Since June, Ray Stevens has been pulling double duty. During morning drive, he’s been hosting a show for WLS-AM 890 in Chicago. Meanwhile, from 10 AM to Noon, he’s been on in Kansas City on sister-station KCMO.
But that changed Monday, as it was announced he would relinquish the KCMO timeslot to focus all of his attention on mornings in Chicago. In his place, the Kansas City news/talk station has launched a one-hour show hosted by former sports talk host Kevin Kietzman, in addition to airing an additional hour of the nationally syndicated Dan Bongino Show to cover the window Stevens’ was previously in.
As one can imagine, hosting two different shows, in two dayparts, in two local markets was quite the challenge for Stevens. After doing it for months, he now knows it’s time to focus his efforts on making his morning show on WLS the priority going forward.
“I loved my time at KCMO and without (program director) Pete (Mundo) and (Cumulus Media Kansas City Market Manager and Vice President) Donna (Baker), I’m not sure I get hired back in Chicago,” Stevens said. “I owe them a lot, both for their professionalism and their friendship.”
KCMO became a landing spot for Stevens. In 2016, the Country Radio Hall of Famer joined Big John Howell in mornings on the Cumulus Media Chicago station. But changes were made, and in 2019, he departed the news/talk genre.
However, he got a second chance at KCMO in 2023 after being away from the format. His return coincided with the exit of Chris Stigall from the station, leading to that new opportunity and fresh state in the news/talk genre.
Under the direction of Mundo and Baker, Stevens reshaped his sound and quickly grew an audience in the Missouri city. But when Cumulus Media and already established morning host Steve Cochran couldn’t come to terms on a new contract, Ray Stevens couldn’t say no at the chance to return to his old stomping grounds. And he didn’t want to leave Kansas City behind, either. So he did both.
And while that was manageable for a time, he knows focusing on one show is the right thing for everyone involved.
“WLS needs every ounce of my being,” he admitted. “We expect to continue with our heavy street presence. Our job is to be in every neighborhood in Chicagoland doing charity work and bringing our show to the public. To do that makes it hard to give my best to KCMO. So that’s why I relinquished my slot at KCMO.”
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.
In addition to his praise for Mundo and Baker, Ray Stevens added he’ll miss working alongside producer Mark Van Sickle, calling him “the OG of KC” and labeling him an integral part of his success in the market.
“I wish them the best and will look back at it as one of my favorite all-time gigs,” he shared. “If you don’t know Pete Mundo, get to know him. I think we will all be working for him soon. The guy is a star.”
Stevens admitted the decision to leave KCMO was a harder decision than he originally anticipated. But, in his mind, it is the correct choice and the timeline just simply no longer worked in his favor.
“If there wasn’t that hour in between where I come down from doing the morning show and then amp back up to do the two hours, I think it would have been easier to go from one to the other,” admitted Stevens. “But it’s difficult doing talk radio for five hours a day in two different markets. It’s hard.
“I’d like to be in the market again, maybe in some kind of a syndicated role, if that would allow. But to try to plug yourself in from Chicago to KC on a daily basis is tough. Chris Stigall did it for many, many years, and I give that guy a lot of props, because it’s not easy.”
Stevens added that he believes a host needs to be local to provide what the audience expects from a news/talk host.
“The only reason I left is because I feel like … for talk radio, or any radio really, to survive, you’ve got to be as local as possible. And from that standpoint, I guess (deciding to step away) was a little bit easier if you looked at it that way because you’ve got to be boots on the ground to make this stuff work. You got to do stuff that Pandora and some of the streaming services can’t do. That’s the only way radio will survive.”
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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.
