Radio Daze

By Scott Smith in News on Jan 11, 2007 4:44PM

When WLIT starts playing Christmas music after Halloween next year, Chicagoans will have no one to blame but themselves.

The radio ratings books are out for this past fall, and the stations that did the best were ones that capitalized on local personalities and seasonal events. Feder reports that WLIT “doubled its cumulative audience in December” and shot up to 4th place from 14th in the last ratings period. WBBM ended in third place thanks to Bears games. An influx of legendary local talent in the form of Dick Biondi and John Records Landecker gave a small life to WZZN’s True Oldies channel’s ratings (Biondi started two months into the three-month ratings period) while WGCI regained the top spot from WGN.

Q101 continued to hemorrhage listeners due to Mancow’s departure, while WCKG managed to stabilize its ratings. Both stations are serving up morning shows that have been unable to connect with listeners. WCKG’s import of Opie and Anthony isn’t doing as badly as Rover, but the station’s marquee talent is Steve Dahl, who only managed fourth place in his targeted demo.

Feder reported yesterday (2nd item) that Biondi will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Chicago Music Awards along with several other radio personalities. We’ve always thought of the CMA’s as a little too much sales and not enough editorial, but it’s a nice accolade nonetheless.