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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Chicago Radio: Lew Dickey Visits, No Dramatic Announcement

For the last few days, Chicago Cumulus Media employees, especially the staff of WLS 94.7 FM, were fearful about a meeting they were all invited to for Tuesday morning, according to CRM.

The meeting was to feature Lew Dickey, the Cumulus Media Chairman, President, and CEO, who was flying in from the corporate headquarters in Atlanta, GA. There was an anxiety about what the meeting would be about, since, as a general rule, CEOs of radio corporations do not normally fly across the country and call for a cluster-wide meeting at the end of the year just to wish the employees "Happy Holidays."  A nd the recent format flip for Cumulus' WDRQ in Detroit to the Country Nash FM format was on the minds of many.

As it turns out,  Lew Dickey addressed the room and wished the collected staff "Happy Holidays." No big announcements were made and no shocking additions/subtractions/changes were discussed.

CRM reports that insiders say Lew Dickey's appearance at the station was done to help boost morale at WLS 890 AM and WLS-FM, which had dropped down in the last year. Sinking ratings, sinking revenues, ever-tightening budgets, and abrasive management styles hurt the internal atmosphere at the shared State Street studios of the two iconic Chicago radio stations.

In addition, Lew Dickey is said to have some business meetings to attend while in Chicago Tuesday. Exactly what those meetings could be about and how they could impact the Cumulus Chicago cluster are being speculated by staffers.


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