Losing Johnny B. won’t restore the Loop’s luster
As far as I’m concerned, the Loop hasn’t been a real Chicago radio station since last March. That’s when Emmis Communications, owner of classic rock WLUP-FM (97.9), fired most of the people who had any brains and outsourced all programming, imaging and branding functions to St. Louis. Yes, St. Louis.
Photo by Loop Media Team
So the decision to cut morning personality Jonathon Brandmeier loose Monday was surprising only in that it took Emmis an additional eight months to pull off. Now that the Loop has shed the last vestige of a true local identity, it can enter the radio equivalent of the Witness Protection Program with no strings attached.
That’s a shame, really, when you consider the illustrious heritage of the once-great Chicago franchise. From its heyday in the 1980s under Evergreen Media impresario Jimmy deCastro, who plucked a 26-year-old Brandmeier from Phoenix and built an unprecedented young-adult juggernaut around him, to the relatively conservative ownership of Bonneville International in more recent years, the Loop had always been a force to be reckoned with. That is, until Emmis came along.
Under current management, the Loop has done nothing but cut, cut and cut some more. The only thing it has handled worse is its other Chicago station, alternative rock WKQX-FM (101.1). For the record, general manager Marv Nyren is also the man who fired Mancow Muller in 2006. Q101 has never recovered from that blunder.
Granted, Brandmeier’s million-dollar salary was at odds with the ratings he’d been drawing lately. But paying him that much was Nyren’s call, too. And Brandmeier’s dwindling shares were largely the fault of the station, which did next to nothing to promote him or market his show. Losing Johnny B. may enhance the Loop’s bottom line temporarily, but it will render the station irrelevant in the long run. The sad fact is that without talented personalities who know their market and know how to entertain an audience, local radio as we know it is doomed.
The utter cluelessness of Emmis was evident in a staff memo issued Monday by Rick Balis, the St. Louis programmer who’s been calling the shots at the Loop by long distance. In shifting midday host John “Byrd” Kempf to mornings and weekend host Pat Capone to middays, Balis wrote: “Please join me in saluting the best on air lineup in Chicago!” Really, Rick? The best? (And just think: the word “Emmis” in Yiddish means “truth.”)
What happens next? Well, what should happen is for Brandmeier to replace Steve Cochran at Tribune Co.-owned news/talk WGN-AM (720) and Cochran to replace Brandmeier at the Loop. Both of their contracts are up by early March. Both would be ideal additions to each station. It makes perfect sense — which, of course, is why it probably won’t happen.
In the meantime, more than a few listeners expressed dismay that Brandmeier walked away without any sort of farewell. But late Monday, he posted the following message on his website:
“When I left the air last Friday for Thanksgiving vacation, I had NO IDEA that it would be my last show on The Loop. Here’s the deal: WLUP made the decision not to renew our morning show. We mutually agreed on an early release. I accepted so I could start looking for a new radio home ASAP. That’s all there is to it. We had a good run on The Loop. As I’ve always said, I’m not here for a long time, I’m just here for a good time. Thanks so much for listening. You’re the ones who made me laugh every single day.”
On the other hand, if you’d been paying attention to his show lately — particularly after Oprah Winfrey and Lou Dobbs announced their career moves — you might have heard it coming. “Goodbyes on TV [and] radio, they stink,” Brandmeier said a short time ago. “Just go! Nobody cares! When I go, it’s just gonna be gone — like a puff of dust. You’ll never know. Just ‘pffft.’ Cause who cares? It’s just self-serving. Who cares if I go? ‘Oh, I want to say thank you to everybody [when] I’m gone.’ Aw, just shut up, Brandmeier. Just get off the air.”
Sounds like Johnny got exactly what he wished for.
01
12 2009
blogs.vocalo.org
Rob really does hit the nail on the head with this post. The Loop did a crappy job of promoting Brandmeier (and in fact, they really *didn’t* promote him at all). And Marv Nyren is a complete idiot.
