When Radio’s Human Voice Goes Missing

Radio can be such a personal medium that its a bit of a shock when its cold, corporate face shines through. News broke this week that Wendy Snyder, part of Steve Dahl’s show for awhile, has been quietly fired. The only mention on the show was Dahl’s “she’s not coming back” answer to a caller’s inquiry. Odd that, on a show based largely on the personal lives its hosts, Snyder can become an unmentionable non-entity overnight.

Matt from Chicago Radio & TV asks “whether the move was a cost-cutting measure on the part of the CBS-owned station or whether there was a personality conflict between Dahl and Snyder. Either way, Snyder’s departure can’t be a positive sign for the struggling station.”

Maybe her salary can be put towards the Garry Meier fund?

(Public radio, by contrast, is not know for its personal voice– what do you know about Steve Inskeep’s favorite TV show or music? Neverthess, listeners were told this week that local WBEZ  morning host Lisa Labuz is out on maternity leave.)

A Final (?) Word on Steve and Garry

I needed a couple of days, but I finished off the podcasts of Friday’s (apparent) impromptu Steve Dahl-Garry Meier reunion. Conclusion: Dahl is a lot funnier with Garry than without. As I startled fellow bike commuters with my laughter, I was reminded by a comment that Roger Ebert once made; that Garry’s oddball interstitials are more likely to provoke audible guffaws than are Steve’s comments.

Top Chicago Radio Moments of 2006

Despite youtube, podcasts, globs and all the rest, local media is still the best. Pending the unveiling of the Secret Radio Project, here are my favorite Chicago radio happenings for the year, in reverse order:

• Jonathan Brandmeier returns to Chicago’s airwaves on WLUP and a weekly podcast. As a bonus, he’s funny–  unlike his last stint in LA.
• El Pistolero is central to the organization of the March immigrant rights march, which sparks a national movement.
• Steve Dahl podcasts.
• WLUW continues to survive.
• After a 13-year separation, Garry Meier joined his former partner Steve Dahl. (The Sour Kraut briefly summarized the break-up.)

[If you did not listen to Chicago radio in the 80s, you can skip the rest of this post.]The Tribune carried Phil Rosenthal’s report above the fold (of the website at least).

There’s hope for peace in the Middle East yet. Apparently anything can happen.

One of Chicago media’s oldest, most bitter feuds came to a surprise halt Friday as estranged radio partners Steve Dahl and Garry Meier ended their acrimonious split of 13 years with an unplanned on-air reunion.

From the Sun Times:

Pigs flew, lightning struck twice and hell froze over Friday when former radio superduo Steve Dahl and Garry Meier teamed up on the air for the first time since their acrimonious 1993 breakup.

I don’t hold out much hope for this reunion being much more than a one-off. Steve seemed to be on the point on ripping Garry when it appeared he had left the area without coming onto the air. And he managed to bring Garry’s wife into the mix, which seems to be what prompted the radio duo’s 1993 break-up. From Dahl’s blog:

Garry is quite good at being the second person on a show. Sadly, he might have married someone who wants him to be the number one person…Think of Friday as breakup sex. You know, one last time so we can both move on.

And Dahl quoted in the Tribune: “He’s sort of been the one that’s been more standoffish than me…Who’s going to pay Garry? That’s the $12 million question.”
I just hope that they don’t wind-up like the 85 Bears reunion, with odd marketing schemes and strange public events. (The reunion can be downloaded from Dahl’s site, the show aired on 8/18.)