Lazare: Forman out; Sports Huddle searching; Dorothy Tucker on WVON


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Posted by Bud on August 14, 2009 at 13:12:39:

From today's Chicago Sun-Times:
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WLIT-FM ousts Forman, seeks new direction for morning drive

August 14, 2009

LEWIS LAZARE Media & Marketing columnist

Morning drive host Melissa Forman was axed at WLIT-FM (93.9) on Thursday. As first tipped here two weeks ago, Clear Channel Radio Chicago's president and market manager, Earl Jones, has decided to go in a different direction with the station's morning drive show, which in recent months has been on a ratings roller coaster. A formal announcement about a new morning drive format is expected early next week.

Forman's morning show had sunk to a 1.5 rating in the 25- to 54-year-old adult demo in the June book and 26th place in the rankings, before rebounding a bit in the July book to a 2.2 rating, good enough for 20th place among morning drive contenders. Forman, whose contract was set to expire Oct. 1, did not return calls seeking comment.

Jones clearly thinks there is room for improvement in WLIT's shaky morning drive situation, and he is moving now to make what he considers a necessary adjustment. He thinks that a station with the reputation and potential that WLIT represents should have a much more competitive morning drive product. "I'm not satisfied with a morning show that is 20th in the market," said Jones, adding that "we're trying to position WLIT for the long haul." A strong morning show could significantly boost WLIT's overall ranking, which was 13th among adults 25 to 54 in the July ratings book. Jones is aiming for the station to move into the top 10 in the rankings in the near future. Until a new format is introduced in about two weeks, Jones said, WLIT morning drive listeners will hear "music-intensive" programming during morning drive.

Forman's axing Thursday at WLIT isn't the first time in recent history she has been dumped as the station's morning drive host. She was ousted exactly three years ago to the day to make way for a Whoopi Goldberg syndicated show that quickly proved a ratings disaster. Just 14 months after putting Goldberg on the air, WLIT management admitted it had blundered, dropped Goldberg and put Forman back on in morning drive.

Recently, however, management had apparently concluded that Forman was struggling even more to pull in and hold listeners as a solo host. Adding a co-host was mentioned as one solution. A couple of candidates were auditioned, but the right combo apparently couldn't be found. Syndicated product was seen as another possible option, but the prevailing wisdom in the Chicago market is that radio listeners prefer a product with a local hook.

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They came in droves on Tuesday -- 175 hopeful females (and one male) -- to audition for an announcer job on ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7's "Chicago Huddle" football program, hosted by WLS weekend sports anchor Ryan Chiaverini.

Naming a winner, however, is turning into a protracted, but hopefully fun process. WLS will post 10 quarter-finalists on its Web site, www.abc7chicago.com, next Monday for viewers to vote for their favorite. With that vote taken into consideration, the field will be narrowed to five semi-finalists to compete in a second audition on Aug. 25, at which judges will select two finalists.

The final two will appear on the first "Huddle" show that airs on Sept. 13. The winner will be announced at the end of that show.

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Veteran CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 reporter Dorothy Tucker is taking her consumer advocacy beat on the road.

Earlier this week, Tucker launched a half-hour segment called "Customer Service" on "The Santita Jackson Show" on WVON-AM (1690), where the new segment will air every Wednesday from 10 to 10:30 a.m. WVON and Tucker aim to help cash-strapped consumers become smarter, more efficient shoppers.

Tucker plans to interview consumer experts and offer numerous "how-to" and "do-it-yourself" tips on her new radio show. Consumer reporting has been a mainstay of Tucker's work for WBBM, where she has been on air since 1984.


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