severing historic ties <\/a>with the Chicago Cubs. Relinquishing the station\u2019s unprofitable rights agreement paved the way for CBS Radio to pick up the Cubs just as the team\u2019s fortunes were improving dramatically. Nevertheless, deCastro said the move instantly improved WGN\u2019s bottom line, turning the station \u201cfrom losing substantial money to substantial profitability.\u201d<\/p>\nDeCastro\u2019s other big gamble was launching a full-time sports\/talk format on 87.7 FM, a leased signal at the far end of the dial on a low-power VHF television channel. The ambitious but unprofitable venture lasted only nine months. WGN also pulled the plug on its streaming online radio station, wgn.fm.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t make mistakes, you can\u2019t have successes,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you\u2019ve got to have the nerve to try things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nevertheless deCastro remains a believer in the format he championed: \u201cI still think there\u2019s going to be a spoken-word FM. Absolutely no question. Somebody just has to have the [fortitude] to put something great on and support it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the latest Nielsen Audio quarterly survey, WGN ranked seventh overall with a 3.8 percent share and cumulative weekly audience of 647,800. Cochran\u2019s morning show on WGN ranked third with a 6.4 share and 335,400 weekly cume.<\/p>\n
In 2015, WGN was the market\u2019s third highest-billing station with total revenue exceeding $24.5 million, according to industry reports.<\/p>\n
Here is the text of Wert\u2019s email to WGN staff:<\/strong><\/p>\nToday we will be announcing Jimmy De Castro has decided to step down from his position\u00a0as President & General Manager of WGN-AM Radio.\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\nIn the three years Jimmy\u00a0(and those were Jimmy years . . . see Webster \u201copposite of dog years\u201d) was at the helm of WGN Radio, he was able to stabilize the station, making it stronger and\u00a0more focused, both on and off the air. He measurably led it to an improved business model, and he made the 7th floor a much happier place to work. He also had a positive influence on the relationships between WGN AM, WGN 9 and our entire organization.<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\nHe did this by bringing his unique leadership, experience and relentless passion to WGN and Tribune. He is a tenacious competitor and he raises the game for everyone around him.\u2028<\/em><\/p>\nAs you're aware, Jimmy and I have a long history together, and I am eternally grateful to him both professionally and personally.\u00a0I have never known or observed anyone that could fill a room or change a culture like he does. I have learned a great deal from him, and I am hopeful we will find another project together in our future.<\/em><\/p>\nJimmy will stay on board through the business plan and most of October.\u00a0In his absence, Todd Manley and Jeff Hill will oversee the operations of the station, reporting to me.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jimmy deCastro, the charismatic radio showman who brought familiar voices and profitability back to WGN AM 720, is stepping down after three and a half years as president and general manager of the Tribune Broadcasting news\/talk station. The veteran media executive said he plans to leave WGN at the end of the month to focus... Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12462"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12462"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12488,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12462\/revisions\/12488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}