The guy who was accused of boorish behavior and sexual harrasment at the Trib gets another job....I bet North is on the phone with him right now



http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... 0468.story



Merlin Media, a nascent company headed by former Tribune Co. Chief Executive Randy Michaels, has named Chicago radio veteran John Gehron chairman of the advisory board overseeing two newly acquired local FM stations, WLUP (known as The Loop) and WKQX (101.1).

"I was lucky enough to recruit John to run the Chicago cluster during my time at Clear Channel, and I am thrilled to be working with him again now," Michaels, chairman and CEO of Merlin Media, said in a press release Tuesday morning.

Clear Channel Communications Inc. Merlin partnered with Chicago-based equity firm GTCR to buy the two Chicago stations, as well one in New York, WRXP FM, from Emmis Communications for $110 million to $130 million in cash and $30 million to $50 million in preferred stock, according to Jeff Smulyan, chairman and CEO of Emmis.

The publicly traded, Indianapolis-based Emmis will retain a 20 to 35 percent equity stake in the three stations, according to Smulyan. It owns 20 FM and two AM stations and seven regional magazines.

Emmis acquired WKQX in 1988 and WLUP in 2005 as part of multistation deals. The value of the WLUP purchase alone was $123 million, according to an Emmis spokeswoman.

The two Chicago stations and WRXP in New York have been bleeding red ink in the downturn, losing a combined $242 million the last three years. As of February, Emmis had federal accumulated net operating losses of $118 million available to offset future taxable income, according to officials.

"We don't ever like selling things but it allows us to fix our balance sheet, which is very important for us," Smulyan said.

The stations are ranked 22nd and 16th respectively in the current Arbitron report for Chicago.

"We've certainly done better in other markets than we've done in Chicago...that's no secret," Smulyan said. "You do this long enough and sometimes you have success, and sometimes you don't."

A Merlin spokesman would not confirm speculation that a format change is in the works for one or both Chicago stations. Smulyan is happy to cede that decision to Michaels.

"We have a lot of faith in him and his operators," Smulyan said. "That's a decision they're studying...they're doing the research on that. "

Michaels' previous job was as chief executive of Tribune Co., parent of the Chicago Tribune. He resigned in October, having lost the support of the company and its board in the wake of escalating allegations that he and a cadre of former colleagues and associates from the radio industry had tarnished the company with boorish, sexist behavior in the corporate suite

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Good Riddance.

Maybe they can play more than the same 20 songs over and over.

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Is Chicago Radio more of the old boys club than MLB?

So the same company takes WKQX and WLUP and both are going to be news??? PleasEsplain?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

The story I read is KQX is going news, and LUP is going to focus more on 80's rock. Basically instead of Molly Hatchet every hour, you'll get Poison.

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So LUP is jut going for White Trash that is now in their late 40's, OK...

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

That's what it sounds like.

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Isn't that what they already go for?

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WHAT WHITE TRASH?

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Thats Mac's demo!!

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Gonna be huge in NWI.

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Especially in the "Haven"?
What about LOFS?

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President of Blake Shetlon fan club

yeah, that is one hell of a community. Cal township gives it a run for its money though.

LOFS is odd, part white trash, part middle class that thinks they are rich because they live in a gated community.

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ooh, if they go to a talk format maybe there's a chance that he'd syndicate bubba the love sponge up here. i was actually at two of the tapings for bubba's talk show pilot (filmed @ wgn studios, right across from lane tech @ addison/western) and evidently randy michaels got fired right around the time the tribune was gonna work to buy the old tyra slot from the CW... but alas, having a poker night in ole general mccormick's office just wasn't a good idea =D

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The return of Steve Dahl?

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The one guy who has fallen further then Mike North.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

fittingly enough, bubba the love sponge said that he was talking to steve dahl about doing a LIVE INTERNET RADIO show on the "bubba 2" channel of radioio.com

oh yeah, steve dahl is a radio god.... just ask SHAKE THAT

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At least Dahl is getting paid to do nothing.

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isn't that up by now? or did he have like 3-4 years of getting paid to not be on the radio for ratings purposes? =D

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I'm pretty sure he's still being paid to sit on his fat ass and do nothing.

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Never thought of that before, but it's true.

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-"God is great. Beer is good. And People are crazy!"

i think that is finally done some time this summer. Dahl will find another job and I'll probably listen. He'll get enough listners to justify staying on the radio, but I imagine the product will suck.

I cry for the days of the lineup of

Brandmeier
Stern
Dahl
Mathews

Imagine never switching the station from the time you woke up to the time you fell asleep with each show being appointment radio. That was the golden age.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I think the days of personality-driven FM radio are long since over and out, thanks in large part to recent corporate cutbacks by the stations' respective parent companies. I think that explains why we no longer hear Jonathon Brandmeier and his "Showgram", Kevin Matthews, Steve Dahl and other high-profile, high-salary hosts anymore.

As for Dahl, he's not getting any younger for starters, but he seems to have embraced technology by way of his podcast and seems resigned to the fact that he's not going to land another radio gig in this town again.