With Johnny B gone, I’d love it if someone — anyone — can say what’s truly differentiated about the Loop now. (Answer: nothing)
It really is strange how many former luminaries we have walking around “homeless” (at least, traditional/terrestrial radio-wise) in town: Dahl, Brandmeier, North, Kathy/Judy in just the last year-plus, and tons more have left the air in years prior……
One of my teachers used to be on a radio station and knows first hand that some radio personalities don’t always get a chance to say ‘good bye.’ Hopefully WLUP loses whatever listeners they have left and maybe (just maybe!) they will get the idea to get local personalities BACK on the air there.
Johnny B. will be smiling when he reads this Mr. Feder! Marv Nyren and the LOOP will soon be as dead as that trophy Northern Pike Johnny is holding! I love your new format! You’re keeping them honest!
Johnny B., “COME BACK”!!!!
Actually I think they promoted him pretty good. I remember hearing about him coming back to Chicago, he was on all of the local news stations and there were plenty of articles online and of announcing his arrival. The truth is that his show was a bit lame and stale. Not his fault, he was great when I was 12 years old (I’m now in my 30s), but times have changed. This is going to be a common theme in radio until it finally levels off as being as far reaching as the typewriter. Talent is not allowed or able to be even a 10th as interesting or malleable as the Internet. Radio is dead. Why not enjoy watching it collapse on itself after all of the years of low pay, needless firings and a complete stifling of creativity? Ahhhhhhhh, this is going to be good, NEXT….Roe Conn?
Evening drive on WGN? Following Garry Meier? Yup, that would work, probably very well. Cochran, with his stupid ‘bits’, is not the right guy in that time slot.
‘Course, could Jonny work for a megalomaniac in Metheny? I think he could.
Loop management has pretty much done everything it can to weaken the Loop. While they did promote Johnny’s show when he first got here, promotion of the morning show after that was pretty much non-existent. In addition, they have never promoted their other personalities or shows. They stripped the station of most of its on-air talent this year in what was supposed to be a cost-saving move even though they had to sacrifice ratings to do it.
Right now the biggest thing going for the Loop is their new line-up. Byrd, Pat Capone and Eddie Webb are experienced and true rock jocks. If they are given the latitude to fully develop their shows and not according to a formula that works in St. Louis, the Loop will live up to its tagline as Chicago’s Rock Station. Loop management is going to need to use the dollars saved on Johnny’s contract to promote the new shows as well as Eddie’s show which has already shown to be a solid performer in the ratings and let their jocks get out there and cultivate new listeners and re-engage former listeners. Bringing back well known names like Tom O’Toole would also be a good move on Emmis’ part. So, while Rick Balis may be a bit premature in calling his on-air line-up the best in Chicago, I do think it has the potential to get there.
I like the clean quick “No hugs, no lessons” goodbye. Besides, within the past couple of weeks, Johnny had what was to my mind a perfect “farewell.” He staged an extended bit about WLUP going Country and played it pitch perfect, including the appropriate faux promos and music. Quite funny, and at that moment I thought: If this is the end of Johnny B on the Loop, what a great way to go out. Otherwise, sticking around it would be like Larry Lujack playing beautiful music when his station format changed out from under him. Looking forward to hearing Johnny again soon.
It seems to me that all you have to do to Qualify as a GM at a Radio Station is, Have a Buddie who gets a Management position and agree to kiss his ass and tada, you get to run a station, or a whole cluster of them. It’s a damn shame that you need not be connected to the city your station services or for that matter even live there. When all the Stations got gobbled up by the Big Brainless corporations all the rules changed. Damn the Listener its about the bottom line. Until OUR Radio Stations are set free from these cluster fu#kers and put back in the hands of people that have a passion for Business and a clue of how to program it, It will continue on this slow and painful death march! At least most of them.
The Brandmeier on WGN/Cochran on LUP trade sounds interesting. I like Steve. Given that scenario I would actually tune in to the Loop again but nothing about Bird or the music they play gives me any reason to tune into the Loop at this point.
I remember one show where a listener wanted to promote Johnny by writing his name on a bus. I think they agreed it was OK as long as he didn’t put the radio station’s name on the bus. (huh?) Johnny made a lot of subtle cracks then about how the loop fails to promote him then and after he arrived, there was absolutely zero promotion. It took me awhile to even remember to start listening again.
This is interesting
So Emmis means “truth” in yiddish? What’s the yiddish word for “creepy”? Thanks for your insight on the crazy world of radio.
