After 30 years, 'XRT still rocks his world
Thursday, August 13, 2009

In a business notorious for chewing up and spitting out its most talented people, Norm Winer has defied all the odds.

Amazingly, on his 30th anniversary as program director of WXRT-FM (93.1), Winer is still at the top of his game and as fresh and innovative as ever.

How does he do it? "I think it's because I surround myself with people I genuinely like," Winer said. "I look forward to seeing them every day. And I still really enjoy doing this.

"Chicago is such a great place to be doing radio, and Chicago audiences are so receptive to the fine points of broadcasting_whether it's the music that we've chosen or the manner in which we try to relate to them_that the inspiration they provide us with just keeps us fresh.

"It's never been boring. Sometimes it's maddening. It's always painstaking in the way we approach it. But it's never, ever boring."

Winer, 60, a graduate of Brandeis University, joined WXRT in August 1979 after stints at WBCN-FM in Boston and KSAN-FM in San Francisco. At the time, he never imagined he'd still be here 30 years later.

"I thought two or three years_maybe," he recalled. "My predecessor, John Platt, one of the co-founders of this radio station, had been here seven years prior to my arrival. I never thought I would match John's record in terms of achievement or longevity. They were very big shoes to fill."

In 1992, Winer was promoted to vice president of programming. Through various ownership configurations, he has managed to keep the corporate types at bay. The adult alternative rock station now finds itself under the umbrella of CBS/Infinity Broadcasting.

"Our success is something that has mystified observers of the scene and conventional broadcasters in and out of the market," Winer said. "But the people at CBS and Infinity realize that they've got a good thing here, and they don't want to screw it up. Outside involvement could potentially do that. Fortuntely, no one has ever tried to meddle with the programming of 'XRT."

WXRT's continued popularity among listeners in their 40s and 50s is one of the things that sets it apart from rock stations across the country, Winer said.

"In a lot of cities, adults just stop listening to rock 'n' roll at a certain point. But for our audience, which grew up listening to us in the '70s and '80s, we continue to feed their interest by playing music that is consistent with their taste," he said.

With no plans to step down in the foreseeable future, Winer claims he still loves every part of his job.

"I'm always poised and ready to see the danger signs of being out of touch_which many of our listeners so helpfully point out when they communicate with us through the Internet," he joked. "But I'm not seeing a need to change the pattern.

"My most immediate challenge is keeping people surprised by us. I want to continue surprising people. And I want to continue satisfying the people who listen to us every day."

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fan of Latinspice. fan of DJ Julie. fan of L.E.A.N.

Looks like you would've sent that verbatim to Feder if he were still around. Who would've ran it as is...

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry