{"id":17162,"date":"2018-03-07T06:00:16","date_gmt":"2018-03-07T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=17162"},"modified":"2018-03-07T06:00:16","modified_gmt":"2018-03-07T12:00:16","slug":"mancow-suddenly-unplugged-loop-meant-something","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2018\/03\/07\/mancow-suddenly-unplugged-loop-meant-something\/","title":{"rendered":"Mancow, suddenly unplugged: \u2018The Loop meant something\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

<\/a> Erich Mancow Muller leaving WLUP studios Tuesday<\/p><\/div>\n

In the 24 years he\u2019s been in Chicago, Erich Mancow Muller was never one to shy away from cameras or microphones. Until Tuesday.<\/p>\n

As he left WLUP FM 97.9 <\/a>for the last time, the normally garrulous broadcaster walked past TV news crews waiting outside his studio. Later in the day he turned down multiple requests for interviews on radio shows and in other media. The sale of The Loop <\/a>and the sudden demise of his morning show was still too raw and too upsetting even for a notorious publicity hound like Muller.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Loop meant something,\u201d he told me later. \u201cIt was the stuff of legend and of Chicago heritage. I don't think people realize what they've lost . . . yet. It was a 41-year-old psychedelic trippy guitar-driven freak-out dream of a radio station that is waking up to the realities of 2018.\u201d<\/p>\n

As late as Monday, Muller said, he had received assurances that Cumulus Media would be operating the station as usual. So when he woke up Tuesday to learn that he\u2019d be hosting his last show on The Loop that very day, it came as a stunning disappointment.<\/p>\n

Educational Media Foundation announced plans to buy the classic rock station from Merlin Media for $21.5 million and convert it to a noncommercial contemporary Christian music format under its syndicated K-Love brand. Automated programming airs until Saturday when The Loop will flip to K-Love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to make people laugh or think \u2014 on bad days \u2014 but I was never able to save souls,\u201d Muller said. \u201cI wish the new owners all good things. Go share the good news. Sincerely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of his three years on The Loop, he said: \u201cWe sure had a ball. What silly fun we had in a Chicago that has become very serious. My hope was always to be the pressure valve, to be an escape for hardworking people during a brutal Chicago commute.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what\u2019s next for Mancow? \u201cI'm off to hang out with Ray Rayner, Bozo, and Kup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s best comment:<\/a> Lorelei Shark:<\/strong> The LOOP . . . where Chicago Rocked \ud83d\ude41 \u00a0Sad day for us.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the 24 years he\u2019s been in Chicago, Erich Mancow Muller was never one to shy away from cameras or microphones. Until Tuesday. As he left WLUP FM 97.9 for the last time, the normally garrulous broadcaster walked past TV news crews waiting outside his studio. Later in the day he turned down multiple requests... 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\/17162"}],"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=17162"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17168,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17162\/revisions\/17168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}