My old GM Marv would even have to admit that EVERYTHING I predicted has come to pass. Marv was from out of town and believed Johnny would have a huge comeback. I explained to Marvin that Johnny had gone to LA and thumbed his nose at Chicago and that this was actually Johnny’s third attempt at a return.
Hollywood Johnny is the biggest phony I have ever had the displeasure of working with. I have long felt he was a secret union AFTRA crusher as well. After many years of handing out that airbrushed photo from 1983 I’m glad Mr. Feder printed what Mr. B’s smug mug looks like in old age.
FYI: I always thought the ‘B’ in Johnny B. stood for his last name. Wrong! It stands for bastard. Good ‘ol fishin’ boy from Wisconsin? My hairy white pimply ass! He was a fame-craving shallow hack Huey Lewis copy. Here’s hoping he gets to play with Pig Vomit.
Has anyone put any thought into Brandmeier being any part of Steve Dahls podcasting empire that he has been talking about. I think it may be happening. PERFECT.
Chicago Radio has hit rock bottom. All I hear is a bunch of nobodys saying one liners or it is all computer generated. Chicago needs PERSONALITY BACK.The way it used to be. An old line-up, where there is personality and knowledge behind the music. Whatever happened to all of the greats from the Loop and WCKG? And it is NOT TO LATE!!! Now is the time, esp now that the sattelite Radio Hype is OVER.
LETS BRING IT BACK!!, there must be ONE SMART PD!!!
Snacking on sour grapes this morning Mancow? I see your penchant for turning news stories about others into Mancow stories is still your game. (I told you so everyone!!) Picking on Johnny’s appearance is typical Mancow as well. Anyone could have clicked on the Loop website and seen current Johnny photos while he was at the Loop. Living in your angry little world is what you do best you talentless little puke.
Sorry, Robert, but I really have to question your comments regarding Mancow. How someone with your intellect could have any kind words for a purveyor of homophobic, racial-stereotyping, ignorance-feeding hate speech is beyond me. You are talking about someone who referred to Ellen Degeneris as “Ellen Degenerate” repeatedly on his show. You are talking about someone who solicited and aired calls on the subject of “how could you harm the president” when President Clinton was visiting Chicago, and he was not talking political harm but physical harm. He literally aired calls suggesting ways to assassinate President Clinton. Mr. Muller is responsible for at least one actual death caused by his antics: when he pulled his anti-Clinton stunt and tied up the freeway between SanFrancisco and Oakland with the station van, parked across several lanes of traffic, an ambulance with a critical patient was caught in the resulting traffic jam and the patient died before the ambulance could reach the hospital. Ironically, the stunt he pulled inconvenienced an entire city of drivers, while the incident he was allegedly “parodying” was a media fabrication: landings and takeoffs were never restricted while President Clinton received the famous Christophe coif.
Mancow is like a diabolical carnival barker, fueling the ugliest impulses of human nature instead of appealing to the better qualities of humanity. His show is pure ugliness, and Chicago was a better place when his filth was not being spewed over the airwaves.
I just downloaded ALL of the available Johnny B podcasts from itunes…just wanted to make sure I have them ALL before they too vanish. Thanks for a great four years JB, come back soon!!
That place needs an enema from corporate on down. WORST. ROCK. STATION. EVER.
I worked with Brandmeier for 7 years and I just want to state clearly that Mr. Muller is emphatically Wrong in his assessment. I found Johnny to be a delight, an incredible talent to watch…a perfectionist? Yes. That’s not a bad trait. We could use more of it. I hope he lands somewhere soon.
I won’t engage in a word battle but I will leave you with one word to describe Muller…Phony!
The more I read and hear about Chicago Radio, the more I am convinced that the only qualification to become a Radio Executive in Chicago is to have your moral center removed followed by a good lobotomy…
Hey Robert,
Can your confirm whether the comment above (#13) from ” Mancow #” is really Mancow Muller? It would be very interesting to know it it’s him or somebody pretending to be him.
Thanks!
I am speaking for Rob (first time for everything)…
Yes, it’s Mancow.
if its not Mancow its someone writing what he said about Malibu Johnny many times on the air already
Howd he do in LA by the way??
