Chicagoist: Abby Ryan, Chicago Traffic Reporter

s

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 10:28:18 -0600

i remember the first time i heard abby ryan on another station besides WBEZ. i felt betrayed, like she was cheating on the npr listeners. i don't know why i thought she was sitting right next to lisa lavez at navy pier... duh. (and yes, gretchen is better.)

p

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:17:42 -0600

I heard Abby's buddy fill in the other day on the mother-BEZer as Steve Dahl calls it and, yeah, he did suck. I think maybe he was rushing it way too much, but Abby just gets through it in due time. I am, however, shocked that the WBEZ report is not the most fun to do. ...I am 'p' for Shadow Traffic and I'm out.

Casio Nova

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 09:02:24 -0600

WHAT! She sits at a desk and does that? I have always been under the impression that she was broadcasting from a helicopter, travelling up and down the highways and across the city and hovering here and there. I'm so dissapointed.

jon

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 08:18:28 -0600

i think that gretchen is definitley better than lisa in the morning. and that abby needs a better haircut!

Jake

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 07:55:08 -0600

Oh my god, I just realized that Lisa Lavez and Gretchen Helfrige are two separate people.

Lindsay

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 19:18:49 -0600

I think it's Abby's choice to squeeze that "you're welcome" in; most radio stations throw a "thank you" on after they do a short bit with somebody else, but it is a courtesy for the sake of it more than an actual thanking. It seems to me that Abby just decided to give it some meaning by offering an answer. The other day though, Abby had a substitute, and when Lisa said "thank you" and nobody said, "you're welcome," it felt very rude. Her lesson in manners, it seems, has gotten through.

dw

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 17:25:02 -0600

Jinx! So I'm not the only one who has noticed. I chalk it up to Lisa Lavez's robotic style. I much prefer Gretchen Helfrige, for all her faults, than Lisa because at least Gretchen is spontaneous and happy to be on the radio. (I recognize this sometimes leads her astray into weird annecdotes or awkward expressions).

dw

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 17:21:28 -0600

Anyone else notice the new-ish policy at WBEZ that seems to hold that the host must always thank Abby and Abby must always say "you're welcome."? Maybe I just didn't notice it before, but I could swear they didn't use to do this sort of robotic thank-you-you're-welcome dance after every single report.

Chris S

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 17:18:10 -0600

I noticed that when Abby concludes her traffic update on WBEZ, and the host says "thank you", Abby says "You're welcome". At first that kind of threw me for a loop - has she always done that? Weird the things you notice at 7am...

Chris

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:42:54 -0600

Thanks GrammarPolice!

GrammarPolice

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 16:39:37 -0600

TYPO: We can hear her on WEBEZ, Z107,