Chicago radio still tunes out women in morning-drive
When Amy Jacobson signs on Wednesday as Big John Howell’s partner at Salem Communications news/talk WIND-AM (560), she’ll be joining one of Chicago’s most exclusive clubs: Women in morning-drive radio. And though her hiring addresses a glaring gender deficiency on the air at WIND, it’s hardly cause for celebration.
That’s because women remain pitifully underrepresented among all top on-air jobs in radio. By my measure, they’ve actually lost ground in the past 25 years.
Felicia Middlebrooks
In a Sunday piece I wrote for the Sun-Times in 1985, I lamented the fact that “the sorority of female morning-drive personalities remains discouragingly small.” At the time they were represented only by Terri Hemmert of WXRT-FM (93.1), Felicia Middlebrooks of WBBM-AM (780), Carolyn Van of the former WJJD, and the late Yvonne Daniels of the former WGCI-AM. (Hemmert, the first female morning-drive personality in Chicago, moved to middays in 1992 and still holds forth at the adult rock station.)
Now, a quarter-century later, the number of women who get top billing in morning-drive (not counting syndicated, brokered or noncommercial shows) is down to just two: WBBM’s Middlebrooks, who’s anchored the all-news format’s morning shift for 26 years with John Hultman, Pat Cassidy and Ken Herrera; and Lisa Dent, who has hosted mornings with Ramblin’ Ray Stevens at country WUSN-FM (99.5) since 2006.
The record for female co-hosts and sidekicks isn’t much better. Twenty-five years ago, I spotlighted six of them — Catherine Johns of WLS-AM (890), Karen Hand of WBBM-FM (96.3), Beth Kaye of WKQX-FM (101.1), Chris Torres of WLUP-FM (97.9), Val Stouffer of the former WCLR, and Brooke Belson of the former WFYR. Of Johns, his spunky second banana at the time, WLS “Superjock” Larry Lujack observed:
“Catherine offers a very valuable balance. She’s the only one of us [Lujack, Johns, Jeff Hendrix and Les Grobstein] who’s close to being normal, and when we go overboard, she says the things our female listeners would like to say if they could get at us. At times, she’s even tried to reach over and strangle me in mid-sentence.”
It was a pretty accurate description of the role most of the female co-stars played on the air then. Today, however, Johns is out of radio and in business with Hand, who was the voice of sanity for years at B96, most notably with Eddie Volkman and Joe Bohannon. Johns and Hand are now partners in Chicago Hypnosis Center.
But more to the point, there’s still only a handful of high-profile co-hosts and sidekicks in morning-drive, including Roma Wade, half of Don Wade & Roma at WLS; Kathy Hart of Eric & Kathy at WTMX-FM (101.9); Mary Dixon with Lin Brehmer at WXRT; Mel T and Angi Taylor with Drex at WKSC-FM (103.5); Nina Chantelle with Tony Sculfield at WGCI-FM (107.5), and Perri Small with Matt McGill at WVON-AM (1690). Others I should mention? I welcome your comments below.
Virtually every one of the women I profiled in 1985 got their start on overnight or weekend shifts at smaller radio stations. Since then, consolidation, syndication and voice-tracking have eliminated hundreds of on-air jobs at local stations, resulting in even fewer opportunities for women to break into the business.
Twenty-five years from now? I shudder to think.
blogs.vocalo.org
I miss the lovely Melissa Foreman on ENERGY 92.7 FM. She was great as their morning hostess.
I heard Catherine Johns & Karen Hand on WGN with Steve & Johnnie last week and that show was priceless.
I guess political correctness is contagious around a public radio station and Feder caught it. This article has the unsupported and never-ever challenged assumptions that: (1) Men and women are essentially the same (forget the Mars-Venus BS). (2) Men and women are equally likely to be interested in any vocation (or avocation). (3) The proportion of men and women going into any occupation should be the same. (4) If it’s not it is because men are discriminating against women.
