Robservations: Lisa Dent joins Big 95.5 as weekend host

Lisa Dent

Robservations on the media beat:

Lisa Dent is back! The former morning star of WUSN 99.5-FM, is joining WEBG 95.5-FM, the rival country station owned by iHeartMedia, as weekend personality. Starting June 16, Dent will host from noon to 6 p.m. Saturdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. “I’m thrilled to be working at Chicago’s destination for all things country,” she said in a statement. “Nothing sounds more fun than jumping back on the radio at Big 95.5 and connecting with my audience!” Dent grew up in Rockford and worked in Minneapolis, San Diego and Seattle before joining US 99 as midday host in 2002. From 2006 to 2016 she co-hosted mornings at the former CBS Radio station with Ramblin’ Ray Stevens. Said Matt Scarano, president of iHeartMedia Markets Group’s Chicago region: “Lisa is a Chicago icon, a Country Radio Hall of Famer and an amazing addition to our lineup.”

Rich "Svengoolie" Koz

Rich Koz, the Chicago television treasure and horror movie host known as “Svengoolie,” spent Monday reassuring the world that he was still alive. “Breaking news: neither Svengoolie nor I have passed away,” he wrote on Facebook. “All is well!” What prompted the unusual declaration was a segment that morning on Howard Stern’s Sirius XM show in which the King of All Media announced that Svengoolie had died. It was unclear where Stern got his information, which seemed to confuse Koz, 66, with other TV horror hosts. “Howard got so many ‘facts’ wrong, it could create a whole raft of fables!” Koz tweeted. “Whoever Howard saw and talked about when he was in Detroit wouldn't have been me — I didn't go on air in Detroit (always coming out of Chicago, by the way) until late 1984. No idea who the host was that he was talking about.”

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey’s rise to fame and fortune in Chicago and other highlights of her career are being enshrined by the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. “Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture” opens Friday. According to the Washington Post, the exhibition will feature “video clips, interview segments, movie costumes, and personal photographs and journals to explore what has influenced Winfrey and how her work has shaped America.” Winfrey donated $21 million to the museum, which opened in September 2016. Its theater is named for her.

Dan Mason

Vegas Stats & Information Network, the sports gambling media startup headed by Chicagoans Brian Musburger and Bill Adee, got a big boost Monday. Joining VSiN as strategic advisor and investor is Dan Mason, former president and CEO of CBS Radio. “With decades of experience in the media industry, Dan brings a wealth of knowledge to our team,” Musburger said in a statement. “We are excited to leverage his expertise to drive continued growth at VSiN, capitalizing on the incredible opportunity presented by the burgeoning sports gambling industry.” Said Mason: “Brian, Bill Adee and the VSiN team are really on to something unique here. Coming from the programming side of the business, you can sense when you have a hit on your hands and that is what we have here. I’m excited and eager to help the team shape the product going forward. I’m especially excited to introduce our betting information to terrestrial radio and shape how it can be staged to the sports radio audience.”

Cumulus Media

Officially emerging from bankruptcy protection Monday, Cumulus Media unveiled a new corporate logo — and a new outlook. “We emerge today as a stronger and more competitive company, with the financial foundation that we need to move forward decisively with the initiatives that will produce the greatest benefits for the company,” Mary Berner, president and CEO, said in a statement. “With this financial restructuring now behind us, we are excited about what we will be able to accomplish with all of our resources and energy fully focused on our operating business.” In Chicago, where the company owns news/talk WLS 890-AM, classic hits WLS 94.7-FM and alternative rock WKQX 101.1-FM, market manager Marv Nyren called it “a great day for Cumulus.”

Monday’s comment of the day: Ray Stevens: I like CBS 2 just fine, that Rob Johnson is the stuff dreams are made of!