More than a quarter-century after he left the airwaves at WLS-FM (94.7) and WLS-AM (890), Chicago radio veteran Steve Dahl is coming back to the latter. It will be his return to terrestrial radio after a six-year break.
As first reported Tuesday by media columnist Robert Feder, Dahl inked a three-year contract at WLS-AM (890) and will take over the 2 to 6 p.m. afternoon slot that until Wednesday was occupied by Roe Conn and Sun-Times movie columnist Richard Roeper. Their WLS partnership began in 2010.
Dahl, who starts his new gig Nov. 3, is a fixture of the Chicago broadcasting scene. Besides his WLS tenure of decades ago (with Garry Meier), he’s also an alum of WLUP-FM and WCKG-FM. Most famously and infamously, he presided over the explosive “Disco Demolition” at Comiskey Park in 1979.
“I love doing the podcast and it takes me to new places both creatively and emotionally every day,” Dahl told Feder of the “Dahlcast” he has hosted since 2009, the past few years by paid subscription. “What it can’t provide, and what I miss the most about being on the radio, is being part of the daily conversation in Chicago.”
Conn, who along with Roeper has several months left on his contract (it reportedly expires in December), addressed listeners Wednesday via his platform on the WLS-Channel 7 program “Windy City LIVE.”
“I just want to say thank you so much to the millions of people over the last 25 years who were loyal listeners to us, that made me such a big part of a radio station that I grew up listening to and that I admire so much. It’s just been a great, great run.”
Dahl, who will keep hosting his podcast, did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. Attempts to reach his agent, Steve Mandell, also were unsuccessful.