Suprise! The very same public radio station that operates this website ran a report (from NPR) on a study showing statistically significant differences between men and women in what they look for in a career and the types of careers they chose to enter. There is also considerable evidence that being a radio geek is a guy thing. Robert, check with your alma mater. Does the school of communication receive equal numbers of applications from men and women for its media programs?
How come nobody ever does articles about men being “shut out” of nursing?
And what makes you think ANYBODY will have jobs in radio 25 years from now?
It’s an interesting subject. And let’s not forget that without the corporate shakedown and threats of a picketing and a boycott by her “friend” Jessie Jackson, Middlebrooks would be one less female on air lead. Due only to that intervention when she was slated to finally be let go, she’s ENTITLED to $500K a year for reading the news for three hours every morning. Let’s be honest here- without that threat that WBBM spinelessly buckled under, she would not be there. Apparantly an on air voice with a ridiculous, highly affected style will be tolerated for as long as she and Jackson demand it to be. This parody of a news reader has a forced chemistry with all her male partners, and all the charm and personality of a wet rug. Wendy Snyder of WLS does a devastingly hilarious impression of her that many listeners delight in hearing. In fact, Wendy Snyder deserves another shot at having her own show- or taking Middlebrook’s cushy job!
Jill Egan does morning drive on the Loop. Right now, her role is primarliy news and traffic but she is a welcome addition to the morning show on WLUP. Prior to doing mornings, she did afternoon drive with Eddie Webb and before that, did a weekend show on the Loop.
Oh Robert–don’t forget about Jennifer Stephens of the Jimmy & Jen Morning Show on 1023XLC! Her birthday is Saturday…..and they’ll celebrate their 2 year anniversary on Cinco de Mayo!
Come out for the party (place TBD)and we’ll celebrate with you and margaritas!
ALSO, Maggie, on our Star 96.7 (WSSR) fronts mornings.
I’m glad you’re back on the beat–the drought is over–whew!
Haynes
Wendy Snyder..should be doing more than just the traffic, bring back the show WMD..any station, anywhere. (Used to be on WLS weekends.)
Thank YOU, Mr. Feder, for again showing the lack of women, or should I say WOMAN, in morning radio. It was a crime against humanity when the semi-lovely Melissa Forman was unceremoniously removed from her lofty perch atop the lineup at WLIT. Her wit, charm, and sparkling perfect teeth brought a minty fresh breath of fresh air to the radio waves in Chicago, one not heard since the now TV superstar Robin Baumgarten was the real star of the Brandmeier show in its prime. A gaping void now exists on the radio dial without the services of the Mystical Tanned Goddess of Good Mornings. When will all the people who run radio stations see the rare gem that is right under their noses (and temporarily on their TV’s each morning) and return the Fabulous Forman to the place she belongs, pulling down huge ratings for some lucky radio station? The time has come to bring one woman back to the early shift in Chicago. One woman who can, thanks to the miracles of modern elective medical procedures and Clinique, keep her vitality for the next 25 years and beyond. That woman is the one and only Melissa Forman.
Rob, no offense to Terri. We are friends, however WSDM had female morning jocks a long time ago.
I know you know that.
thanks,
burt
I don’t know why, but whenever I thought of Felicia Middlebrooks, I would visualize Diann Burns. Sadly, the radio dial seems to have degenerated into a bunch of hires of retreads, with a few exceptions here and there. I think it’s doubtful that any women will break through, and I’ll pause here for the obligatory comment regarding Melissa Forman.
Mr Feder: You do not make it clear, at least to me, if you’re saying this is a discriminatory issue or simply a call for a greater diversity of voices and opinions.
Ms. Middlebrooks would be more listenable if she pronounce her words properly. Her propensity toward the pronunciation of words containing the letters “in,” as in “spin,” as “spenn,” and conversely, words containing “en” as if they were “IN” causes me to switch to WBEZ for my morning news. I have tried MANY MANY times to listen but after the first occurrence of this habit causes me to change stations.
