The Roe Conn Show

Last updated

The Roe Conn Show, was a talk radio show hosted by Roe Conn and various co-hosts on WLS-AM between 1989-2014 and on WGN-AM between 2015-2020. [1]

Contents

History

In 1995, Garry Meier and Roe Conn began The Roe and Garry Show. During this show, Jim Johnson and Christina Filiaggi gave the news and traffic, respectively. Johnson and Filiaggi also offered their opinions on what the two hosts were discussing throughout the course of the show. This first show saw high ratings and was successful. After 9 years, Meier's contract expired and he left in 2004. The show was renamed The Roe Conn Show and it was restructured around Conn, with Johnson and Filiaggi as supporting cast.

In late 2005, Bill Leff was added. He proved to be funnier and quicker than Meier, but he often disappeared into the background when Conn began talking. [2] [3] In May 2009, Leff was removed from the show because of cost cutting at parent company Citadel Broadcasting. [4]

Amy Jacobsen saw her start at WLS-AM in June 2008. In March 2009, she was added to The Roe Conn Show providing the traffic and was a side-kick to the show. With Jacobsen's full-time addition to the show in 2009, Filiaggi was laid off. [5] [6]

In December 2009 - March 2010, changes were made The Roe Conn Show due to low ratings and budget cutting at WLS and Citadel. One of these changes was that Jacobsen was removed and replaced by Jill Urchak who provided the traffic from outside the studio. This arrangement did not last long; in March, Christina Filiaggi was brought back on the show. [6] Then, Cisco Cotto was added and the name of the show was changed to The Roe & Cotto Show. [5] Ron Magers, one of the top Chicago news anchors, had been a daily commenter on the show during the 3:00 pm half-hour starting in 1997. However, in late 2009, Magers was removed from the show due to budget cutting at the station. [7] Just 7 weeks later, Magers was reinstated on the show. The change was made not long after Michael Damsky became president of WLS-AM; this being one of his top priorities. [8]

On April 12, 2010, Richard Roeper was added to the cast of The Roe Conn Show. With Roepers addition to the show, it was renamed Roe and Roeper. [9] [10]

Beginning January 28, 2013, the final hour (5-6 p.m.) of the show became a sports-themed show, with the title 89 WLS Sports Pregame Show. [11] The Sports Pregame Show featured longtime Chicago sports media reporter and anchor Lou Canellis talking sports with Conn and Roeper for the final hour of the day. Due to lagging ratings and new management, the sports show was removed; its final broadcast on January 29, 2014. [12] The 5:00 hour has since reverted to its original programming.

Longtime newsman Jim Johnson celebrated his last day on-air June 28, 2013. His career spanned over 45 years at WLS, including the last 18 years during the Roe Conn Show. [13] His replacement was former WBBM-TV morning news anchor Susan Carlson. Less than a year later, in March 2014, Carlson transitioned into a larger position at WMAQ-TV, which would require her to leave the WLS chair. [14] Her final appearance was April 25. News was then delivered by Ryan Burrow and traffic by Christina Filiaggi. Burrow's news included a four-minute summary at the top of the hour and a two-minute report at the bottom of the hour. Filiaggi's traffic reports were delivered on the "fives" (at the 5-, 15- and 25-minute mark of each hour). In addition, The Wall Street Journal Report was aired at 45 minutes past the hour.

On October 7, 2014, media blogger Robert Feder reported that veteran Chicago broadcaster Steve Dahl would being joining WLS-AM as the afternoon personality, thus replacing Roe & Roeper. [15] On October 8, 2014, Roe Conn announced on the WLS-TV morning program "Windy City Live" that, indeed, he and Roper would not be returning to WLS and that Dahl would be taking over, most likely on November 3, 2014. [ citation needed ]

Starting January 26, 2015, The Roe Conn Show began airing on WGN-AM from 3 pm to 7pm CDT.

Special segments

Top 5 at Five

The Top 5 at Five has been part of the Roe Conn Show since its establishment. Five stories are featured, all being summarized with audio clips and analysis. Many of these stories are political in nature, with some being weird news and some as the more popular stories of the day. In January 2013, the segment was transformed into a sports-themed segment airing at 5:30, as part of the revamping of the 5:00 hour into a sports show. After an outcry from listeners, it was moved to 4:00, airing as the Top 4 at Four, featuring four stories instead of five. After the ill-fated sports show was dropped in January 2014, the Top 5 at Five was reinstated at its usual time. Shortly after Nexstar Media Group acquired Tribune Media [16] [ circular reference ], the segment was renamed "The Top 5 Things You Need to Know Today" and the segment introduction music was cut.

