{"id":31797,"date":"2021-12-16T06:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T12:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=31797"},"modified":"2021-12-16T06:24:33","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T12:24:33","slug":"robservations-wgn-radio-renews-morning-host-bob-sirott-mitch-michaels-marks-50-years-chicago-radio-wvon-program-director-todd-ronczkowski-resigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2021\/12\/16\/robservations-wgn-radio-renews-morning-host-bob-sirott-mitch-michaels-marks-50-years-chicago-radio-wvon-program-director-todd-ronczkowski-resigns\/","title":{"rendered":"Robservations: WGN Radio renews morning host Bob Sirott; Mitch Michaels marks 50 years on Chicago radio; WVON program director Todd Ronczkowski resigns"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Bob Sirott<\/p><\/div>\n

Robservations on the media beat:<\/p>\n

Legendary Chicago broadcaster Bob Sirott,<\/strong> who\u2019s been a rare shining star in the ratings at WGN 720-AM<\/a>, just extended his contract as morning host for two more years. \u201cBob has been an iconic voice in Chicago since 1973 and we\u2019re fortunate to have his voice and talent as we head into our 100th year and beyond,\u201d Mary Boyle,<\/strong> vice president and general manager of the Nexstar Media news\/talk station, said in announcing the renewal. Terms of the agreement, negotiated by attorney Steve Mandell,<\/strong> were not disclosed. Starting January 3, Sirott\u2019s show will air from 6 to 10 a.m. weekdays \u2014 one hour later than it has since he started in January 2020. In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, WGN ranked third in mornings with a 5.4 percent share and cumulative weekly audience of 171,100. Said Sirott: \u201cWho knows, someday I may turn into a morning person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

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

Monday marks a milestone for Mitch Michaels,<\/strong> afternoon personality on Alpha Media west suburban classic hits WERV 95.9-FM<\/a>. It\u2019ll be the 50th anniversary of his first broadcast on Chicago radio \u2014 as evening host on the former WGLD. \u201cThe station was on the floor of an old folks\u2019 home \u2014 the Oak Park Arms Hotel in Oak Park \u2014 which I always thought was an unusual place for a rock station,\u201d he once recalled.<\/a> \u201cThere was a fire escape in the program director\u2019s office and the door out faced east. I\u2019d go out there for smoke breaks and just look at the Chicago skyline at night, knowing that\u2019s where I really needed to be.\u201d Michaels went on to a stellar career, including stops at WXRT, WDAI, WKQX, WLUP and WCKG. In 2017 he released his memoir, Doin\u2019 the Cruise: Memories From A Lifetime in Radio and Rock & Roll,<\/a><\/em> published by Eckhartz Press.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Todd Ronczkowski<\/p><\/div>\n

Wrapping up more than 35 years in Chicago radio, Todd Ronczkowski<\/strong> is stepping down as program director of Midway Broadcasting news\/talk WVON 1690-AM.<\/a> Starting January 3, he'll work for Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart<\/strong> as communications liaison for community engagement. Before joining WVON in 2009 Ronczkowski spent 14 years as a producer at news\/talk WLS 890-AM. While attending Moraine Valley Community College he worked on the air at the former southwest suburban WJRC. No word yet on a successor at Midway Broadcasting, where Ronczkowski also served as operations manager of Spanish-language WRLL 1450-AM.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Alex Degman<\/p><\/div>\n

Alex Degman,<\/strong> a former news anchor and reporter for WTAX in Springfield, has been hired as statehouse reporter at Chicago Public Media WBEZ 91.5-FM.<\/a> Starting in January he\u2019ll cover the state legislature for WBEZ and nine other NPR stations in Illinois. Degman, a graduate of Western Illinois University and the University of Illinois Springfield, also worked for the former Illinois Radio Network and KMOX in St. Louis. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward for my return to Springfield and public radio,\u201d Degman said in a statement. \u201cChicago Public Media is starting a new and very exciting chapter in statehouse journalism; I\u2019m honored they chose me to be a part of it and I can\u2019t wait to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Steve Dale<\/p><\/div>\n

Sunday has been declared \u201cSteve Dale<\/strong> Day\"<\/a> in Chicago to honor the vital work of the longtime pet advocate and host of \u201cSteve Dale\u2019s Pet World\u201d<\/a> on WGN Radio. Among other achievements, the City Council proclamation cited Dale for creating the Chicago Task Force on Companion Animals and Public Safety, which rewrote the city\u2019s animal control act and created guidelines for doggy daycare. In accepting the honor from Mayor Lori Lightfoot,<\/strong> Dale thanked WGN, his radio home for 25 years. \u201cWithout that 50,000-watt soap box, I am certain that we would have had breed bans in Chicago, mandated pediatric spay\/neuter of dogs and cats and pet limit laws and wouldn\u2019t be allowed to dine on patios or sidewalk cafes with dogs,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd most recently banning sales of dogs\/cats at pets stores.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wednesday\u2019s comment of the day:<\/a> Bob Manewith:<\/strong> It was my privilege to be news director at WGN-AM-TV during Don Mellema's time there. He was one of the best writers on the staff and never balked when I had to change schedules, etc. Because of our contract with AFTRA at the time, I was unable to use him as a reporter, and having heard him over the years at WBBM, I came to regret that situation. He certainly was better at it than one or two of the reporters on the staff when I became news director. Apart from that, he was a real nice guy.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robservations on the media beat: Legendary Chicago broadcaster Bob Sirott, who\u2019s been a rare shining star in the ratings at WGN 720-AM, just extended his contract as morning host for two more years. \u201cBob has been an iconic voice in Chicago since 1973 and we\u2019re fortunate to have his voice and talent as we head... 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\/31797"}],"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=31797"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31808,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31797\/revisions\/31808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}