Chicago Radio: News Vet Sherman Kaplan Retiring

After nearly 54 years in radio, over 46 of which have been in Chicago with WBBM 780 AM / 105.9 FM, newsman Sherman Kaplan announced his departure.

Final day on the air for the 74-year-old Kaplan will be September 22nd.

Ron Gleason, WBBM-AM Director of News and Programming, said in a staff memo announcing Kaplan's retirement: "One of the true WBBM Newsradio originals is calling it a career. Sherman Kaplan has decided to retire after more than 46 years covering the news in and around Chicago."

 Kaplan himself announced his upcoming exit on his personal Facebook page, saying:

"To all my FB friends, personal and virtual, in case you have not heard, I am leaving WBBM. My last day on the air will be September 22. I want to stress, and I genuinely mean this, I do not think of this as a retirement, but rather as a Commencement. 

I began working at WBBM in 1969, and except for an occasional medical situation and as many vacation days I could grab, it has been full steam ahead all the way.

According to CR&M, After starting out as a music DJ in 1961 in Cincinnati, Kaplan was working as a newsman at a Columbus, OH radio station, when he and his wife vacationed in downtown Chicago in the summer of 1968. When told that WBBM-AM was converting to all-news and looking to expand its staff, he visited the station while on his vacation, inquiring about a job. A few months later, Kaplan started working at the station, where he has basically remained ever since.