Muller = bitter, jealous, homophobe. His Q101 show only appealed to other bitter, jealous homophobes and that was a great move to get rid of him, if only to make Chicago a better place. I agree they should have replaced him with something a bit better though. The bitter, jealous, homophobe market is really not one that should be serviced.
Not that I care about Johnny B at all, but I agree with Feder; Emmis is pretty lousy.
what about me?
see http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/blogshakalaka
Bruce, you belong full time on a station. Keep up that News Without HD Makeup.
Mancow on the other hand can suck it and quit being bitter. You got dropped from Q101. Who cares. You have revenue shared yourself onto a bigger and better station so get the sticks out of your ass and quit bitching. Johnny B had all the success you ever hoped to have and didn’t get.
I’d like to see this on WGN. Best case senario Cochran morning Johnny B PM drive. Greg Generic doing something else, somewhere else
Rob, you are letting your emotions get in the way of common sense. No question, Johnny B is a Chicago broadcasting legend and a genune talent. But Radio, like any business, is…a business. To spent a cool million a year for a morning personality that doesnt generate ratings is not a smart investment. Emmis invested $4 million in Johnny, and a few more million for the rest for show-related expenses and promotion. To make Emmis out to be untruthful or sleazy is just plain wrong. They took a change on Brandmeier and it didnt pay off. It’s as simple as that.
Face it, Robert: the local radio game has changed. The PPM ratings now tell an accurate story: audiences have dropped off the map, stations are fighting for miniscule shares of listenership, and broadcasters are trying to stay solvent. The days of 10-share morning show personalities are dead. Quit whining about the past and start reporting on stuff that matters in today’s world.
Hi, Rob-
I know Mancow is one of your favorites, so kudos on managing to fit him into an posting about how Emmis is destroying the Loop. Nice work! Now if only you could’ve found a way to fit in your opinion of Felicia Middlebrooks as an overpriced hack who’d be out a job if not for Jesse Jackson, it would’ve hit the Rob Feder trifecta!
Emmis’ blunder at Q101 wasn’t firing Mancow, it was hiring him in the first place. He did not fit the station’s format. For the most part, the audience for Mancow’s “show” was different from the station’s target audience the rest of the day, especially toward the end when he syndicated his show, spent less time talking to his Chicago audience and went farther down the holier-than-thou right-wing conservative route. Good riddance to bad trash.
Who is Mancow?
Well, with all those now defunct radio personalities left littering the streets of Chicago, podcasting is calling their names! I’m hoping for all those radio names to get together on the *internet radio* and get started again with a fresh approach to how radio should be done. They could give Emmis a real run for their money & really show’em how its done!
Go PODCASTING!!!
And Bruce Wolf . . . you’re included but the way you read the news on the net, you’ve already got your own show!
ROTFLOL!!
mancow muller…what a d bag, how can i take a guy with the fake dj voice seriously, you sound just like eric from eric and cathy, sayyyyy isn’t eric mancows given name, you don’t suppose he’s the eric in eric and kathy? they sure sound alike, ever see them both in the same room??? hmmmmmm. uh oh, i’m breaking in to a sneed column.
Chicagoland Radio and Media is reporting that Johnny B. will be on Guy Bauer’s internet T.V. Show in a few minutes!
I guess that was some erroneous reporting. Check your sources next time C.R.M.!
Ron O: That was not myself or “CRM” reporting Brandmeier being on Guy Bauer’s show. That was somebody else just trying to drum up attention for the Bauer Internet show on a message board — probably somebody from the show itself. If I had said it, it would have been checked out first.
Mancow it is amusing that you are obsessed with Johnny B. If he is such an old hack why do you waste so much time talking about him? I worked at Rock 103.5 when you were there and you were (are I have no doubt are still) a pompous ass. The station staff and your staff had nothing but bad things to say about you. Everyone at our sister station WLUP adored Johnny. So who is the real jerk?
If you had a brain in your head you would realize the end of the radio personality is not to your advantage. Try justifying a large salary when you can’t point someone else in the market that can command a large salary. Stations will continue to turn to cheap, automated programming and loose their local flavor.
Johnny B? How long has he been on the air? I never ever saw a promo for him.
