Johnny with
Blackhawks Jonathan Toews, Daniel Carcillo, and Chris
Pisani, the Blackhawk Jig Guy!
Season
Finale of "BRANDMEIER" on NBC
December 16th
Friday night/Saturday morning at 1:05am on NBC5 Repeats
on Friday at 7:00pm, 10:00pm &12 midnight on NBC Chicago
Nonstop (Digital Channel 5.2; Comcast Channel 341; WOW Channel
130 and RCN Channel 50)
Johnny's
first words on WGN when he dropped in on Garry Meier's
December 2nd show:
"To
me, radio is so enjoyable. You plug and you play. There
should be no one else. And then just talking to the caller,
letting them tell you what's going on out there. You think
the governor's nuts, the mayor's nuts? The audience is
so untapped funny. That's what I love the most, is seeing
what they are up to out there."
Will
Johnny B. change WGN — or will WGN change Johnny
B.?
On
that question hinges the future of the Chicago Tribune’s
87-year-old radio flagship and millions of dollars in
advertising revenue. Ready or not, after a courtship that
began more than 20 years ago in a secret meeting at the
Fairmont Hotel, Jonathon Brandmeier and news/talk WGN-AM
(720) finally consummated the deal that few believed would
ever get done.
"Brandmeier’s
status as “an iconic Chicago personality”
made him a perfect fit... Meier welcomed Brandmeier back
to Chicago’s airwaves during an on-air, off-the-wall
interview on WGN- Friday evening. Brandmeier gave listeners
a taste of his wackiness, bouncing from topic to topic..."
"Jonathon
Brandmeier is a Chicago superstar and we're thrilled to
have him on the air, at the station where he belongs,"
said Tom Langmyer, WGN Radio's vice president & general
manager. "Johnny's high energy, humor and unique
Chicago experience make him an exceptional fit as 'The
Voice of Chicago' evolves with another generation of listeners."
"Listeners
can expect a show that's heavy on the fun, energy and
unique brand of interviews Johnny B has always been known
for. It should attract a younger audience, which would
translate into more advertising dollars for WGN radio."
"If
Brandmeier has a particular genius, it is borrowed wisdom
from generations of entertainers who have recognized the
inherent audience appeal of real people expressing honest
emotion... He doesn't perform so much as he reacts--to
the newspapers, supermarket tabloids and the calls and
letters from his listeners."
JONATHON
BRANDMEIER
is one of America’s top radio personalities.
Brandmeier awards
include:
Radio’s
highest honor; the Marconi Award for Major Market Air
Personality of the Year
Multiple
Billboard Magazine Radio Personality Awards
Named one of Talker Magazine’s “100 Most Important
Radio Hosts in America.”
WHAT
THE INDUSTRY SAYS ABOUT JONATHON BRANDMEIER
•“Jonathon
Brandmeier (“Johnny B”), easily among the
medium’s Top Threeconsistently most hilarious/spontaneous
entertainers and likewise one of the most brutally conscientious
performers in this industry’s history.”–Ad
Week
•“Part
of his on-air persona includes being as top-shelf an
interviewer as exists in radio. Aspiring talents should
be required to listen to the interview clinic he offers
every day.”–Inside Radio
•“Phrases
like ‘frenetic energy’and ‘human dynamo’don’t
remotely do Johnny B proper justice.”–Billboard
•“The
apotheosis of a class clown: funny because he is fearless,
conspiratorial, mischievous and deliciously unpredictable.
He brings out the most extraordinary and peculiar behavior
in people, allowing them and himself to weave effortlessly
across the boundaries of taste and sensitivity.”–Chicago
Magazine
•“Brandmeier’s
show captivated the media and countless onlookers: He
convinced Mario Wallenda, a paralyzed survivor of the
“Flying Wallenda” family, to cross the Chicago
River in a motorized wheelchair on a wire 100 feet in
the air…you cannot appreciate Brandmeier’s
ability to convey the excitement, the danger, the fun
and the utter absurdity of the situation –all
at the same time. Everyone who does radio could learn
a thing or two from the master.”–Chicago
Sun-Times
•“Brandmeier
is the champion of the common man, he makes the mundane
extraordinary.”–Crain’s Business
