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<\/a><\/a>As talk show topics go, the federal government shutdown is tailor-made for conservative talk-radio stations like WLS AM 890.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>As talk show topics go, the federal government shutdown is tailor-made for conservative talk-radio stations like WLS AM 890.<\/p>\n
The downturn at The Big 89 mirrors a nationwide trend among news\/talk stations. Overall, the format has lost more than 10 percent of its audience since 2011 \u2014 and may have hit an all-time low this summer, according to industry reports. \"The more you look around, the more talk radio . . . doesn\u2019t seem to have either the cume reach or the share it once did,\" Tom Taylor, <\/a>radio's most respected analyst, wrote in his newsletter Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Roe Conn and Richard Roeper<\/p><\/div>\n
But don't be surprised if Savage eventually moves up to afternoons on WLS, where he'd be heard live from 2 to 5 p.m. weekdays. Roe Conn and Richard Roeper, who currently occupy the 2-to-6 p.m. slot, are under contract to the station through January 2015. Whether anything might happen before then is purely speculative at this point.<\/p>\n
Conn continues to be high on the wish list of Jimmy deCastro, president and general manager of WGN, who's still not finished remaking the Tribune Broadcasting news\/talk station.<\/p>\n
Cumulus Media might be willing to negotiate early releases for its two highly paid afternoon personalities in order to trim their salaries from the budget and give a big boost to Savage in the No. 3 market. (Or so the thinking goes.) Compared to Conn and Roeper, Savage also would be more compatible ideologically with the rest of the WLS gang, including Rush Limbaugh, whose show airs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the gap between afternoons and other parts of the station's lineup appears to be widening: In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, \"The Roe & Roeper Show\" is tied for 24th place overall with a 1.6 share. Among listeners between 25 and 54, it ranks 27th with a 1.1 share. (The time period reported \u2014 3 to 7 p.m. \u2014 also includes the first hour of Hannity's show.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As talk show topics go, the federal government shutdown is tailor-made for conservative talk-radio stations like WLS AM 890. Morning, noon and night, the hardline hosts have been downright giddy over the stalemate in Washington. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass opened his midday show Tuesday with unmitigated mockery, declaring: \"The world has ended! How are... Continue reading