While we can blame Emmis and the remote control programming you can see the trend here that Personalities on Music Stations is a formula that suddenly doesn’t work in the new ratings system of the people meter replacing the old diary system. So we end up with a bunch of jukeboxes with 500 songs (at most) on them and only stop when we have to make some money with commercials. No local world, no personality, no humor, just back to back to back songs. Any I Pod can out do this on shuffle.
The real reason isn’t the change to the people meter it’s sample sizes that are 1/3rd to maybe 40% of what we had in the old diary world. And in the 18-40 world where so many live with only a cell phone and can’t be contacted from a land line telephone database we are only getting a weak picture of the audience. If there are no Johnny B or Steve Dahl fans with a meter in their hands they don’t show up and since the sample is the same for 1.5 (or more) years the picture won’t change. In the old diary world a person was only in the sample for 1 week – not 1.5 years. You got to see a much bigger picture and it was more likely that Dahl or Johnny fans might show up sooner or later.
People Meters are good in that they get an accurate picture of what the sample was exposed to – but Arbitron is also cost cutting (or profit planning) so we have a lot fewer people in the sample.
Even if you don’t like Mancow, you need your head examined if you think it was a smart business move to fire him. Q101 screwed the pooch on that one.
I live here in St. Louis and Emmis did the same thing at K-Hits by firing their morning personality in JC Corchran. They used the new Arbitron measuring to let him go even thought he has 15 months on his contract which they will honor. So Radio as a whole is screwed up all over
Emmis is “screw you” in Yiddish. Marv needs to go…he wrecked The Loop like no other Gm on the planet…SEEEE YA!!!
I’m from St. Louis and am not familiar with the guy your are complaining about. Which one is he in the picture?
Music focused radio stations with talk morning shows aren’t fairing well in the PPM world. I think it’s a safe bet to say that playing rock music in the morning (even without a DJ) will be better than the 21st place a million dolloar morning show did. Let’s think about this… Save a million dollars and increase your ratings = sounds like this Rick guy knows what he’s doing. The Johnny B. show is over-the-hill and far from the perfect match for the Loop. 20 years ago, sure… but in 2009 PPM world, not a chance.
This is why I don’t bother listening to the loop or any other chicago radio station. Corporations have destroyed local radio. The only real rock radio for example is on the internet, where in cases you can make up your own playlist.
Chicago radio is on live support at best and dead at worst. Get rid of the corporate giants who have butchered local radio to the point of no return.
i think the loop knows they screwed up,if they have a way for them they can hear or they can read all these comment they can see what an inpact johny b is to the listeners.and to what they that his rateings where down i find that b.s,as long that i been listening to johnny from a teenager to now im 44 i been calling on to the showi got on maybe 3 times and the phone was always busy,so that means to me that people r listening to the show and trying to call in to talk to him.so loop dont b.s us keep on playing the same music over and over again and il wait untill he comes back to the radio, untill then i have my xm
Love all the comments about what Emmis is Yiddish for!!! Hilarious. I’ve come to believe it’s: “Sarbanes-Oxley Act.”
I falsely believed this site was a place for real radio people. So many here are radio rubes and don’t understand the truth behind the fantasy we’ve created. Let me shed some light . . .
It’s not “bitter” to comment on a current story. My comments were intended for the industry-educated. Please try to understand the genesis of my last posting . . .
When my “children” we’re being raped in a skit featuring a Mancow impersonator by Emmis radio, Johnny B. stood silent.
When my father was dying of cancer it was big laughs at the Loop. Now (I have heard) Johnny’s father is dead and his wife has cancer. Karma?
Johnny had no problem blasting the mentally challenged yet it has touched his own family.
I went to him to help everyone as Emmis tried to crush AFTRA . . . nothing. He had his millions. Selfish. Shallow. Bad guy in my opinion.
When I arrived in 1994 Johnny was already running on fumes. Copying Huey Lewis songs in the 80’s wasn’t that clever. His tired act was enjoyed by nostalgia lovers only; hence the dismal ratings.
He’d do his good ol’ boy Wisconsin act and I’d see paper towels covered with his stage makeup laying around. Phony. (“A Face in the Crowd” anyone?)