Ms. Middlebrooks has been on WBBM in Chicago for at least 20 years that I can remember, and this habit of hers is STILL annoying!
I don’t think of WTMX’s Kathy Hart as a sidekick, more as a reality check on Eric Ferguson’s sometimes pompous act. Same for Roma countering Don Wade at WLS–plus she’s got to moving a lot of probitics for the sponsor, no? Both shows are promoted as X & Y chromosone hosts in the a.m.
And is there a traffic guy working in the morning? While they may not be featured players, I think it’s all women telling us that the Kennedy, Eisenhower and Stevenson are bumper to bumper.
#3 says it all. In addition, there seems to be plenty of woman on the dial so I am not sure why this is a story. Don’t you have a friend at the Sun Times to write about today?
Here in the Minneapolis/St.Paul market Terri Traen has been a fixture on the KQRS Morning Show for years.
I don’t know if Kathy Voltmer would count. The Drive is more music than anything. I also think Wendy Synder could carry a show on her own.
Hi Robert, how about Stephanie Millers morning zoo at WCPT am and fm.
She’s on 8 to 11am, and those of us who are weary of right wing gas tune in.
She used to be a jock at WCKG several years ago and I remember her from that gig and glad she’s back.
Angie Taylor became less attractive to me when I heard she was engaged. Mel T is just a woman with the mind of a guy. Drex is somewhere in the middle – not quite sure where which is probably why I listen.
Add Kathy and Judy to the list of women now off the air.
The overwhelming majority of people don’t want to hear a woman’s voice in the morning. Radio should be an escape.
Let’s face it–women are still second class citizens on radio and it’s not about to change for a very long time. We don’t want to hear women as their husband’s little helpers; i.e. Don and Roma–oh please! Even Steve and Johnnie–if he’s indisposed, Johnnie never takes over and runs the show–they go off air and in comes a substitute. In this day and age you would imagine it would be different–it’s not. They removed Kathy and Judy as not appealing to younger listeners, but I could not help noticing how many guys called into the program. I am sure all the young people just gather around to hear the likes the Jim Laski and Agar. Guess all the station managers have not yet heard of music and I-pods and young people are not interested. As I have said before, Jarrett does not rattle the bars of my cage early in the morning but relays the news quietly and efficiently. It’s not his fault that he has do deal with numerous breaks. Furthermore, I wonder if some of these elongated traffic reports are worth anything. Are there actually people who decide to stay home if the traffic is bad–I doubt it.
Bump Willis: there seems to be plenty of woman on the dial…
—————–
It’s unclear to me if Mr. Feder is trying to shine a spotlight on possible discriminatory practices or simply a lack of (female) perspectives on Chicago morning radio.
The quote he cites from Larry Lujack leads me to believe it’s the latter.
If this is the case he should be prepared to draw the ire of the right-wingers on this board who believe only profits matter and the public has no right to hear a diversity of opinions (and voices) on the airwaves they own as the only thing that matters is dollars and cents.
It could be interpreted that Mr. Feder is kinda, sorta, maybe advocating for a Fairness Doctrine?
This article has some irony to it because B96 for instance, added Erica Cobb to the Eddie and Jobo show to try and attract female listeners because they were lacking in the adult female demo and they were trying to steal listeners from Drex. Its funny how much radio has changed in just a few years
Consolidation, syndication, and voice tracking have eliminated *only* hundreds of jobs? I have to believe that number is in the thousands. How many small-market and rural stations employ anyone at night anymore? That’s a huge amount of territory, and few pulses to cover it.
TO EMACEE 1701 #3
Preach #3 preach! I hear ya’!……………….
And how ironic you mentioned male nurses. My friend had surgery a few years back & resented there wasn’t one male nurse to help him. Where are they???
