In a surprise announcement Friday, WLS-AM 890 announced that country radio legend turned talk host “Ramblin” Ray Stevens would be replacing Steve Cochran on the station’s morning drive show.
Cochran’s contract was up, and the Cumulus Media station turned to Stevens, a former fill-in host who has spent the better part of a year hosting middays at sister station KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City as its next host.
It’s a return home for Stevens, who had hosted the daypart with former WLS host “Big” John Howell after departing US 99.5 in 2016.
Ray Stevens couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity.
“WLS is a conservative radio station, and I’m a conservative guy. They needed somebody that could fill that void because everything else on that radio station lends itself to conservative radio,” Stevens told Barrett News Media. “If you go up to a Coke machine and you press Coke, a Coke better come out. And that’s what we’re gonna give (conservative listeners) in the mornings.
“We’re gonna be fair, We’re gonna talk about everything in the city that needs to be talked about. And we’re going to be involved in charity.”
The charity aspect is one that’s near and dear to Stevens’ heart. His mantra has long been “Doing good in the ‘hood,” helping people all around the Windy City however he can. It was something he missed without a radio job in the city.
“I love to be involved and if you can’t get out there and get your hands dirty and get into the communities, you are never going to be able to make a dent,” he shared. “We got to put ourselves in front of people, we got to work hard and use social media.
For the longest time, I was still doing a lot of charity work in town, but I didn’t have that behemoth of a radio signal to help me get that message out.”
The return to the news/talk outlet is one Ray Stevens is relishing, knowing that he’s better prepared for the opportunity now than he was in 2016.
“To come back and be able to have a little more experience under my belt and top world and to do it in Chicago, my hometown? I never wanted to work in L.A., I would have. I never wanted to work in New York, I would have,” he said with a chuckle. “Chicago, for me, listening to the greats that have sat in this chair … this is something that doesn’t come along very often.
“You have to cherish it. And you got to work hard for it because, at the end of the day, we’re renting this chair. And there’s always going to be the next person on this station. The listeners own this chair and I just want to do a good job for ’em. I want to do things that are relative to them, that matter to them, and not waste their time. Because we simply cannot waste their time with stuff that doesn’t matter.”
The ratings battle in the hotly contested Chicago market will be an uphill climb for WLS-AM 890. In the winter ratings book, the station earned a 0.6 share in morning drive between Cochran’s show and the first hour of The Chris Plante Show in the Persons 35-64 demographic. It jumped slightly to a 0.8 in the Persons 25-54 sector. Comparatively, WGN Radio’s morning offering from Bob Sirott garnered a 2.5 share in the Persons 35-64 demographic, with all-news WBBM scoring a 6.1 share in the same category.
It’s a fight Ray Stevens is ready to embrace.
“On WLS, the morning show is lagging behind the national programming. It’s lagging behind (Dan) Bongino, it lagged behind Chris Plante, and that needs to change,” he said. “Otherwise, why have local programming?”
He added that with a more cohesive view point — strongly slanted toward the conservative side of the political aisle — throughout the day, he believes it will only help the station grow.
“We’ll bring conservative values, if you will, to the morning show. This radio station is known for having conservative hosts that have an opinion. And we’ll bring it to them. Doesn’t mean we can’t be compassionate, doesn’t mean that we don’t care about people, because I think that’s sometimes the rap that you get if you’re a conservative.
“We will still be working in the hardest hit neighborhoods. We’ll still have people from both sides of the aisle on. But some of these politicians don’t deserve a spot on this radio station and I’m not going to give it up,” Stevens continued. “This is beachfront property and if you share our vision, well, then you’re welcome. And if you disagree with us, then call in and tell us but let’s at least have the debate.”
Ray Stevens, who will continue to host middays on KCMO, gave major kudos to the station’s Program Director and morning host — Pete Mundo — for helping prepare for this moment in his talk radio career.
“He’s taught me so much about talk radio here,” said Stevens. “You get out in your career and you think you know everything. I’m so happy that I got the chance to know Pete Mundo … You just gotta have confidence in yourself and work with people that understand you and believe in you. I really found that for the first time in my career with Pete Mundo. This guy gave me the ability to know that I could do this on this level. He gave me all the tools I needed.
“We’re not ever above learning. I think that if more people did that and relied on people that have a vested interest in them and understand that they know what they’re talking about, and that you believe in them, then when you apply what they’ve taught you — we see what’s happened in Kansas City with the ratings and the proof is right there.”
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
