Posted by Sam Weever on January 01, 2010 at 15:31:02:
87.7 WLFM, Chicago's Smooth Jazz broadcaster is continuing to grow into a powerhouse radio station (despite "officially" being a TV signal simulcast). Rick O'Dell, the ultra-talented Smooth Jazz host from WNUA's Smooth Jazz days, has already been hired and started working as Program Director. He begins as the live mid-day host any day now. While not yet officially announced, it appears another talented voice from WNUA will be coming aboard at WLFM this month, too. Hmmm... Is that Bill Cochran walking around the halls of WLFM???
That's not all, either. WLFM recently gave their website, 877ChicagoSmoothJazz.com, a huge facelift just over a month ago. They have recently added even more new features to it, making it even better. Rick O'Dell has added the Shoutbox feature, allowing chat-like conversations to happen between fans & staff members. This was something Rick was great working with on AccuRadio's Smooth Jazz website and it is a very nice touch & addition on WLFM's site. The website has also added a "News & Info" tab to the site. Clicking on that will show local news and the latest political headlines -- all of which come from NBC5's website. WLFM & WMAQ-TV have teamed up to deliver this current events webpage, with NBCChicago.com updating the page with fresh content (and humorous photos) throughout the day.
It is great to see a locally-run radio station "get it" and continue to make it less of a national outfit and more of a Chicago-friendly location.