He’d talk about how cold it was for him in Chicago while he was really “Malibu Johnny” trying to make it in tv in Hollywood. He was not in town at all and nobody was to mention it. Corporate orders.
Also, it’s funny how the people that throw stones here never leave real names. They are either my competition or frauds. Every slam a boost. The real world-changers know the truth.
Me? I am just happy to be out of alternative music radio. (Alternative wasn’t supposed to be Top 40, you fools!) My new libertarian talk show on 890 AM WLS from 9-Rush is the best work I’ve ever done and I am filled with bliss. Thanks to the radio community for all your support! I still feel like a kid on Christmas every day getting to work with Don, Roma, Rush, Roe, Levin, Shomper, Fowler, and Cassidy. God bless everyone in this industry that I love and Merry Christmas everybody!
Mancow
Mancow, get out of here. You are the biggest phony to ever hit Chicago Radio. Who cares if Jonathon Brandmeier copied “Huey Lewis” songs, you copied all of Howard Sterns bits back in the day. You claim “Malibu Johnny” and how he tried to make it in TV in hollywood. MANCOW, you do the same thing. You had a short-lived show on WCIU, you always appear on Fox News like a publicity whore trying to get attention since the Morning Madhouse is done. You criticize Johnny for making fun of your dad being dead. HEY, you DESERVE IT! You made a bunch of lewd comments refering to Janet Dahl and you were erragant when you were on Q101. You thought you were badass having your dark shades on, and you got into fight with people like Fred Durst; just for attnetion. You had a new Female side-kick very frequently because every one hated to work with you.
You’re a phony, you went from being a Howard Stern-rip off of a shock jock to a libertarian just to get rating. You went from having strippers and characters on your show to hosting a show with Pat Cassidy (no offense to Pat; have great respect for). Your Morning show even sucks now; just you and Al Roker Jr, on the “Mancow Experience” or whatever you call it. You are syndicated in small markets on FM stations and in the big markets you’re in; AM Stations.
So seriously Mancow, you’re a annoying,arrogant,Publicity whore of a phony and need to stop being something you’re not. Brandmeier will always be the best, he never changed his show for ratings and never water boarded himself on tv just to get attention. You got to give him credit for giving “Johnny B. on the loose” a try, you don’t know till you try. Ever since then, he hasn’t tried DESPERATELY to get media attention, just for that extra few minutes of fame (Planet Mancow, “Dad, Dames, Demons, and a Dwarf”). Classic=D
I’m not saying Johnny B. is the best radio personality of all time, but he makes it pretty close, you’re nothing Mancow. Just accept that.
Erich “Mancow” Muller < Jonathon "Johnny B." Brandmeier
Mancow is stuck in the past. Johnny B. never even engaged in this stuff with him way back when. He’s just using comments to promote his show. I’m sure if Brandmeier comes back he won’t even mention this nonsense. t
Brandmeier never commented on Mancow. The Cow is irrelevant to Johnny B. He knows Erich WANTS him to get ticked off and talk about him – because it gives Cow publicity.
Entertainers do you job and let the public decide. Quit the trash talk.
The only reason WLUP had a morning show is because every other station had one.The show sounded as if absolutely no interest was ever given to the show by management; no billboards, no promos, not a thing and yet The Loop chugs along with the same twenty-five year-old play list.
But, Brandmeier is not above analysis either. His shtick is as old as The Loop’s play list. the only thing missing is Buzz Killman and references to the phrase “Eat Me!” His attempted transition to TV only served to display his inability to keep his delivery fresh or interesting if given the added dimension of video. The only difference between Johnny B and Mancow is that Johnny B isn’t a right-wing Pseudo Christian fanatic who thinks he has the only answers to all of society’s foibles.
So now Johnny B is gone and soon one will be able to set their watches by the playing of the songs “Layla” or “Freebird” from 5 am to 10 am. I’m sure that The Loop will stay afloat for a couple more years, then either become a Sports/Talk station, or another outlet for Spanish Language/House Music
Man-Turd had Planet Mancow on FOX!!!! LMAO. I totally forgot about that heap. OMG that was horrible. He tried desperately to get a 9/11 Fireman upset at some conspiracy theorist that said 9/11 was an inside job. The fireman didn’t even care and Man-Turd didn’t get the reaction he wanted….COMPLETE BOREDOM. That show was dropped as soon as it aired. BTW, being Libertarian is the total cop-out. No government services, programs, or benefits at all UNLESS IT BENEFITS THEM. Total joke.