You speak the truth #3 and I’m glad you wrote what you did. There are not many females in radio. …………………………………………………………
Last time there were any women in radio at all levels was back in the Dark Ages. WSDM (smack dab in the middle). All female radio station at all levels, dj’s, newsreaders, weather, you name it. …………………………………………………………..
Lets face it, men are running the show & until there’s a Hurt Locker win in radio, men will continue to ruin radio at all levels all the time.
Thanks Feder for writing what many women have been thinking for years. I produced mid-day talk at the old 105.9 WCKG for 5 years (Kevin Mathews, Pete McMurray, The Stan and Terry Show) and I knew then how LUCKY and unique my situation was. I guess the higher ups don’t think women buy cars, go on vacations, or shop enough to get advertisers to consider them when employing female voices. I can’t wait for the day when the voices on the dial are a equal representation of the listeners in the city.
I think Mr. Feder made it absolutely clear. There is a vast conspiracy to keep every single person wanting to be in radio… out. When will this endless persecution stop? It’s a long, long road. If only a caped crusader could swoop down and level the playing field for all of the discriminated and disenfranchised. We shall overcome.
[the REAL Kent Brockman unties himself now...]
What?!? Those aren’t my words! This diversity crap is just that… crap. Whatever happened to putting the most talented person in any role? Not just radio… but also blue collar, white collar jobs, at any level etc. If you want to succeed and create a cohesive environment, the worst thing is doing a forced hire to correct a perceived wrong. That brings about resentment from the rest of the team. If the best person for the job happens to be a female, person of color, person with an interesting point of view… so be it. But don’t think that someone is doing a positive thing for “their cause” when they strong arm an “under-represented” person into job.
[Kent Brockman has now been subdued and put into a cage... NO SOUP FOR YOU!]
Kathy & Judy are off the air? Who are they? ZZZZzzzzzzz
Katie, maybe Foreman can go to satellite… The Melissa 100. POOF! gone
Maybe the Chicago Hypnosis Center can get into Randy Michaels glazed ham of a head and knock off 2 birds with one stone… “Benji… You’re getting VERRrrry sleepy. Now, get your head out of your butt, stop eating like you live at Nathan’s on the 4th of July and stop destroying WGN. Ok, you’re now awake. How do you feel?”
Mmmm… all I can remember is Nathan’s and birds. I’ll have that with a Diet Coke. And get me ManLoud’s number, straight away.
TO Tom Susala #11
Isn’t there a school for radio pronunciation? I noticed the same thing with WGN’s Valerie Warner. She says, “kinneedy” instead of Kennedy and on it goes. People did call in to complain about her pronunciations but isn’t that the station’s call??? ………………………………………………………
Some don’t want to lose that ‘hood’ style & some say ‘take me as I am’. I believe it’s up to the station. I thought there was a school for those people.
Val is a weak traffic reporter. Can’t adlib, Breaking news, forget about it. And she cannot say “Kennedy”
Apres Ski, you are consistently inconsistent in your postings. How can you agree with # 3 and then go onto rant that there are no woman in radio? Also, #3 was not lamenting the dearth of male nurses, it was an example!
TO Lenny Randle #30
There’s a dearth of females in radio & a dearth of males in nursing. That’s my point! We don’t have people, males, who pick up on these things and it takes a blog to bring out the fact that men and women think and act differently especially when it comes to advertisers & bread winners. Even if that was an example, its true about male nurses. ……………………
I agreed with (#3) the lack of female voices in radio because I no longer listen to radio. I have yet to find a woman I enjoy listening to. If I’m not listening to radio, there are millions also not listening. …………………………………………….
And thank you for pointing out that’s I’m consistently inconsistent . . . The plural of woman is women . . .
#21 –
Right wing conspiracy to prevent diversity in voices? The same ratio of women:men exists in minority O&Os.
Only profits matter? The same ratio of women:men exists in non-profit stations as well.
Geesh. Move on, already.
Apres, I was not suggesting that your point was not clear. I was simply stating that your comment was not a point of agreement with #3, as you inferred. I am done dueling with you on this because It bores others.