Primetime Blago

During the corruption trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, The Roe Conn Show aired a special segment titled Primetime Blago. This segment aired from 5:30 pm - 6 pm from Monday - Thursday. During this half hour, Andy Shaw, the former political reporter at WLS-TV joined Conn and Roeper for analysis of the days events concerning the Trial. Attorney Mike Monico also joined the show periodically. [17] Roe & Roeper also aired a primetime special from 5:30-6 during the trial of suburban cop Drew Peterson in the summer of 2012.

The Canarble Wagon

The Canarble Wagon is a segment airing every Friday at 5:00 pm. It is a time when the cast of the show order alcoholic beverages from the Canarble Wagon. Contrary to many listeners belief that the Wagon is fake, just the cast members making it seem like they are drinking, the cast members are actually drinking the beverages. [18]

The name of the Canarble Wagon comes from Jim Johnson's early days in journalism. When he was a reporter at the City Hall press room, veteran reporters told a story of a newspaper reporter who would come back from lunch drunk. This reporter could not pronounce the word cocktail; instead, the word canarble was heard. Johnson added the word wagon to canarble and the Canarble Wagon was made. [19]

On-air personalities

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGN-TV</span> Independent TV station in Chicago

WGN-TV is an independent television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister to the company's sole radio property, news/talk/sports station WGN. WGN-TV's studios are located on West Bradley Place in Chicago's North Center community; as such, it is the only major commercial television station in Chicago which bases its main studio outside the Loop. Its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower in the Loop.

Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's successor. From 2010 to 2014, he co-hosted The Roe and Roeper Show with Roe Conn on WLS-AM. From October 2015 to October 2017, Roeper served as the host of the FOX 32 morning show Good Day Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WGN (AM)</span> Radio station in Illinois, United States

WGN is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois, featuring a talk radio format. WGN's studios are located in the Chicago Loop, while the transmitter is in Elk Grove Village. WGN also features broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hockey and Northwestern University football and basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLS-TV</span> ABC TV station in Chicago

WLS-TV is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's ABC network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North State Street in the Chicago Loop, and its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBBM-TV</span> CBS TV station in Chicago

WBBM-TV is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's CBS network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Street in the Loop district, and its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFLD</span> Fox-owned television station in Chicago, Illinois

WFLD is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's Fox network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside Gary, Indiana–licensed MyNetworkTV outlet WPWR-TV. Both stations share studios on North Michigan Avenue in the Chicago Loop, and transmitter facilities atop the Willis Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMAQ-TV</span> NBC TV station in Chicago

WMAQ-TV is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo station WSNS-TV ; it is also sister to regional sports network NBC Sports Chicago. WMAQ-TV and WSNS-TV share studios at the NBC Tower on North Columbus Drive in the city's Streeterville neighborhood and share transmitter facilities atop the Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop.

WCKL is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, featuring a Christian contemporary format via the K-Love network. Owned and operated by Educational Media Foundation (EMF), WCKL serves the Chicago metro area with a transmitter located atop the John Hancock Center.

WKQX is a commercial radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, featuring an alternative rock format known as "Q101". Owned by Cumulus Media, the station serves the Chicago metropolitan area. WKQX's studios are located in the NBC Tower, while the station transmitter is located atop the John Hancock Center. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WKQX broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicagoland Television</span> Television channel

Chicagoland Television was an American regional cable news television channel located in Chicago, Illinois. The channel served the Chicago metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Schwartz</span> American radio host (1946-2009)

Ed Schwartz was a Chicago media personality who hosted local late-night radio programs from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He was nicknamed "Chicago Ed."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garry Meier</span>

Garry Meier is a Chicago-based radio personality who has been active in Chicago radio since 1973. Meier is well known for being part of the highly successful radio duos "Steve & Garry" and "Roe and Garry", but he also hosted shows on WYEN, WFYR, WLUP, WCKG, WGN and WGN.FM at various times in his career. Meier is also a former feature reporter for WGN-TV's morning show and is a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame. As of March 12, 2016, he has a new show broadcast in Podcast format via his website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Dahl</span> American radio personality

Steven Robert Dahl is an American radio personality. He is the owner and operator of the Steve Dahl Network, a subscription-based podcasting network. Dahl gained a measure of national attention after organizing and hosting Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roe Conn</span> American radio host (born 1964)

Roe B. Conn is a former American talk radio host based in Chicago who now works as a senior project manager at the Cook County sheriff's office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Magers</span> American former news anchor (born 1944)

Ron Magers is a former American news anchor. Magers worked for WLS-TV, the ABC owned-and-operated station in Chicago, Illinois, where he co-anchored the top-rated 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. broadcasts with Cheryl Burton and Kathy Brock, respectively. Magers is the brother of Paul Magers, a former television anchor and reporter for KCBS-TV, the CBS owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles.

