In age of change, WGN chooses stability

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: In age of change, WGN chooses to bank on stability : Let other parts of parent Tribune Co. knock themselves out trying to reinvent. : When the opportunity arose for WGN-AM 720 to shake things up in a big way with its replacement for retiring morning man Spike O'Dell, the station made a statement every bit as dramatic as the redesigns at its newspapers … by not changing much. : It named midday host John Williams its new 5-9 a.m. voice, a move that makes the transition about as seamless as possible at a station that has enjoyed strong ratings and little turnover in the time slot over the last 40-some years, from Wally Phillips to Bob Collins to O'Dell. : "Chicago has a unique relationship with WGN that goes back even before the days of Wally Phillips … in which the station is a trusted friend," WGN boss Tom Langmyer said. "That's why WGN performs so well, and relationships like that can't be forced. They need to be developed and cultivated, and it's up to us and to our personalities to earn that special bond. It just can't be shaken out of a can. : "When you have a successful institution that performs well, not only from a listener perspective but from a business standpoint, you want to be very sure that the changes you are making are strictly driven to make the station more relevant rather than to make a change for the sake of change." : Williams, 49, is notably less laid-back and folksy than O'Dell, 55, but both are prototypical WGN personalities. : Each manages to be wry without the compulsion to prove he is a comedian. : Each asks questions without turning it into a fight. : Each acts on the air as if he is a guest in a listener's home, office or car, not as if the listener has come to visit him, even though the listener has chosen to tune in. : "Some people in this business are spectacularly good at some things," Williams said. "I'm pretty good at a lot of things." : So when O'Dell says farewell on Dec. 12, and Williams says hello on Dec. 15, it likely will be less of an adjustment for WGN listeners than for Williams, who will have to get accustomed to the regimen of morning radio, cutting away every few minutes for weather and traffic in between the news and ads. : As if to drive the point home, when Williams chatted with O'Dell on the air Tuesday as part of the official announcement, their discussion was split in two, interrupted by one of the station's six-times-an-hour traffic-and-weather updates, a feature meant to discourage listeners from checking WBBM-AM 780. : "I will miss the 12-minute windows that I have on the 1-to-4 p.m. show," said Williams, who has agreed to a new three-year contract with the station. "In the morning show, it's four to six minutes. You have to be tighter. You have to swifter. I don't like that, but I also don't think you should change that. The world's changed." : Williams should know. He interned at WGN while a junior at Southern Illinois University and sometimes would help compile traffic reports for Phillips' legendary morning show, enabling him to see the master at work. : "[Phillips] made it look so effortless," Williams said. "Frankly, Spike does, too, in his own way. I mean, does Spike ever sound like he's working really hard? That's a gift. You want people to have fun with you, not to see you sweating." : That said, Williams sweats everything and probably will sweat more now that he's inheriting a slot that's responsible for 25 percent to 30 percent of the station's revenue. : "The longer I'm in this business, the more it changes and the harder you have to work," he said. "I don't understand people who don't work hard, but we don't have that luxury now." : Part of what earned Williams the job was his willingness to take on added responsibilities. He challenges readers of Tribune Co.'s Chicago Tribune RedEye edition to beat his time solving the daily Sudoku puzzle. With the same inquisitiveness that fuels his interviews, he is always looking for ways to extend his reach. : "We haven't begun to tap all of the possibilities we have," Williams said. "I like creatively thinking about the business model. How can we help sales?" : That's the only change that matters. : (Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)

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