Marvin will be paid through the end of his contract in March.
Jay Marvin 'happy to be out' as WLS talk show host
chicagosuntimes.com
December 29, 2004
BY ROBERT FEDER
Jay Marvin, the liberal firebrand who offered a semblance of balance to the conservative spin on news/talk WLS-AM (890), was forced out Tuesday as midday host at the Disney/ABC-owned station.
Eileen Byrne, who had been Marvin's co-host from 9 to 11 a.m. weekdays, will continue solo when she returns from vacation.
John Gallagher, president and general manager of WLS, said the decision to cut Marvin was made because the show "hasn't produced what it was designed to achieve." It was unclear whether the issue was a lack of ratings or a lack of chemistry between the two hosts.
Gallagher denied that politics had anything to do with Marvin's departure. Asked to name anyone else among the station's full-time hosts whom he considers liberal, Gallagher mentioned only Roma Wade, the wife and co-host of morning personality Don Wade.
Marvin, 52, who was on his second stint at WLS, had held various time slots since rejoining the station in 1999.
"They wanted to go one way, and I wanted to go another," he said Tuesday. "There was no place to put me. It was a rough 2-1/2 years on that air shift. I'm glad it's over, and I'm happy to be out from under it. I wish them the best."
Marvin will be paid through the end of his contract in March.
chicagosuntimes.com
WLS-AM boss inherits range of challenges
Published October 13, 2004
When John Gallagher walks into ABC Radio-owned WLS-AM 890 as the new general manager, he may have wished he had stayed in Detroit.
Facing a sluggish advertising market that is down close to 30 percent for some stations in the market, Gallagher also has the unenviable task of trying to bring stability to the programming side of the business.
His first priority? He'll have to decide whether to re-sign Don Wade and Roma. The longtime WLS morning duo has been off the air for weeks after talks broke down between the station and the personalities over money.
With Don and Roma's contract coming up right after Garry Meier's rocky departure in afternoons, clearly there are negotiating tactics being played out on both sides.
But with no fall-off of audience yet in the morning or in the afternoon with Roe Conn still in place, there appears to be less urgency to sign a new deal for the morning duo at a significant price jump.
So right now, it's a game of wait and see.
Still, it will be up to Gallagher, most recently director of sales at WJR-AM in Detroit, to make or break a new deal.
Gallagher, who takes over for Zemira Jones, who left the station for a post at Radio One, wouldn't grant an interview Tuesday.
Insiders expect a "full-scale shake-up" on the operations side, however.
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