Chicago Radio: 'The Game' Is Over, Brandmeier, Meier OUT

WGN 720 AM is apprently shutting down its unprofitable sports talker station WGWG 87.7 LP-FM.

Chicagio media writer Robert Feder was first to report the move comes after jus nine months after being launched.   Tribune Media will cease programming on The Game 87.7 FM, at the end of the year.

According to Feder, former WGN personalities Jonathon Brandmeier and Garry Meier are out, effective immediatley.

Brandmeier’s morning show aired on The Game 87.7 and the online streaming site wgn.fm. Meier’s afternoon show aired only on wgn.fm.

Brandmeier and Meier were both moved off WGN 720 AM when president and GM Jimmy de Castro began re-tooling the heritage news/talker with personality changes.  Steve Cochran was brought in for mornings and Meier was replaced by Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder in afternoons.

WGWG 87.7 LP-FM (3Kw eff.radiated power)

A memo to staff broke the news:

A copy of the memo was obtained by the Tribune:

"We will discontinue programming of The Game and sports radio on 87.7 on December 31, 2014. WGN Radio is working to continue to produce the Kap & Haugh Show for CSN Chicago. 

We're looking to expand our sports footprint on WGN Radio as well as online and via social media. 

Our Free Form media initiative, wgn.fm, will take a different form to be an incubator for new talent, alternative conversation, and classic Chicago audio called WGN Plus in 2015. That content will all be distributed on demand at wgnradio.com. 

The final Garry Meier Show streamed live on wgn.fm yesterday." 

— Robert Channick

The Sun-Times is reporting Radio host Ben Finfer of WGWG-FM’s “Quigs and Finfer” show learned mid-show Thursday that Tribune Media was pulling the plug on the sports radio station.

The news came down not from management but from media reporter Robert Feder, who tweeted the story during Finfer’s show.

“We’re doing a live show here,” Finfer said on the air. “And to be told this way, it’s really a letdown. We’re getting screwed on this one. … We just found out on Twitter a half hour ago that the station is being taken off the air. We were not told about this ahead of time.

“We didn’t know anything about it. We were coming back from a break and saw on Twitter from Robert Feder that the station is being taken off the air. Can you believe that? A lot of really talented people were hired to work at this station and found out through Twitter that they were fired. Nothing from the bosses.

“I don’t really know what to do for the last hour of this show. I guess take calls.”