WGN Radio jumps into top 5 in February ratings
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The February radio ratings just dropped and news/talk stations have capitalized on the rapid-fire headlines coming from the Trump administration.
The latest: WBBM Radio held the top spot for the second straight month, but the surprise was the success of WGN Radio, which saw a sharp increase that catapulted it into the top 5 for the first time in over a decade.
Why it matters: WGN Radio used to be the No. 1 radio station in town, thanks, in part, to broadcasting Cubs games, but that ended in 2014.
Zoom out: The station, which is owned by Texas-based Nexstar and run by President Trump's former producer Sean Compton, has lived toward the bottom of the top 10 since Nexstar took over in 2019.
Yes, but: The station saw a huge jump last month, hinting that the current lineup of Bob Sirott, John Williams and Lisa Dent is paying dividends.
Other radio news: Walter Jacobson aired his final radio commentary last week. The former television anchor had been delivering his "Perspectives" to the WGN radio audience for almost 10 years.
"Big" John Howell, the former afternoon host at WLS-AM, is co-hosting a podcast with former Sun-Times sports columnist Rick Telander. It's called "Chicago Smokehouse" and it promises sharp analysis of the daily headlines.
- Telander took the recent buyout at the paper.
Longtime WLS-AM news anchor Jim Johnson passed away last week at the age of 80. In his nearly 50 years at the station, he worked alongside Larry Lujack, Steve & Garry, Roe Conn and many other big names.
Caveat: These ratings don't break down precisely when people are tuning in or specific listener demographics.
Disclosure: Justin Kaufmann has worked for a number of these stations.