Media: November 2020
When you have already been inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the National Radio Hall of Fame, and you are featured in the radio wing of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you might think that there isnāt really anything left to accomplish. But when John Records Landecker recently got a call from WGN Radio, he didnāt look at it that way.
āIn my memoir Records Truly Is My Middle Name, I wrote that I would never go back to do a nightshift at a music station,ā he says. āI admit I did think about that when they called me about this show. But this is nothing like what I was doing previously (on WLS FM). The marching orders I was given here was ādonāt lose the licenseā and āmake it to the top of the hour ID on time.ā Thatās it. Hmmm. They addressed every concern I had. I thought to myself, if I believed everything I ever told myself I could do if I didnāt do it now, then when? Even if I bomb, at least I gave it a shot. I mean, this is WGN! At night. What an opportunity!ā
If there was one itch he hadnāt fully scratched in his amazing career, WGN was it.
āWGN has always been the top of the radio pyramid as far as Iām concerned. Iāve gone in and out of here several times over the years, and nothing ever came of it. This time is different. In a way, this is a culmination of everything Iāve ever done in radio, with another opportunity to use everything Iāve learned, go in with a great attitude, and begin with a clean slate. Itās a matter of experience. The way weāre doing this is very low stress, and thatās such a nice change of pace from previous stops.ā
One important change was he was being permitted to do his type of show. He wasnāt being shoehorned into a show that didnāt feel right for him. He calls this newest incarnation āThe John Landecker Radio Oasis.ā
āI knew that I did not want to be confrontational or political,ā he explains. āI didnāt want to be discussing rioting with aldermen, or finances with Terry Savage, or medical developments with some doctor from Northwestern on a regular basisāif at all. I wanted to stay away from the stories that are causing people to grind their teethāthe grim reality everyone deals with every day. And I was thinking that a lot of people are driving while they listen, and when you drive down the toll road, and you run into an oasis, you know that you can stop there and relax. You can leave the pressure of driving behind. Have a cup of coffee or something, go to the bathroom, chill out and take it easy, if just for a short time. When youāre in the desert, and you see an oasis, you know you can get water, even though youāre still in the desert. This is the radio version of that. Iām trying to be fun in the middle of un-fun. I donāt think thereās really anything like this on the radio anywhere these days.ā
And this time it really feels different for John.
āThe first huge difference is that WGN radio is the only radio station owned by Nexstar Media. All those past radio stations I worked for were owned by radio conglomerates that owned multiple radio outlets in the same city, dividing the workforce between those outlets. You werenāt asked to work for one station. No, no, no. You had to work for five. Engineers, promotions, sales, and more were doing at a minimum, double duty. Thatās the biggest difference so far here at WGN. Thereās only one owner. You have a direct line to the very top of the company. Thereās no bureaucracy in between. If I want to talk to Sean Compton, I can just call him up.ā
And he likes the atmosphere amongst his colleagues.
āThereās a real camaraderie at WGN among the personalities. Itās a much more enterprising WGN. They arenāt tied down to pre-conceived notions of ways of doing things. They just converted the 4-7 block into an afternoon news block with Steve Bertrand. Theyāve got John Williams doing jokes. Bob Sirott doing giveaways. Itās a fun station that doesnāt take itself nearly as seriously as it used to unless, of course, we are doing news. Everything else is friendly, not overtly political, and full service. I love the atmosphere.ā
After being a music jock for most of his career, he calls this new type of show a hybrid.
āWGN has a limited deal with the licensing companies, and so we can only play 90 seconds of any song before violating the licensing deal. Iāve been doing edited versions of songs that last less than 90 seconds. They all have a beginning, middle, and end. Iām calling this the attention-deficit-disorder playlist. Some stations play the best music. Some play the most music. We play the shortest music. Itās been fun. People are getting into it.ā
One person getting into it the most is John Landecker himself.
āI donāt want sound too saccharine, but this has been a blessing. An unexpected gift out of nowhere.ā
John Landecker can be heard from 7-10 pm weeknights on WGN Radio (720 AM).
– Rick Kaempfer
