Tom Petersen: Bob Collins memories and more

Tom Petersen started his long media career in Milwaukee as a disc jockey, and worked at WEMP in Milwaukee, WXYZ in Detroit, KWWL-TV in Waterloo/Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at a rock station in Duluth, Minnesota, and at WGN Radio, where he worked with Bob Collins for several years. He talks about his news career, Chicago and Detroit's corruption, Bob Collins and Wally Phillips stories, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG115.mp3

Doug Cummings: from crime reporter to crime author

Doug Cummings was a TV and radio reporter in Kansas City and in Chicago at WMAQ and WGN Radio after he was a deputy sheriff near Kansas City. He talks about his career, his passion for crime stories, criminals he encountered, crime stories he covered, seeing dead bodies, how he comes up with story ideas and plots, his writing process and how he stays motivated to write, why he left radio and law enforcement, his new book, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG114.mp3

Steve Bertrand: radio rarity

Steve Bertrand has only worked at WGN Radio his entire career (from the mid-1980s), starting as an intern and currently as a news anchor. For a couple of years, he hosted the Meet the Writers podcast for Barnes & Noble, and interviewed all kinds of authors such as Stephen King, Dan Brown, Nora Roberts, Dennis Leary, and Amy Tan; he talks about what Chris Farley was like at Marquette University (they both went there); his experience with the Chicago Bears show and the 1985 Bears; fun times at WGN (he's worked with Roy Leonard, Kathy and Judy, Garry Meier, John Williams, Spike O'Dell, and Jonathan Brandmeier); how news has changed, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG113.mp3

Jordan Bernfield: sports prediction confirmed

Jordan Bernfield, who hosts Cubs Weekly, Preps Plus Chicago, Northwestern football and basketball broadcasts, and does various sports segments and fill-ins on WGN, and who I predicted would do well in the radio biz, does an update about his new on-air career and talks about hard work; how Dave Eanet, Dave Kaplan, Tom Langmyer, and a vocal coach have helped him; how he deals with haters; the difference between producing and being on air; advice for getting on the air; his obsession with the Cubs; playing guitar and cooking; his food photos; teaching a radio play-by-play class at Columbia College, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG112.mp3

Mark Carman: Doing sports again in Chicago

Mark Carman did his first podcast 100 episodes ago, and now he's back in Chicago at WGN with the David Kaplan Show. This is also the first podcast that includes play-by-play: we recorded it while he was watching the Cubs-Brewers game because he was prepping for the post-game that night on WGN. He talks about his on-air gig at KCSP/610 Sports Radio in Kansas City, where he also worked with Nick Wright; why he went to Yahoo! Sports radio in Houston, where he did a show with Doug Russell; the three upscale hostels he owns in Chicago: Oak 112, Urban Holiday Lofts, and Holiday Jones; why he got into the travel business; why he left Yahoo!; how he joined the David Kaplan Show; his resume that includes WCBR with The Naked Truth About Sports, producing at WSCR 670 The Score, being the news and sports director at WLBK, doing St. Edwards University play-by-play; what it's like to work with David Kaplan; Napgate; and more (he also did a podcast before he went to Kansas City, so he kept his promise to do another one if he'd come back to Chicago!).

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG111.mp3

JC Corcoran: St. Louis and beyond

JC Corcoran talks about his autobiographical books and if he has anger issues; his harsh experiences at St. Lawrence high school in Oak Lawn; his reputation in St. Louis; how the Riverfront Times and St. Louis Post-Dispatch lied about him for several years; why the St. Louis media has been harsh on him; why he was critical of radio legend Jack Carney; what he thinks of corporate radio; his experience at KSHE in St. Louis; management problems; why he was fired from 97Rock in Buffalo, New York; what Howard Stern was like at DC101 in Washington DC; his job at WOW in Omaha; Paul Harvey's shower; doing Top 40 in Fort Wayne, Indiana and at WILS in Lansing, Michigan; his bad experience at The Loop/WLUP; his current gigs at 93.7 KKRW/The Arrow in Houston and KFNS 590/The Man in St. Louis; lawsuits; how he deals with haters; his Twitter rants; his TV career; advice he has, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG110.mp3

John Moore: interesting Canadian radio host

John Moore is the morning host at Newstalk 1010/CFRB in Toronto. He talks about the Canadian radio scene and talk radio landscape; how he deals with listeners who disagree with him; what he thinks of American talk radio; Toronto's diversity; why Canadians pay attention to American politics; what it was like to grow up as a native English speaker in Quebec; how he learned and used French; how he got into the media; his acting career; working at CKGM; how he got a show on CFRB/Newstalk 1010; his appearances on Andrew Carter's Show on CJAD in Montreal; his voiceover work; why he likes Toronto; what he thinks of Toronto architecture; comparing Toronto and Montreal; media regulation of content and taxes; whiny Canadians; advice for going into broadcasting, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG109.mp3

