Quick-name three Chicago newspaper journalists who regularly appear on radio. Too easy? OK, name three who don’t.
While the inclusion of newspaper reporters, columnists and editors as guests on radio talk, news, public-affairs and sports programs has a long tradition in Chicago, of late increasing numbers of print journalists are turning up on recurring radio features.
The latest is Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed, who just signed on to do celebrity gossip reports Friday mornings on hard rock WWBZ-FM 103.5.
Tribune sports columnist Bob Verdi is in his 10th year of doing twice-daily “Athlete’s Feats” reports for WXRT-FM 93.1. Tribune marketing columnist George Lazarus does weekly commentaries on WGN-AM 720. Sun-Times pop music writer Jae-Ha Kim is a Friday afternoon regular on Jonathon Brandmeier’s WLUP-AM 1000 show.
And let’s not forget WGN’s long-running Sunday afternoon “The Sportswriters,” with host Ben Bentley and featuring the Tribune’s Bill Jauss and the Sun-Times’ Toni Ginnetti.
Adding a twist are moonlighting newsies who host their own shows.
Two of the best-known are Tribune “Inc.” columnist Kathy O’Malley and syndicated Sun-Times columnist Judy Markey, whose daily midday show on WGN is entering its fourth year.
WLS-AM/FM 890/94.7 has turned into a veritable Sun-Times of the airwaves, with columnist Richard Roeper’s Sunday morning talk show, neighborhood reporters Don Hayner and Tom McNamee’s Saturday morning show, and families writer Leslie Baldacci doing fill-in work.
Taking it to the extreme is Terry Boers, who quit his sportswriting job at the Sun-Times to become the full-time afternoon drive talk host on all-sports WSCR-AM 820.
“The thing about radio is that when you’re done you’re done,” said Boers, a 20-year print veteran who free-lances a twice-weekly column for the Daily Herald.
“At a newspaper you’re never done. There’s always the next phone call to take or the next story to write.”
The Tribune’s O’Malley sees a synergy between her writing and radio work.
“The crossover between the two has been very beneficial for me,” she said. “We’ve discussed things on the radio that have turned into column items and column items that have wound up being discussed on the air. Also, the cross-promotion between the column and radio isn’t a bad thing.”
