of other team's losses. WGN Radio would have joined the game in process but not sure where in the game.

staggmovie said:

That could happen, but Robert Feder is reporting that insiders are reporting that one case scenario is Big John Howell gets moved to a 2 hour show from 5:00-7:00 that is of course WLS AM back Mancow to host their morning show...

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Isn't Mancows act and his 15 minutes of fame over? From what I can see he is a Stern wannabe without the sophistication or intelligence to be another Stern.

Am I wrong?

Wimmmex said:

Isn't Mancows act and his 15 minutes of fame over? From what I can see he is a Stern wannabe without the sophistication or intelligence to be another Stern.

Am I wrong?

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That would be Stern's view of it I guess. Stern called him Girl-cow. But that was almost 20 years ago.

Somehow Mancow has managed to stay on the radio in Chicago all these years, including once before at WLS, when it was owned by Citadel. Along the way, Mancow reinvented himself as a conservative talk show host, something that's very different from Stern.

Wimmmex said:

Isn't Mancows act and his 15 minutes of fame over? From what I can see he is a Stern wannabe without the sophistication or intelligence to be another Stern.

Am I wrong?

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You might be right, but they might want milk whatever he has left in him. He was working for WLUP-FM/97.9 right up until March of this year when he got word that they were going to be sold, so he left as I bet he thought he was going to be out soon anyways. Kind of just like a sports team might do with an athlete that his/her best years are behind them, and that they are getting close to retirement age, and they want to milk out whatever they can get out of them. Just like how Billy Beane says to David Justice in the movie Moneyball.

I couldn't listen to Ben Shapiro for ten minutes if he gets on WLS - voice is so annoying that I would need to turn it off..

GeoffR said:

I couldn't listen to Ben Shapiro for ten minutes if he gets on WLS - voice is so annoying that I would need to turn it off..

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There is no if here, he is going to start to start airing a talk show that will air for 2 hours, that will have his podcast be his opening act on WLS, you might as well listen to WLS AM as much as you can even n the afternoons until December 21st, or January 6th. There is no mention of who is filling in, or how they will fill the couple of weeks before his 2 hour show debuts