{"id":16612,"date":"2018-01-23T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T12:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=16612"},"modified":"2018-01-23T06:00:06","modified_gmt":"2018-01-23T12:00:06","slug":"without-contract-mancows-ready-anything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2018\/01\/23\/without-contract-mancows-ready-anything\/","title":{"rendered":"Without a contract, Mancow\u2019s ready for anything"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> Erich Mancow Muller<\/p><\/div>\n

Erich Mancow Muller, morning host on WLUP FM 97.9<\/a> and one of Chicago\u2019s best-known radio personalities, is suddenly a man without a contract.<\/p>\n

Cumulus Media, which operates the classic rock station, pulled the plug last week on its talent agreement with Muller\u2019s company, American Patriot LLC, according to a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.<\/p>\n

But for now it's business as usual as \"The Mancow Morning Show\" continues to air from 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. weekdays on The Loop.<\/p>\n

As reported here<\/a> Friday, Atlanta-based Cumulus also withdrew from deals to acquire The Loop and alternative rock WKQX FM 101.1, and to broadcast White Sox baseball and Bulls basketball on news\/talk WLS AM 890. The moves were all part of the company\u2019s efforts to emerge from bankruptcy by shedding unprofitable contracts and big-money talent agreements.<\/p>\n

Muller said he believes Cumulus eventually will come to terms with Merlin Media, which owns The Loop and 101 WKQX, and he\u2019ll get a new contract. \u201cI predict that when the smoke clears nothing will change and I\u2019ll be with Cumulus,\u201d he said in an interview Monday. \"I have no inside information. It's just a prediction.\"<\/p>\n

Regardless of how it works out, Muller insists he isn\u2019t worried.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it all ends tomorrow, I\u2019ll be fine,\u201d he said. \u201cI consider this time at The Loop a victory lap. I was done with radio. The only reason I came back to radio [in 2015] was the power of that station \u2014 The Loop. It means something as a radio geek. If it doesn\u2019t work out I\u2019ll be fine. If it does work out, even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Randy Michaels<\/p><\/div>\n

Randy Michaels, the former Tribune Co. CEO who heads Merlin Media, told the Chicago Tribune\u2019s<\/a> Robert Channick he\u2019s ready to step in and operate The Loop and 101 WKQX if Cumulus bails out. That\u2019s perfectly OK with Muller, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fine with me if Randy Michaels takes over,\u201d Muller said. \u201cPeople who don\u2019t like him don\u2019t like him because he\u2019s not politically correct. Well, I\u2019m not politically correct. I\u2019ll have no problem working with that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muller said he has admired Michaels since the controversial executive headed Jacor Communications, the radio company once owned by Chicago billionaire Sam Zell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI base my stunts and everything else off Jacor,\" he said. \"My whole goal when I got into radio was to work for Jacor. Randy and I have talked about working together. So I have a great relationship with Randy Michaels. He\u2019s an innovator. He loves radio. I love radio. There wouldn\u2019t be any problem between me and Randy Michaels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s best comment:<\/a> Dan Miller:<\/strong> Ever an insightful student of media and society, Charles Thomas made a compelling point on Joel [Weisman]'s farewell show about how seldom guests from black media are invited. But skimpy diversity on Week in Review also is evident in other media. Chicago has a vibrant and well informed cohort in trade journalism that seldom is invited to Week in Review. Staffers from Pensions & Investments and Modern Healthcare, two Crain publications, could add depth and breadth to Week in Review, and make it even more informative. The program is being reimagined in the wake of Joel's well earned retirement, and as a WTTW subscriber and Week in Review viewer, I urge the station to broaden the program's vision.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Erich Mancow Muller, morning host on WLUP FM 97.9 and one of Chicago\u2019s best-known radio personalities, is suddenly a man without a contract. Cumulus Media, which operates the classic rock station, pulled the plug last week on its talent agreement with Muller\u2019s company, American Patriot LLC, according to a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in... 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\/16612"}],"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=16612"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16626,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16612\/revisions\/16626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}