Richard Milne: Music all the time

Richard Milne has been working at WXRT in Chicago since 1976, where he also hosts Local Anesthetic. He talks about how he makes decisions to air bands' music on the show; why he prefers CDs; his relationship to the Smashing Pumpkins; why Lou Reed was the most exciting on-air interview he's ever done; what he thinks of digital vs vinyl; his first radio job in WDEK in DeKalb, Illinois; how WXRT DJs can choose their own music; how he developed his business, Rank Entertainment; what makes WXRT an atypical music station and special place to work, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG108.mp3

Panda Riot: Chicago Dream Pop

Panda Riot is a Chicago dream-pop band whose music is used for this podcast. Two of the members, Brian Cook (guitar, recording) and Jose Alejandro Rodriguez (drums), talk about how they came up with the band's name; how they developed into a band; their album, She Dares All Things, where the songs used on this podcast come from; how they started with films; why they moved from Philadelphia to Chicago; the tension between New York and the Philadelphia music scene; changes in the music industry and the Internet; why they mainly tour the East Coast; if they want their music to be in movies or commercials; what motivates them; the dream pop genre; how they came up with their style; their process, how they know a song is done, and more.

Panda Riot is coming out with a new vinyl LP of Northern Automatic Music, and have previously released the CD version of Northern Automatic Music, the EP Far and Near, the 7-inch Serious Radical Girls, and the flexi-single Amanda in the Clouds.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG107.mp3

Rafer Weigel: Gracious TV Sports Guy

Rafer Weigel does sports on WLS-TV in Chicago, and talks about writing his own scripts; why producers are necessary; how acting helped his TV work; his acting career, which included playing Jenny McCarthy's neighbor on her TV show, a Charmed episode with Melissa Milano, ads for Honda and Avis, ER, Party of Five, Free Enterprise with William Shatner and Eric McCormack, and a movie with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen on Showtime; why he didn't like the acting lifestyle; writing for the Chicago Sun-Times and Los Angeles Times; what the acting biz is like; if his father, sportscaster Tim Weigel, helped him get into the media; being the "man about town" and covering the Kings for KUSI-TV in San Diego; doing news in Sacramento at KOVR-TV; doing sports at CNN Headline News with Robin Meade; what it's like to work at CNN; how he got the WLS-TV sports gig; what his dad taught him; his work with ESPN Radio; advice he has for people who want to do sports media, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG106.mp3

Matt Bubala: Producing Fun

Matt Bubala, host of Good Parenting Radio, talks about producing John Williams' show at WGN Radio; running his own business, Black Dog Radio Productions (which also syndicates Steve Dale's show), and advice for starting a business; his experience in Los Angeles producing Peter Tilden's show at KABC/KMPC and meeting famous people in L.A.; what it was like to work with and hang out with Danny Bonaduce at WKQI in Detroit; getting hired by Mitch Rosen and fired by Larry Wert; how the neighborhood near WDFN "The Fan" in Detroit was, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG105.mp3

Tara Servatius: No barriers

Tara Servatius has her own morning show on WTMA in Charleston, South Carolina, and had her own show at WRNN in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and at WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina. She talks about why she thinks she was fired from WBT, how she balances family and radio life, how consultant Valerie Geller helped her, what Charleston and Myrtle Beach are like, advice for working in the media, what it's like to be one of the few women in local talk radio, what the essence of the South is, how being a woman in radio has been a pleasant experience, the supportive men she's worked with in the biz, how she chooses topics, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG104.mp3

Pugs Moran: from Chicago to Dallas

Pugs Moran (John Myron) got his radio start in Chicago, where he was executive producer for Wendy Snyder and Bill Leff's show on Q101, Kevin Matthews' producer on AM 1000 WMVP, and created a show with Kelly Mohr on WCKG. That's where he and Kelly got fired when Steve Dahl recorded their private conversations and played them on the air. Pugs says, "Beware of meeting Superman without his cape." He talks about the support he got when he was fired, including from Garry Meier; his career in Dallas, which included a popular show with Kelly on KLLI Live 105.3 (listen to their demo here) and a brief stint at KDBN The Bone (which flipped formats); what he thinks the Chicago School of Talk Radio is; interning at Shadow Traffic in Chicago with Kathy Voltmer; working at WLUP The Loop with Mitch Rosen (who was Eddie Schwartz's producer); how the Case of the Texas Seven made Kelly and him more successful; Texas food, steak, pizza, and more. This interview was recorded during his June 13th show on Deep Ellum On Air.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG103.mp3

