Posted by Bud on December 01, 2009 at 11:10:22:
Johnny B. good and gone from his WLUP radio home
Jonathon Brandmeier's second stint at Chicago station ends with 3 months left on contract
Phil Rosenthal
Media
December 1, 2009
E-mail to Jonathon Brandmeier, whose latest run at WLUP-FM 97.9 has come to an end with three months left on his contract, bounced back Monday with what was labeled an "automatic response."
"Hello," it read, "I am away until 02/28/2010 and am unable to read your message."
Johnny B.'s on the loose again.
One of the few remaining big-money radio personalities in this market, Brandmeier spent the last four years at the Loop, his broadcasting home from 1983 to '97.
On the johnnybontv.com Web site he set up to promote "Almost Live!" a late-night show that got a trial run last year on NBC-owned WMAQ-Ch. 5, Brandmeier told fans in a note that he had "no idea" he had done his final WLUP show when he left for Thanksgiving vacation.
"Here's the deal," he wrote, "WLUP made the decision not to renew our morning show. We mutually agreed on an early release. I accepted so I could start looking for a new radio home (as soon as possible). That's all there is to it. ... As I've always said, I'm not here for a long time, I'm just here for a good time."
Where the long-popular funnyman will land once he's a free agent is anyone's guess for now. Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.'s WGN-AM 720 and Citadel's WLS-AM 890 might be candidates.
"We brought John back, and he put the Loop back on the map," Marv Nyren, Emmis Radio's regional vice president and Chicago market manager, said Monday. "He is among the legendary broadcasters in Chicago radio, if not the legendary broadcaster, and it was a true honor to work with him for the last four years. Whatever he does in the future, I hope I can either watch or listen or read it."
John "Byrd" Kempf on Tuesday will slide from middays into Brandmeier's old WLUP morning drive slot. This is "No Repeat Week" at the Loop, but Byrd was the station's morning man for the 11 months leading up to Brandmeier's November 2005 return.
Joining Byrd on news and traffic will be Jill Egan, who has been a contributor to Eddie Webb's afternoon program. Assuming Byrd's old midday shift will be weekend/fill-in personality Pat Capone. Plans for nighttime should be unveiled by Wednesday.
Brandmeier signed a one-year Loop contract extension in March, reported to be worth seven figures. Renewal talks fell apart last week. Emmis on Monday released most of Brandmeier's staff, including newsman Kent Voss. Only audio producer Vince Argento was spared.
Nyren brought Brandmeier back to local airwaves more than four years after he stopped doing a show from Los Angeles for CBS Radio's old WCKG-FM here. For Brandmeier, it marked a return to the station and city where he had built a phenomenal following that not only filled concert venues but also led to a short-lived syndicated TV program.
According to 2001 Arbitron diary figures at the time of his WCKG exit, Brandmeier's midday show was ranked No. 1 locally among men between the ages of 25 and 54, his target audience. Arbitron people-meter figures for October had Brandmeier's Loop morning show in 17th place with the same demographic group, his recent slide leading to questions about how well he meshed with the music station.
The one-year extension in March, negotiated for Brandmeier by John Malevitis, was a bet that economic conditions squeezing the radio business at the time might ease up.
"Listen," Brandmeier said after the deal was announced, "I'm confident in my ability. I'm confident in the show's ability. And I'm confident the economy will turn around."
Even then, Nyren acknowledged that Brandmeier always has had the option, and forbearance, to walk away from offers for any reason he chooses.
"Johnny's in a position in his life where I don't think he has to do anything he doesn't want to do," Nyren said at the time.