Uh… “pitifully underrepresented”? Looks to me like women are on at least half the morning shows on the radio! Eric and Kathy, Don Wade and Roma, Big John and Amy, etc., etc. They even have billing on the show titles!!
I always enjoyed Catherine Johns back in the day. She was on the Roe Conn Show, maybe a year ago, and demonstrated that she’s still got it!
Felicia Middlebrooks is a class act and one whom I have always respected and enjoyed getting news from. Unfortunately, from what I have heard from Amy on WLS in the recent past, I don’t think we’re in for the same great performance from her – too much drama with that lady – which decreases one’s trust and interest in what is said by her.
Felicia Babblingbrook… made for radio… not for talent, but can you imagine that mug AND the voice on TV? I agree with others about the voice thing she does… it’s soooo put on, it sounds like she’s doing an impression of Wendy Snyder doing an impression of Felicia Middlesnooze.
Btw, Wendy is kinda funny, her Felicia is dead-on. But Wendy’s never gonna have her own show. Just listen to her podcast and you’ll know why. Her podcast is only funny when Steve Dahl is lampooning it (Wendy doing a drunken rendition of a Led Zep tune…true! LOL). She’s good enough for news/traffic… maybe sidekick.
Question: Is Felicia’s photo above pre-makeover or post-makeover. You be the judge.
Kathy and Judy were the highlight of my day, discussing topics that some men would never touch. Right after their unceremonious dismissal from the WGN air waves, the station began its fall off the cliff. Coincidence? Possibly. How about the possibility that some station managers just don’t know how to read their audience.
Every radio station has volumes of research that provide qualitative and quantitative data. These radio stations know exactly what they are doing and to think otherwise is naive. Of course, everyone that loved their old radio favorites will cry that I am wrong and the stations are misguided. Sure, there are plenty of examples that will prove me wrong but there is plenty of data to justify why a Kathy and Judy or a Steve Dahl, etc are let go. I have spoke on this subject before and advertisers do not seek out AM radio stations, especially ones that appeal to Adults age 65+; thus, the AM stations become desperate and will try anything to save a dying medium. Therefore, if Kathy and Judy are generating zero revenue for the station they have to be let go. Who keeps unproductive employees that do not contribute to the bottom line? WGN is doing whatever they can to attract anyone under 65+. Sure, they have advertisers but they are the same ones and they need to attract new advertisers and that is not done by trotting out the same act. Finally, there are no such thing as “overnight ratings” for shows like Steve and Johnny; all commercial spots aired overnight are bonus spots. I have been buying radio and TV time for 25+ years and have never been presented overnight proposals nor have I asked for data on the overnight audience.
Just curious, but has anybody (C’mon Rob) noticed that the MALE gender (especially the Caucasion type of said gender) is the edangered specie on TELEVISION ??? Why is that do you think ??? Care to do a census on that one???
And since the weather is improving, there won’t be much call for a Baskerville or Ponce(#1 or 2)offspring to occupy the Hubbard street overpass declaring, “That yes, its’s snowing out here tonight.” Cuts the census down by three more males and makes more room for the rest of the Jiggets and Jordan families to be gainfully employed !
At least nobody will accuse Amy Jacobson of being the voice of reason at her new gig. Reason doesn’t exist at WIND. Hey, Amy, here are a few lines you can use on your show:
Kenya really believe Obama was born in the United States?
So, John, what flavor of tea bag is in your cup this morning?
I bet Michael J. Fox is just faking it.
But I’ll say one thing for Amy, if she ever wants to get back into television, she has the Aryan good looks to be on Fox and Fiends.
Me–FREEKING–eow! I guess we know where the Kathy and Judy callers wound up…right here.
Women are routinely stepped on in all manner of ways. Radio is no exception and never will be.
How Felicia kept her job and the salary she makes (really? A half a mill?) for showing up is a travesty but, frankly, newscast content (and, of course, use of the right words) is more important to me and her voice is acceptable.
