Posted by Here's the article on July 06, 2007 at 20:09:01:
In Reply to: Crazy Howard OUT at WGCI posted by FRONT page of the sun times?? on July 06, 2007 at 18:37:12:
: So the rumors say...thoughts??? Steve Harvey IN, syndicated from NYC.
'Crazy' is out
Morning star McGee losing his seat to Harvey at top-rated WGCI-FM
July 6, 2007
BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist
No one is supposed to know it yet, but Chicago's top-rated radio station is about to drop its popular morning star.
Sources confirmed Thursday that "Crazy" Howard McGee is being replaced after nearly 10 years as morning personality at urban contemporary WGCI-FM (107.5) by the New York-based syndicated show hosted by comic Steve Harvey.
On Aug. 1, Harvey's show will move to the Clear Channel Radio powerhouse from Crawford Broadcasting's rhythmic adult-contemporary WSRB-FM (106.3), where it has been airing since 2005.
Although he's been a smash hit in most of his markets from coast to coast, Harvey has fared poorly here, due mainly to WSRB's weak signal and Crawford's failure to market his show.
Crawford still had a year on its contract with Premiere Radio Networks for Harvey's show, but chose to terminate the deal early. No replacement was announced, but a Crawford sales manager told staffers in a memo that it will be "a localized morning show."
Darren Davis, vice president of programming and operations for Clear Channel Radio, declined to comment on the move.
But in a recent interview with Radio & Records, Davis extolled the virtues of syndication, citing Whoopi Goldberg in mornings and Delilah at night on Clear Channel's adult contemporary WLIT-FM (93.9).
"Having stellar entertainers and communicators in any daypart is always a benefit, whether they're local or syndicated," he said. "[Delilah and Whoopi are] a whole lot more enjoyable than some of the local radio hosts who happen to be housed right here in Chicago."
On the other hand, insiders said, Clear Channel is planning the opposite move at urban adult-contemporary WVAZ-FM (102.7), where Tom Joyner's syndicated morning show is not expected to be renewed later this year.
Familiar names mentioned as replacements for Joyner at V103 include Doug Banks and McGee.
McGee, a Chicago native who started his career at Southern Illinois University's WIDB-FM, joined WGCI as weekend jock in 1993. He moved to middays and afternoons before his promotion to mornings in January 1998.
In the latest Arbitron quarterly survey, McGee tied for third in mornings with a 4.5 percent share, while Harvey tied for 28th with a 0.9 percent share.