11/28/2006

Today is a special day-any idea why? No, it’s not Walter Jacobson’s birthday- well, maybe it IS, but I’m not keeping track of that. Actually, today marks my twelfth year here at WCIU ! I came in just a little over a month before Neal Sabin and crew turned channel 26 into “the U” on January 1, 1995. Who would have expected things to skyrocket like they have since then?! This is the longest continuous job I’ve had in my entire life…and definitely a place that I feel is…home. I’ve had the opportunity to do so many different things here, being a kind of “utility” player in several different capacities, and I’m very proud to have been a member of the charter group of people who made this station “the U!” Some people didn’t realize that the station was no longer broadcasting ethnic programming, and didn’t catch our “sneak preview” of the station on that New Year’s Eve…and didn’t know I’ d be on all New Year’s day, along with the late Morton Downey Jr. hosting a Munsters marathon! From that beginning, we went on to become Chicago’s fastest-growing station- as our company, Weigel Broadcasting, has expanded and grown as well, which is why you can see my shows in Milwaukee and Michiana. We’ve added “Me-TV” locally, with all-time favorite classic programming that we all love (you KNOW that I can watch “the Honeymooners” over and over again- not to mention “Get Smart”- and…well, check out the Me-TV website for all the cool shows you’ll find there!) The fact that Svengoolie is still going strong on the station- even stronger, thanks to Mr. Sabin’s hard work at bringing in the Universal movie deal- and, I guess, that Sven is now a Chicago icon- is due to the support of the folks in charge here. So- a personal “thank you” to them- and, of course, to YOU- without your support for all these many years- I don’t think Mr. Goolie would have lasted this long. A little over a year from now, my WCIU program will have DOUBLED the amount of time that my original “Son of” program was on the air. I’m sure, if you’ve heard me interviewed, you’ve heard me say that, sadly, most broadcast stations don’t do the kinds of shows we do anymore. I’m really fortunate to be at a place where they want this type of local entertainment to continue, and that they’re letting me keep the tradition going. I’m going to go find a rubber chicken with twelve candles on it- meanwhile, please return tomorrow for more blogism. And, seriously- thanks for your support-otherwise, you’d probably be reading something else right now…or googling yourself. Didn’t I tell you to stop doing that?