Yea, Man-Turd’s time has come and gone, but for a real depressing situation, check out one of the old Loop Morning guys rant on his blog about the firing of Brandmeier: http://dobiemaxwell.blogspot.com/2009/12/self-worthless.html
Poor guy, hey, he’s hanging in there. Good luck Dobie.
The Loop was the coolest radio station in history growing up. Young teens looked longingly to the older girls, in dreams and hope to one day wear the classic rock Loop sexy t! I was in my early 20s, and Danny Bonaduce was my morning. It was great radio, great music, and really cool to be a part of. Steve Dahl, Kevin Matthews, Johnny B, and even BUZZ KILMAN.. (Whom I really miss!) Even if you weren’t a Kev head, you respected the station, and the movement. Now the Loop is nothing but a good memory forgotten by some, and never known by others, others like my eighteen year old daughter that doesn’t think there is radio beyond B96. It’s a shame. Going to pull out my fantastic plastic card from the 80s, and remember when we listened to the AM RADIO!
Robert, I think you’re being a bit irrational here. Let me clarify a few things pertaining to your post.
For starters, Rick Balis grew up on the south side of Chicago (where his mother still lives), has previously lived in Chicago (while programming the Loop in it’s so-called illustrious heydey), and brings with him decades of experience and knowledge on how to win with rock radio (just look at St. Louis where they dominate). What is the difference between being born and raised in Chicago vs. moving someone from out of state (like most stations) to sit in a Chicago office and program? Rick knows Chicago. It’s a petty complaint.
As for the mishandling of Q101… the station is on fire. It has consistently been up in the ratings since the changes in personnel in March. I’ll prove it… In March it was #14 w/ Men 18-34 and #16 w/ Adults 18-34. In October it was #3(tied) w/ Men 18-34 and #5 (tied) w/ Adults 18-34. That’s a HUGE gain. I’m curious how that is perceived as mishandled.
The bottom line is that Johnny and The Loop aren’t a good match anymore. Those of us on the sales side knew this long before he was terminated. It makes no sense to overpay for a product that underperforms (and yes, hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on marketing for Johnny B so his fans can’t use that as an excuse). His listeners are older and generally don’t like rock music. The Loop audience after 10am is younger, LOVES rock music and don’t generally listen to Johnny. The research proves it. It’s a lose/lose for both Johnny and The Loop. Therefore, each one is better off WITHOUT the other. It’s that simple. This in turn makes it a win/win.
Robert, coming from the newspaper industry I’d think you’d understand the “reality” of cutbacks and combining staffs when running a company, and more importantly, keeping a company in business. Even with all that’s happened, I think Q101 and The Loop are better off today than they were a year ago.
“In the building”… I don’t know who you are, but if you worked for the sales department for the Loop, and think that “hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on marketing for Johnny B” then you guys have a major problem. I have to honestly say that I didn’t even know Brandmeier had been back, and realy… for over a year??… until I saw this recent post by Feder. Your marketing is terrible. Did the marketing department bother to go outside of the Chicago city limits?
And if you’re going to start quoting numbers about Q-101’s rating rank, you at least ought to say where you get these numbers. Numbers like that are perceived as mishandled because you – In the Building – don’t give a source.
You did hit the nail on the head by calling what the Loop does a “business”. And that’s all the Loop cares about is being a good business for it’s investors. Screw trying anything new. Screw trying to improve what goes out over the airwaves. if the younger demographic after 10am wants to listen to the same old crap every day and support the advertisers, then that’s what they’ll get. The same old crap.
To “In the building” . . .
I think Johnny knew he wasn’t a good fit from day one. He just swooped in, back from LA, needed some dough and used the Loop to make some quick cash. He was in & out, just like that. In the economy, he was able to go back to an old job and get some cash out of it so he can figure out what to do next without starving or selling drugs on the side. He was a good salesman and he talked a good game to get the cash, that’s it.
Now he’s gone & the Loop will return to its regular station after these commercial breaks . . .