In a perfect world, radio would become important again, all the good folks would have jobs, Melissa Forman and She Who Swims with Monsters would mud-wrestle for charity and Katie MelissaForman Knott would have a life full of happiness, love and wonder.
Oh and @Kent Brockman would assume an Andy Rooney-esque position at Channel 11.
OK, James Dvorak… I gotta get ready for my closeup. Cotton candy double merkins are in order for my Rooney-brow look.
“Ya ever wonder why there are no conspiratorial theories about conspiracy theorists? Me neither. tick tick tick tick”
Media, even on a national level, is well represented by females. I just finished watching NBC Nightly News. Ann Curry (hosting) opened up immediately with Kelly O’Donnell and Savannah Guthrie (on remote) covering the Health Care Bill while cutting to Nancy Pelosi (on Mars) on The Hill. I guess 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.
While I agree w/emacee completely …. not every profession is for both sexes … I feel it’s because women, especially in the morning, sound like our mothers waking us up to go to school.
Plus there are not many female voices that sound good on the radio. They might sound good singing but not talking.
Plus, I’ve found that women on the radio are two stones short of stupid and talk about stupid stuff.
When a woman talks about serious stuff they sound shrill and nagging. A truly intelligent woman is not tolerated not by women who listen nor men … because a truly intelligent woman is a rare thing, especially on the radio, that most people cannot recognize it nor deal with it.
i’m a fan of Lisa Labuz in the morning on wbez….she’s been on for years and years…
What about openly gay people on radio? Remember back in the 80s when that gay guy was on with Doug Banks in the morning and with Steve & Garry in the afternoon?
Stephanie Miller on WCPT 8:00AM to 11:00 AM. No one else comes close!
Kelly O’Donnell…cough. I…. Um…yeah.
Holy cats!
So the question is what’s driving this (no pun intended)? Chicago radio stations have made it pretty clear that they don’t care about your gender. Rather, everything revolves around their ability to sell advertising around your show. So what’s causing the disconnect between having female talent and selling ad space? Second question, if Bruce Wolf dresses in drag when he’s on the radio (and who’s to say that he doesn’t) – would that count towards increasing the female voice on the radio?
@James Dvorak #49. LOL!!!
My reference to Kelly O’Donnell wasn’t meant that she was hot… she represented the female demographic that night. She’s more of a red-headed yappy thing.
Pelosi was mentioned because her gender is TBA post-op.
If radio were truly blind then I’d have no problem with the lack of females on the air. The problem is…it’s not. All of this talk about “the best” person for the job is making me gag. There are a handful of men (not that race matters, but they’re white men) who are the proverbial go-to jocks and talk hosts in Chicago. If they were actually rating juggernauts, then again…understandable. But they aren’t. I don’t have to name names, we all know who they are. They move from station to station, era to era, and what? They’re out again. Why? Because they no loger deliver the desired ratings. Yet, they keep popping up. How is this possible? Why in the name of all that is reasonable, do PDs and GMs keep trolling out the same men and expect us to say WOW? I can’t think of one woman who has been give half the chances to fail (or succeed) that these guys have. You can call it priviledge or you can call it cronyism, but whatever you do, just don’t call it fair.
I WILL call it fair. There just aren’t enough talented female radio broadcasters aspiring to be in the radio game. To put a woman in a role just for token purposes is also insulting. The women that DO succeed in radio have done it mostly on merit.
On the other hand, if a woman is beautiful, TV is the place to be and maybe that’s not fair to men. Prop a beauty queen in front of a teleprompter and it’s showtime! WOO HOO! Stumble on words? No problemo… there’s an app for that!
I think their have been alot of good female personalities on radio .cathrine johns lisa dent., mary debages.today i was listening to the scott alan show he had two female host wendy and vanessa., they were great. more women in radio thanks matt
I was a follower of LIBBY COLLINS. That lady really had class and knew what
was happening locally (if I’m not mistaken, she also had 30 successful years on the air).
