Posted by Koolout Radio on March 26, 2009 at 01:34:32:
Just read this from Phil Rosenthal
Originally posted: March 26, 2009
WGCI-FM to name Tony Sculfield, Nina Chantele and Leon Rogers new morning co-hosts
Lower the volume on your clock-radio a tad before going to bed Tuesday. WGCI-FM 107.5’s “The Morning Riot” is set to break out before dawn on Wednesday.
“We’re going to come out of the gates screaming,” said Tony Sculfield, who, along with Nina Chantele and Leon Rogers, is taking over the 5-to-9 a.m. shift on WGCI-FM 107.5 on April 1. “It’s going to be high-energy. Our job is to get Chicago up, no matter where you’re going. Whether it’s to work or to school or even if you’re just hanging out at your house all day, we want you to have a good time with us while you’re doing that.”
WGCI plans an official on-air announcement Thursday morning at 9, but the move was confirmed Wednesday by Sculfield, WGCI Program Director Kris Kelley and Clear Channel Radio Chicago Vice President of Programming and Operations Tony Coles. Art Porter will be the new show’s producer.
Chantele will continue to host the 10 a.m.-to-1 p.m. shift on Clear Channel’s WKSC-FM 103.5 and Rogers will remain teamed with Frankie Robinson from 6-to-10 p.m. on WGCI. UB Rodriguez will hold down Sculfield’s old 2-6 p.m. post on an interim basis until a permanent host is named in the coming weeks.
The “Riot” will replace “The Steve Harvey Morning Show,” which Clear Channel has moved to sister station WVAZ-FM 102.7 to succeed Tom Joyner, whose syndicated program was pulled off the air earlier this week. Harvey’s syndicated show will simulcast on WGCI and V103 until the “Riot” makes its debut.
“Obviously, there are going to be some people [who now listen to Harvey on WGCI] who make the move to V, but we wouldn’t have made this move if we didn’t see a huge untapped [available pool] of people,” Coles said.
“Chicago has a certain swagger, a certain way of thinking and talking and dressing and music, and we’re able to really embrace that and be representative of what the city is all about,” Kelley said of the new program, noting co-hosts Sculfield, Chantele and Rogers will not just entertain and showcase “great music” but, as appropriate, deal with serious issues.
“It’s important to make the point that we’re not bringing in new talent," she said. "These people already have a lot of equity in the market. People already know them and love them.”
Sculfield said the expectation is that he and Rogers will be “loose cannons,” which Chantele is "the voice of reason, the one to say, ‘These guys are out of their minds, and let’s bring it back to reality.’
"It’s going to be a show in Chicago, for Chicago and about Chicago. We’re going to bring back that local vibe," Sculfield said. "It’s going to be wild, too. It’s going to be off the chain.”