Posted by chicagomedia.org on November 03, 2008 at 15:47:16:
Mancow is back to the future of AM radio
It took a couple of years ...
But Kansas City's most famous radio export, Erich "Mancow" Muller, is back on the air in the Windy City. On legendary Chicago signal WLS-AM from 9 to 11 a.m. weekdays, no less.
"It's incredible," Mancow says about toppling former KMBZ 980 talker Jerry Agar at WLS.
Mancow has been off the air in Chicago since late 2006.
Entercom and Cumulus stations in Kansas City have been rocked by layoffs in recent weeks. Mancow's show is syndicated on about 45 rock, alternative, country and sports stations — both AM and FM — around the country.
"And I just added Allentown, Pa., and Birmingham and Dallas are coming. I really think all these radio station layoffs around the country are going to be great for me. I mean, I hate to see anybody get laid off, but the days of the 20-person morning show are a thing of the past. Radio now is like being on the Titanic, but I still think radio can be relevant."
The $64 million question: Is Mancow still a rock DJ or now a straight-down-the-line talk-show host?
"Here's the deal," he says. "I always used titillation to get people into the show, but I always had substance. ... I mean, I'm doing a talk show now, and I have no interest in talking to strippers and porn stars.
"I think people are realizing that with iPods, playing 10 songs in a row is not going to get it. I just don't see that as the future," he says. "I think talk is the future, and you're going to see that thrive."
How Mancow describes his show: "In-your-face pop culture and politics at a breakneck pace. When Iran nukes Israel, when the full devastation of our economy is revealed, as we slide into depression, as the stock market hits 7,200, when gold hits $5,000 an ounce, when joblessness is epidemic and we have a socialist in the White House, people are not going to listen to radio for some old rock song. Music on the radio isn't going to matter. Talk radio is the future, and I'm at the point of the spear."
What a Rush
To celebrate Mancow's return to Chicago airwaves, he hosted a special radio guest: Rush Limbaugh.
"It's so exciting, Rush was on my first show - he co-hosted with me," Mancow says. "We're both Missouri boys. I tell you this, what Bill Clinton did for Rush's ratings ... he jacked up Rush's ratings and saved AM radio. And I think with a possible Barack Obama presidency, it's going to be such a rich source of material that I think I can use it to save FM radio."
(Hearne Christopher Jr., Kansas City Star)