She was replaced by “male morons in the morning.” Now that was a good move – NOT!
I don’t listen to WKRS anymore. However, I’d listen to the likes of Libby in a heartbeat.
There aren’t a lot of Japanese hockey players in the NHL either. They seem more interested in baseball. Is that the NHL’s fault? No. They pursue baseball, they like it and they’re good at it. If they liked hockey, worked at it as they do baseball, they would be successful there too.
There ARE talented women in radio, Catherine Johns included (Felicia MiddleHACK not so much). But I would like to know the stats of how many women vs men even pursue a radio career in the first place. Now if the numbers show that there is an unfair % of available, unemployed, talented females vs males, then the debate might be more valid. I just don’t think that many women pursue that career path.
Tony Smith – Nobody measures overnight ratings? Late-night commercials are bonuses? As they say on Saturday Night Live: “REALLY?” Seems to me that night-owls are a specific “niche market” that certain advertisers would treasure! Think about it…in addition to the usual collection of insomniacs you have late-night workers (mostly blue-collar or service workers), students burning the midnight oil, and as S&J like to remind us, “new parents up at night with a screaming baby.” So if I ran an advertising agency specializing in low-cost consumer products, 24-hour pizza delivery, or baby products, I’d consider late-night radio a good “buy.”
@ChiTownGal #57… I’m lovin’ your posts. Good observations and funny too. :-)
Whenever I hear S&J, I always think of the movie “Waiting For Guffman”… the characters played by Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara… “Ron & Sheila Albertson”. They think they’re in show business, but in reality they are the owners of a small travel agency. Yet they continue to blather on. S&J are the radio equivalent of cable access TV.
*************
Ron Albertson: “If there’s an empty space, just fill it with a line, that’s what I like to do. Even if it’s from another show.”
Ron Albertson: “Some people find it ironical that although we run a travel agency, we’ve never been outside of Blaine.”
#57. Great strategy. I hope you have great success as an advertising consultant.
@ChiTownGirl – Exactly! I’ve long been stymied by the lack of ads, as well as the ads I do hear, on late night radio. Where are the McDonalds 24-hour drive-thru reminders rather than yet another fillet of fish commercial, the Taco Bell ads reminding us late-nighters that their drive-thru is open until 2AM, and especially (with more and more gas stations closing over-night during the difficult economic times) the gas station ads for 24-hour gas stations who actually let you walk in the store and don’t make you pay at the window?
Instead, it’s lots of PSAs and station’s over-self-promotional recordings. Overnight ads are so slight that you don’t even hear Roma pushing her energy product overnight!
Speaking of Roma… I noticed she was off the air a couple of days recently… under the weather. “Where’s your Healthy Trinity Probiotics now, Moses?!? nnNYEEAHHhh!”
#61. Thank you for further illuminating my point about the lack of audience during the overnight hours on radio. Silly advertisers like to spend money on media vehicles that have an audience to justify the cost of the commercials. If there were an audience of any significance during Steve and Johnny Show, advertisers would seek it out.
Don’t forget Kathy Voltmer on “The Drive.” Smart and a great set of pipes too!
Thanks, @Vic D: Kathy Voltmer also was mentioned by @Jim (No. 16).
What about Lisa Flynn? She worked mornings alongside Carl Grapentine on WFMT after his heart-attack a fews ago.
Great read!
I am one half of the “KIX Chicks in the Morning.” We are (as far as I know?!) the first all female morning show in North America. We broadcast out of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada for the Rogers Kitchener Radio Group. Over the past 4 months, I’ve been celebrating the birth of my 1st son and will rejoin the AM show April 5th from a studio in my home. I feel very blessed to be able to continue to do the job I love and continue the rest of my maternty leave (we get a year off in Canada) without sacrificing my son’s needs.
Glad I found your blog!