Corey Deitz: Long-Time Radio Guy

Corey Deitz has a popular morning show on 100.3 The Edge (KDJE) in Little Rock, Arkansas, and has worked for several years in radio all over the country, including WRVQ (Q94) in Richmond, Virginia, where his show was one of the first "zoo" formats in the country; WFYR in Chicago; WLTF in Cleveland with the "Corey, Jay and Desiree" show, and where he also worked for a "moronic" program director; and KLOU in St. Louis, where he had a "psycho" program director and did the morning show because John Records Landecker rejected that gig. He talks about how radio used to be fun, how deregulation and consolidation affected the radio business, why he got fired despite being successful, what makes a successful radio show, how 9/11 affected radio, why he and Jay Hamilton redid their show, how people responded to him in Little Rock, what he thinks about larger markets vs smaller markets, and more. He's also written several books, created jokes for Comfax and Dialogue joke service in Toledo, Ohio, and writes the About Radio website.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG102.mp3

Jenniffer Weigel: Multimedia Ace

Jenniffer Weigel talks about her work at the Chicago Tribune, for which she writes a column and appears on WGN-TV; how she got into radio; what it was like to work with Jonathan Brandmeier and Steve Cochran; her father, sportscaster Tim Weigel; her grandfather John Weigel, who founded Weigel Broadcasting; if her family's media involvement helped her own career; the lack of women in radio, her books, theater work, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG101.mp3

John Records Landecker: still having fun

John Records Landecker became famous at WLS-AM, and is now at WLS-FM. He names who he told off in the introduction of his book, Records Truly is My Middle Name, and talks about his blind dad, a German Jew who came to the US in the 1930s, drinking and drugs, his great upbringing at the University of Michigan/Ann Arbor, how Jay Leno allegedly stole his radio bit for the Tonight Show (which he called a "super coincidence"), how Jan Jeffries, VP of programming of Cumulus, brought him back to WLS-FM, Don Wade at WLS-AM and WIBG in Philadelphia, his experience at CFTR in Toronto and why he came back to the US, why his WLUP/The Loop gig didn't go so well, his success at WLS-AM, why he got a gun and numbered tattoo, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG100.mp3

Gene Honda: fun sports voice guy

Gene Honda is the public address announcer for the Blackhawks, White Sox, DePaul, Big Ten basketball and hockey tournaments, the NCAA Final Four, the Chicago Marathon, and more. He also does voice and TV work for PBS and WTTW in Chicago, After School Matters, and worked in cable TV. He talks about his radio career at WPGU in Champagne-Urbana and WLAK in Chicago, and his brief movie career, which included "The Dilemma," (for which he ironically had to audition to be the Blackhawks public address announcer), and "Opportunity Knocks," in which he played a Japanese businessman who said words his mom wouldn't translate. He also talks about Blackhawks and White Sox players, his friend Ozzie Guillen, and his dad, who was a chief architect for Marina City, River City, and Prentice Women's Hospital. And there's even more!

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG99.mp3

John Gehron: Respected radio boss

John Gehron is the COO at Accuradio and has built a good reputation at the numerous radio stations he's worked at, including WLS, where he became well-known through Garry Meier and Steve Dahl's show; Oprah Radio on satellite; Clear Channel's WNUA; CBS in Philadelphia and WCBS in New York; WCCO in Minneapolis; and WRKO in Boston. He talks about the future of online radio, consolidation, personalities such as John Landecker, Norm N Knight, Dick Heatherton, Charlie Greer, Ron Lundy, and Dan Ingraham; the East Coast vs Midwest radio scene; voicetracking, ABC management, and payola; diaries vs the PPM rating system; and American Radio Systems, which owned radio stations that he and others sold to CBS.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG98.mp3

Rick Gieser: sports radio and more

Rick Gieser has just been elected as a village trustee in Carol Stream, but also does a lot more: he's the producer of Sports Central on WGN radio, was the first morning show producer at WSCR/The Score with host Tom Shaer, does public relations for Zanies, where he has met a lot of comedians including Drew Carey and Jeff Garlin, and does PR for Monster Jam, Disney Stars on Ice, Woodfield Mall, and Ringling Bros Circus. He talks about his radio career, which started in an Amtrak train car at WDME in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and included time at WNDE in Indianapolis and WFBQ with the Bob and Tom Show. He's done a lot and has plenty of photos to prove it at his Facebook page...friend him and find out! He also brought delicious doughnuts from Sweet Mornings Cafe, which I guess you could say supplied the "craft service" for this podcast :p

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG97.mp3

Rick O'Dell: Smooth Jazz online

Rick O'Dell, creator and host of Smooth Jazz Chicago.net, talks about how he got his broadcast name (his real name is Ralph Nozaki), how Japanese was his first language, the memo his elementary school sent out when his family moved to La Grange, his career at WNUA (where he worked for almost 20 years), WPGU, WAUR, and WCLR, what he thinks of terrestrial vs online radio, Mitsuwa, and more.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG96.mp3