CHICAGO and NEW YORK, February 26, 2015 – Westwood One today announced it has signed a partnership and syndication deal with popular Chicago radio personality Jonathon “Johnny B” Brandmeier that will bring his incomparable brand of talk radio back to Chicago and to listeners nationwide in March, 2015. The Jonathon Brandmeier Show will air live weekdays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm ET on stations around the country, including WLS-AM Chicago, KABC-AM Los Angeles, KLIF-AM Dallas, KKAT-AM, Salt Lake City, WPRV-AM Providence, KTBL-AM Albuquerque, and many more.

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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.’”

No more Rush on WLS? Brandmeier on 9 am - Noon Chicago time. Kass & Cohn? Big time schedule shake up at WLS?

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

Whoa, that's big. I don't know whether they can get out of the Rush contract, though. I know Cumulus wanted to for a while and had talked about replacing him with Geraldo or Huckabee, I forget which. They need to lose Rush. Conservative talk radio is a dying star, especially here. 1.1, my friends, 1.1.

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Current WLS lineup...

12:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m. - Red Eye Radio
4:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m. - First Light with Dirk Van
5:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - "Big" John Howell
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - John Kass and Lauren Cohn
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Rush Limbaugh
2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. - Steve Dahl
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - Michael Savage
9:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. - Mark Levin

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

Will Johnny be doing the show out of 890's studios?

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From Feder...

Culminating a day of Chicago radio bombshells, Cumulus Media has signed Chicago radio veteran Jonathon Brandmeier to a partnership agreement that will bring his show to WLS AM 890 and syndicate it nationally, the company announced Thursday.

“The Jonathon Brandmeier Show” will air from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday on the Cumulus Media news/talk station, starting sometime in March. It will replace John Kass and Lauren Cohn, whose final show aired on WLS Thursday.

Brandmeier’s show will be syndicated nationally by Westwood One, the distribution unit of Cumulus Media. It will replace Dennis Miller, who announced his retirement from radio.

“This is extremely exciting for all of us at ‘The Jonathon Brandmeier Show,’” Brandmeier said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to entertain audiences in Chicago and expanding our reach nationwide. Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a wild ride!”

Word of Brandmeier’s deal comes hours after it was reported that he had turned down an offer to host mornings on WJMK FM 104.3, the CBS Radio classic hits station known as K-Hits. Sources described it as a “content partnership deal” that would have included revenue-sharing tied to Brandmeier’s digital platform.

Brandmeier, 58, has been off the air since December when his morning show was dropped by Tribune Media, which carried him on an Internet outlet at WGN.fm and a low-power sports/talk station at 87.7 FM.

John Dickey, executive vice president of content and programming for Cumulus Media, said in a statement: “Jonathon is one of the most versatile performers in radio today, and we know audiences will enjoy his lively humor and take on each day’s topics. We’re thrilled to add Johnny B to the Westwood One roster of relevant and relatable talk programming.”

Here is the text of a statement from Cumulus Media:

Jonathon “Johnny B” Brandmeier is bringing his incomparable brand of talk radio back to the Chicago airwaves on 89 WLS starting in March, 2015. The Jonathon Brandmeier Show will air locally 9:00-11:00 CT. Westwood One, the national facing arm of Cumulus, has signed a partnership with Brandmeier and will syndicate the show nationally.

Chicago radio listeners are extremely familiar with the popular Brandmeier, whose show generates a legion of devoted fans. The Jonathon Brandmeier Show is an entertaining, offbeat look at news, pop culture, and sports–from the big trending topics to the stories about to fall through the cracks–combined with celebrity interviews and free-wheeling audience interaction. The topical conversations seamlessly gel into dynamic and unpredictable radio. Brandmeier has amassed an army of awards and accolades that cement his powerful industry reputation, including multiple Billboard Magazine Radio Personality Awards, TALKERS “100 Most Important Radio Hosts in America,” and Gavin Report’s “Air Personality of the Year.”

Please note that this will replace The Dennis Miller Show, which will be going off the air on March 27th. Dennis is retiring from radio, adding: “It’s been a great run, but with so many other commitments, it’s hard to maintain a daily talk show. It’s time to pass the torch; I wish Johnny B lots of luck.”

Here is an email Brandmeier sent to fans Thursday:

“WHAT did I say?!” Nothing is over until we decide it is.

We’ve got some news for you about our new radio homes. Yes, homes – it’s plural.

It’s been a crazy few months, trying to figure out the next move. There were options we were seriously considering, but life (or Baby Jesus and Hanky) had another plan:

We’re still “living in the future” – we’ll be expanding our digital platforms and the show will be available online – stay tuned for more details about where to stream, download podcasts, etc. closer to the launch.

THANK YOU all for your patience.

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

According to Feder, Kass is gone and Lauren Cohn will get the opportunity to audition for the Big
John Howell Show 5-9.

It seems we will only get 2 hours of the 3 Brandmeier is on to make way for Rush at 11? I was just starting to get into Kass & Cohn. I cant take 4 hours of Meat & Goff. I will give Johnny B 9-11 and switch over to Grimace & Goff... without my top button buttoned.

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"This is Chicago, my friend. Anything can happen."

guy goes from a frequency that you'd lose while driving under a bridge on i-80 to national syndication

I wondered that. How does that work? Was he just biding time with WGN.FM because they wouldn't just buy him out?

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

I don’t like how they’re going to cut out the final 1/3 of the Johnny B show on WLS-890. Why would I want to tune in for only 2/3 of the show and miss the last part of it?

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Who is BIG JOHN HOWELL...and how Big is he?

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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.’”

When he was on 560 AM, he was losing to college radio stations, so I'd say he is not that big.

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Kass is getting hit on 2 fronts. Now he will have to find quotes & story lines from people who weren't on his show.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

That's great news -- I have enjoyed his Bits of Brandmeier podcasts while he has been off the air... every now and again I hear a story that I remember listening to like 10 years ago. Hope Buzz is back with him too.

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"All crowds boycotting football games shouldn't care who sings or takes a knee because they aren't watching." - Nas

He used to be Ramblin' Red Rectum's partner in mornings at US99. Then he moved to WIND to do mornings with Amy Jacobson. No one listens to WIND.

I believe the man himself is of considerable size.

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The radio in this city is in total chaos. There is some talent but I can't keep up with where it is located. I wish it would coalesce into one spot to keep me tuned to that station.

I like Brandmeier but I don't listen to much middays.

We are getting to the point where I was with my dad when he would tell me that Wally Phillips was the person everyone listened to when he was in college.

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