Posted by My .02 on March 19, 2013 at 11:03:21:
In Reply to: WTMJ 620 tabs ex-WGN radio exec Langmyer as consultant posted by Paul on March 19, 2013 at 08:46:10:
"Milwaukee news-talk-sports station WTMJ-AM (620) has retained Tim Langmyer, the former vice president and general manager of Chicago mega-station WGN-AM (720), as a consultant while seeking a new programming director."
Anyone who's ever been on air staff at a radio station shat their pants just a little bit upon hearing the word consultant. Also, when Langmyer left WGN he didn't exactly leave it better than when he got there. Finally, a former GM from a Chicago radio station as a consultant means one of two things: he's going to be REALLY expensive, or he's doing it really cheap because he can't get a real gig elsewhere. Neither of the two are good.
"“I can confirm that we have made a change and are recruiting for a new program director,” Steve Wexler, executive vice president of WTMJ owner Journal Broadcast Group, said Monday. “Tom Langmyer is working with us during the transition to help recruit a new program director and work with our staff.”"
I'm getting flashbacks of Office Space.
"Both WTMJ and WGN share positions in their respective markets as leaders in news, talk and sports programming. For example, WGN is the flagship station for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Blackhawks hockey while WTMJ is the flagship for the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks and Green Bay Packers."
WGN is not the leader in news radio in Chicago, WBBM is. WGN is the flagship of a lot of Chicago sports brands but there are also a lot more sports brands to be the flagship of in Chicago. WGN has almost 10 regular local personality-driven non-sports shows between weekdays and weekends, and WTMJ has between 2 and 4 if you count the morning and afternoon things that air on WTMJ.
"WGN’s top on-air talk personalities Jonathan Brandmeier and Garry Meier take a more middle-of-the road approach than WTMJ’s conservative-talkers Charlie Sykes and Jeff Wagner."
I take a few issues here. First of all Jeff Wagner is not a conservative or a talker. Between this line and his recent Heavy Hitters award he has some PR people that I didn't know about. Jeff Wagner is nothing more than a placeholder for people who's work doesn't allow Rush Limbaugh. Second, putting Charlie Sykes up against Johnny B and Garry Meier? Sykes is Mark Belling's old fill-in and reads the talking points every other local conservative radio talk show host receives. Johnny B is a Chicago radio legend and icon that has 20+ years on Charlie Sykes, that doesn't take much of a political stance at all because his show is personality and topic-driven. Garry Meier is another Chicago radio superstar that has decades on Charlie Sykes. Garry's show is all about personality, his personality and the cast of characters he has brought into his show. Neither Johnny B nor Garry Meier are doing anything remotely similar to what Charlie Sykes and Jeff Wagner are doing.
"Langmyer left WGN in October 2012 after eight years. The station is owned by the Tribune Co., Chicago, which recently emerged from bankruptcy. Previously, he was vice president and general manager of KMOX-AM in St. Louis and vice president/programming for CBS Radio’s news/talk stations group."
Read: He's out of work, no one is willing to hire him for the money he demands having programmed in market 3, so he's farming out his consulting to probably half a dozen radio groups around the country and making his money that way. Maybe this move is going to shake up WTMJ but I don't see how or what Tim's WGN experience is going to contribute exactly.