Jake Hartford, was a talk radio host who anchored the 9-11 a.m. slot on 89 WLS with Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass. Hartford had been a personality on WLS-AM 890 since 1991 with a regular Saturday morning show called "Awake with Jake," as well as performing various fill-in duties. Due to a management shuffle he was laid off and briefly moved to WCPT-AM (820) from 2008 to 2010, but returned to WLS-AM 890 where he had been promoted to mid-days just prior to his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRME-LD</span> Television and radio station in Chicago

WRME-LD is a low-power television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with Jewelry Television. The station's audio channel, transmitting at 87.75 MHz, lies within the FM band; as a result, WRME-LD's audio channel operates as a radio station at 87.7 FM. Owned by Venture Technologies Group and operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Weigel Broadcasting, the station airs a soft adult contemporary/oldies format via the 87.75 MHz audio channel under the brand 87.7 MeTV FM, a brand extension of Weigel's MeTV television network. The WRME-LD studios are co-located with Weigel's headquarters in Chicago's Greektown neighborhood, while the transmitter resides atop the John Hancock Center.

Chet W. Coppock was an American radio broadcaster, television broadcaster, sports talk personality and author based in Chicago. His fifth book “Chet Coppock: In Pursuit of Chet Coppock” was released in July 2018. Coppock hosted the Chicago Blackhawks Heritage Series, and emceed corporate sponsorship events for the Blackhawks featuring former NHL stars such as Bobby Hull, Tony Esposito and Denis Savard.

Jim Johnson is a retired personality on The Roe Conn Show on WLS (AM) 890 in Chicago, where he was a news reporter and occasionally participated in the on-air discussion with the other on-air personalities.

Cisco Cotto is a radio personality and pastor, serving as morning anchor on WBBM 780/105.9 and campus pastor at Village Bible Church in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

References

  1. https://robertfeder.dailyherald.com/2020/09/04/roe-conn-nick-digilio-wgn-radio-shakeup/
  2. "Jacobsen To Join Roe Conn Show". Chicagoradiotv.com. March 12, 2009. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  3. Zorn, Eric (May 29, 2009). "WLS AM ousts Bill Leff, Roe Conn's sidekick". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  4. Rosenthal, Phil (May 29, 2009). "Bill Leff Leaving Roe Conn's WLS-AM show". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Amy Jacobsen OFF of the Roe Conn Show; More changes". Chicagoland Radio and Media. January 8, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Christina Filiaggi In; Jill Urchak Out At WLS". Chicagoland Radio and Media. March 26, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  7. Feder, Robert (December 21, 2009). "Woe is Roe: No room for Ron Magers at WLS Radio". WBEZ . Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  8. Feder, Robert (February 8, 2010). "Back to you, Ron: WLS Radio restores Magers' role". WBEZ . Retrieved December 23, 2010.[ dead link ]
  9. "WLS-Am Adds Richard Roeper to Roe Conn's Show". Chicagoland Radio and Media. March 11, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  10. Feder, Robert (March 11, 2010). "It's Roe and Roeper: WLS adds new afternoon star". WBEZ . Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  11. Feder, Robert (January 28, 2013). "Will 'guy talk' from Canellis score with Roe & Roeper's fans?". Time Out Chicago . Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  12. Feder, Robert (January 28, 2014). "WLS drops Roe & Roeper sports hour" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  13. "WLS-AM's 45 Year News Veteran Jim Johnson Announces Retirement". Chicagoland Radio and Media. April 30, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  14. Feder, Robert (April 1, 2014). "Carlson moves up to full-time at NBC 5" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  15. Feder, Robert (October 7, 2014). "Surprise: WLS to hire Steve Dahl for afternoons" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  16. Nexstar Media Group#2017–2019: Merger with Tribune Media
  17. "WLS-AM: Leggo My Blago!". Chicagoland Radio and Media. June 3, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  18. "Canarble Wagon - Roe & Garry". Archived from the original on May 8, 2004. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  19. "The Canarble Wagon". WLS-AM. Archived from the original on February 8, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2010.