I think Mancow is GREAT!! I always laugh and he puts me in a good mood.
I like Steve Cochran. I also agree with a previous write who suggested Cochran morning, Johnny B PM drive. Greg Generic should doing something else, somewhere else. Greg J. serves no purpose on Chicago radio. He bates his interviews with provocative and stupid statements. Fox would love him.
How about that Kevin M?
Let’s just see how the Loop does in the upcoming Spring ratings which will be after the new format has had a full ratings cycle to sink in without Johnny and with the crazy new music. PPM been veddy, veddy good to The Drive. We’ll see how it likes the new Loop.
“The Loop” is a fitting name–that’s all they do–loop the same songs over and over again. With the firing of Brandmeier I’m done with the station completely.
Done with The Loop too. Just unsubscribed from the Loop’s newsletter and changed my radio presets. Johnny is a blast and I hope he lands on his feet within the reach of my radio/internet dial.
“In the building” I know plenty of us ‘older people’ that still listened to Johnny B! Most people over 30 only listen to The Loop or The Drive! And you say, “The Loop audience after 10am is younger, LOVES rock music and don’t generally listen to Johnny?” Umm, most younger people don’t listen to ROCK MUSIC! They are B96 Junkies and like rap crap! Oh, and most kids under 25 never even heard of THE LOOP and if they did, it’s because they’re parents listened to it! I have a solution: if you truly believe younger kids listen to The Loop, tell them to move Johnny’s show to the 5:00 o’clock hour. How about that? Then you could ensure “adults” are driving home and listening!
Seriously? Mancow calling someone a phony? Bwaaaa now that is one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. The self appointed policeman of radio who made his name by doing shock then does a 180 and writes “The Radio commandments” and claiming he is going to bring down other morning shows by turning them into the Feds. Well Cowshit where have you been? Where is the big bad radio policeman?
Oh that’s right your still doing your poor Rush Limbaugh impersonation with that fake voice of yours. The only problem is your not as intelligent as Rush.
Frauds? You mean like the fraud you are who won’t take on O&A when they called your show? Why? Because you never stand up personally to anyone.
Oh by the way, everyone’s Dad eventually dies. I lost my Father, Brother and Mother during my career. Every time a bonehead listener called up and made horrific jokes. Guess what I got over it and didn’t bring it up every time I had a chance in print. Perhaps you should grow up also, use your real voice and get an act that is your own.
What in the hell is happening to Chicago Radio? Johnny B was one of the last vestiges of entertainment we had in this city. The Loop did nothing but turn on the mike for him and he did the rest. I am completely disgusted that Johnny is not on Chicago radio…WGN are you listening?
As for the morning guy on WGN…who fills in during almost every shift there is…hey, WGN, GM…what were you smoking when you made all these changes? Seriously…did you realize the HUGE mistake you made bringing Greg as the morning man of your fine radio station? He is not the sound of WGN, he is not a Chicagoan and even if you have him cover every single shift there is for a year, he will NEVER be accepted. Cut your losses now…it will not turnaround. I can only hope that this costs you your job, GM, because you really changed the sound of a beloved institution.
This is very disappointing. I’ve been doing the whole WLIT Christmas music thing so I would have been shocked to not hear Johnny when I returned to the daily grind on 1/4. What is wrong with these Chicago radio stations??? I realize they’re a business and the bottom line is important but isn’t keeping their listeners happy important to the bottom line?
I only listened to WLUP for Johnny B. At 10:00, I rarely heard the songs I remember from WLUP so ‘cah-lick’ off they went for my iTunes. Well, I guess the power button can just stay off then. And they’ll be moved from the 1st set of presets on my car radio to the 2nd which means they’ll never get listened to … just like WJMK. The Loop is no longer one of my preferred stations. I have cancelled my Loyal Looper membership.
WAKE UP CHICAGO RADIO STATION OWNERS! We, your quasi-dedicated listeners have options. Today’s electronics have made it easier than ever to move away from your station. If you want to stay in business, maybe you should start paying attention to us and stop firing our preferred talent!
inthebuilding: I thought Rick Balis’ previous WLUP programming stint ended in complete disaster, causing him to go back to STL and program his former rival KSD-FM?