Posted by chicagomedia.org on October 10, 2008 at 15:06:54:
Spike O'Dell, morning man at WGN-AM 720 since 2000, told listeners Friday he intends to follow through on his plan to retire, leaving his radio home of more than two decades in December.
No successor has yet been named, although a station source said there are five possible plans for the station's morning program under consideration for the start of the new year.
"Come January 1st of next year, somebody else is going to be doing the morning show," said O'Dell, 55, calling the decision "the worst-kept secret." He said he would leave the air in the second week of December.
O'Dell's on-air announcement came almost 22 months after O'Dell told the Chicago Tribune the contract he signed with WGN, which is owned by Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co., signed two years ago would be his last.
"It's been out there for a little bit," he said. "A couple of newspapers have had it a few times, but I've never really officially said anything about it on the air. Now I want everybody to know that this is not a knee-jerk reaction thing."
Tom Langmyer, WGN-AM vice president and general manager, called O'Dell "one of the good guys" and "an incredible part of Chicago's top-rated radio station," but noted O'Dell had made it clear long ago that this is what he wanted to do.
"Despite our best efforts to delay his dream, we are very happy that Spike has been able to achieve his longtime goal," Langmyer said. "We'll miss his warmth and humor, but most of all, we will miss him personally. He is the genuine article. He is everything you hear on the air, and more."
"This is something we've talked about for years and years, and I guess the magic number was 55 years old," O'Dell said. "I'm 55 and we always wanted to do that. Our plan was to hopefully be able to retire at that age and go off and enjoy the world while we still young enough and healthy enough to do so, so we're going to do it."
WGN-AM was No. 2 in the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekday slot among listeners age 12 and older in the most recent Arbitron ratings for the quarter ending last month, with 7.4 percent of the audience.
O'Dell, whose weekday show runs 5 a.m. to 9 a.m., continued the tradition of top-rated Chicago morning personalities on WGN-AM, having succeeded Bob Collins, who died in a February 2000 plane crash. Collins was No. 1 for 14 years. Wally Phillips, who preceded Collins in the job, was tops dating all the way back to the late 1960s.
"For 21 years, I have been very fortunate to enjoy quite a ride here--some great times, some really sad times," O'Dell said. "I have worked with the very best in the biz here in Chicago."
(Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)