Merlin Media launches Chicago's first all-news FM station

The radio venture, headed by former Tribune CEO Randy Michaels, began its 24-hour news programming on Sunday.

Merlin Media, the new broadcasting venture headed by controversial former Tribune CEO Randy Michaels, has launched Chicago's first all-news FM radio station -- one day ahead of the competition.

After six weeks of speculation, Chicago's FM News 101.1 officially began its 24-hour news programming on Sunday. CBS-owned WBBM Newsradio 780 is planning to simulcast its venerable news format on 105.9 FM beginning Monday.

"My favorite format has always been spoken radio," said Michaels, Merlin Media's chief executive officer, in a press release issued Sunday. "I've long had a nostalgic love affair with the big AM stations known for the format, and today – as music moves to the iPod– it's time for spoken word to move to FM."

In June, Merlin Media agreed to acquire Chicago's WKQX-FM 101.1 (Q101) and WLUP-FM 97.9 (TheLoop), along with New York's WRXP-FM, fromEmmis Communications. Merlin began operating the stations on July 15, and immediately pulled the plug on Q101's alternative rock format.

Many industry analysts had projected that Q101 would go news/talk, a trend that has picked up steam in recent years as music migrates to other digital media, and radio programmers seek to tap larger and younger audiences on the FM band.

WBBM-AM, the top-ranked and top-billing station in Chicago, has been honing its product since 1968. The transformation to FM will see some upgrades in production value, but management plans to stick with its tried-and-true formula.

FM News 101.1, which changed its call letters to WWWN-FM, has hired a number of well-known Chicago broadcasting personalities including Ed Curran and Rob Hart, formerly ofWGN-AM; Monica DeSantis, formerly of WLS-AM; Lise Dominique, formerly of WLUP AM & FM; and Debra Dale, formerly of WBBM-AM.


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People Listen To Radio For A Variety Of Different Reasons

People listen to radio for a variety of different reasons; to hear their favorite talk show, sports games, or music. The radio was invented over one hundred years ago, and people still listen to them today proving it to be one of the greatest inventions in time.

Listening to a radio can be difficult at times because there may be bad reception and it can take a while to tune to the right station you want. Listening to internet radio has many advantages over a traditional radio, and finding your favorite station is just a click away. Once you find a radio program that interests you, you just click on the link and the website broadcasts onto your computer. Finding a talk show, sports game, or your favorite music is easily accessible from the internet.

The best aspect of listening to music online is the cost. It can be free or of little cost. If you want to listen online all you need is a computer or laptop, an internet connection, speakers, and a media player. Some online stations don’t require a media player so you won’t have an additional cost of purchasing software. Some online stations charge a monthly fee which usually cost around $10 to $20 a month, but there are plenty of stations that are free of charge.

Another advantage of listening to radio stations online is the wide variety of programming. Unlike a traditional radio where there has to be good reception for tuning, you can listen to stations from across the globe. You can listen to stations from different countries and hear music and talk shows from other cultures. This is great for people who have relocated to another country for work, family, or military duty and want to listen to music or a show that will remind them of home. There are stations available with every type of music ranging from folk, hip-hop, rock, alternative, and jazz, just to name a few. There are thousands of radio stations to choose from online unlike traditional radio where you can only choose from AM and FM stations that are in your area of reception. Traditional radios are also limiting with music choices and most stations only play country, rap, rock, pop, and oldies. Local sports broadcasts are only offered on traditional radio, but with internet radio you can find sports broadcasts from around the world.

Radio Is Also Popular Now These Days.

Before television there was radio. And it was so important to people, families would sit around the radio at night and listen to programs the same way they watch the TV today. You can still hear some of those great, original shows with legendary radio performers (many of whom went on to TV). Plus, if you are interested in antique radios themselves, this is a good place to start.

Radio was not only the way to receive news about what was going on around the world, but in time, became the major source of entertainment for families. Radio had something for everyone. Music for the ones who just wanted to relax and listen to big bands with leaders such as Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington or Guy Lombardo. There were soap operas for the ladies, “The Guiding Light” and “One Man’s Family,” to name a couple. For those people who really liked to use their imagination, there were exciting shows like, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,” “The Shadow,” and the “Lone Ranger.” As people have their favorite T.V. shows today, between the years of 1925 until the early 1950's, people had their favorite radio shows. These years in the United States were called the Golden Age of Broadcasting.'

Radio was just the beginning of a network of world-wide communication. When television became popular in the 1950's, many people thought that it would be the end of radio. People turned to television for soap operas and musical shows. However, radio still survives in all types and sizes. There are personal radios with earphones made for the listening enjoyment of only one person, shower radios to be listened to while getting ready to go out and radios made to look like cartoon characters. There are electric radios, car radios and battery radios for when the power goes out. Not only was the radio the greatest invention in the 20th century, it is still needed and used by millions of people today.

Classic FM

Alex De Pase, portrait artist extraordinaire, does an Elvgren pinup. Not the best thing he's done, but still pretty amazing. Nope she's not getting a thrill off that radio!