WGN's Frenchman "warms to city"

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: WGN's Frenchman warms to city, 'polite' residents : : Bonjour! That familiar French greeting is one of Simon Badinter's favorite words. And why shouldn't it be? The host of news/talk WGN-AM's (720) three-hour Sunday evening talk fest "Simon Rendezvous" is, after all, unmistakably French. But he's more than that, as he will quickly tell you. : He boasts he is the only Frenchman (or woman for that matter) now working on radio in the United States. Which makes him something sort of special. Badinter came to WGN nearly a year ago from WTAM-AM (1100) in Cleveland, where he got his first job as a talk show host on radio and polished his performance for two years. Prior to going on radio, he had a day job running a unit of Paris-based advertising conglomerate Publicis Groupe that sells ad space in the United States and Europe. Badinter still does that too. : Looking to shake up WGN's image and its stable of talent, WGN program director Kevin Metheny signed up Badinter, one of what would turn out to be a number of wrenching changes at WGN last year that rattled not only the staff, but legions of listeners -- many on the far side of 50 years old -- who had grown comfortable with the way things had been at the station for a very long time. : Badinter arrived in Chicago with little in-depth knowledge of Chicago or its residents. Nearly a year later, with more than a few evenings of "Simon Rendezvous" under his belt at WGN, Badinter is better informed. And he has discovered some distinct differences between Chicago and Cleveland residents. : For one thing, Badinter finds Chicagoans are more polite and friendly. In Cleveland, listeners were always telling him to pack up his bags and go home. To France that is. But with his Gallic charm, Badinter eventually won over the Cleveland crowd and even had them wishing him well when he left for WGN. : Badinter said Chicagoans have been cautious about fully embracing him and his liberal-leaning on-air personality. But never rude. "I think people here are a little suspicious of newcomers," said Badinter, who makes a point of not avoiding any subject on WGN, no matter how controversial. A "Simon Rendezvous" discussion about whether homosexuality is a sin, for instance, soon segued into talk of anal sex. And without missing a beat, Badinter just went with the flow. "I do not like to hide any of my thoughts," said the WGN-AM host. : Not surprisingly, Badinter is a big fan of his boss, Metheny, the controversial WGN program director who has been dodging slings and arrows almost from the moment he arrived at the station in late 2008, and started an overhaul to bring in younger listeners. "Kevin is taking risks, and I'm proud to be on the team now," said Badinter, who on Monday was about to get on a plane to fly off to the Rocky Mountains to ski (a sport the French really love) and then jet back to Chicago just in time to rendezvous with his WGN listeners once more next Sunday. : Lum reporting on WFLD : Joanie Lum has joined WFLD-Channel 32 as a reporter for the station's five-hour morning show "Good Day Chicago." She will make her first on-air appearance the week of April 19. Lum has more than 20 years experience as a TV news reporter in the Chicago market. : She most recently was a general assignment reporter at WBBM-Channel 2 for six years. Previously, she spent 16 years as a general assignment reporter for WGN-Channel 9. : "We're pleased to have a reporter of Joanie's caliber joining Fox Chicago News," said WFLD General Manager Michael Renda, adding "her distinguished work has made her a fixture in the Chicago broadcasting community." : Ch. 5 starts political blog : WMAQ-Channel 5 management considers political reporting one of the station's strong suits. To help buttress that claim, the station launched a new blog Monday called "Ward Room," which appears at nbcchicago.com and will track at least nine Illinois politicians, ranging from Mayor Daley to state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and, of course, impeached former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. : Edward McClelland, a local reporter who has covered politics for the alternative weekly Chicago Reader, will be the principal "Ward Room" writer, though WMAQ political editor Carol Marin, political reporter Mary Ann Ahern and correspondent Phil Rogers are expected to contribute material. Well-known political cartoonist Jack Higgins has contributed drawings of each of the nine politicians that will be used when appropriate on the blog.

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