Chicago Radio: Morning Host Bruce St. James OUT At WLS-AM

Bruce St. James

Marv Nyren, vice president and market manager of Cumulus Chicago, confirmed that talk host Bruce St. James was no longer hosting mornings.  The development was first reported by Chicago Media expert Robert Feder.

St. James was brought in from Phoenix in November 2020 to anchor morning on N/T WLS 890 AM. His last day was Wednesday.

Chicago radio veteran Ramblin’ Ray Stevens will be filling in “until we find a permanent replacement.” according to Nyren. Judy Pielach continues as morning show contributor on WLS

“Arizona, I’m coming home,” St. James posted on Facebook. “Chicago is an amazing city and I truly enjoy it here (even with the snow!), but for a variety of reasons I need to be back in the Valley.” He added he was “looking at some different opportunities, some in radio, some not.”

According to Feder, the move up to WLS marked a career pinnacle for St. James, a native of Washington, D.C., who grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and spent more than 20 years as a host and program director in Phoenix. Earlier he worked for stations in Los Angeles and San Diego.

In the latest Nielsen Audio survey WLS ranked 27th in mornings with a 0.9 percent share and a cumulative weekly audience of 93,200. The morning show St. James inherited from Erich Mancow Muller in December 2020 was in 14th place with a 2.4 share and 133,200 weekly cume.