Greg Jarrett Is Best With WGN Radio Volume Turned Off

Picture from Robert Feder site linked to in story.

UPDATE–Steve and Johnnie rumored to be leaving WGN radio.

Lets face it, things could only be worse if  Greg Jarrett were on television.

Isn’t there another soccer match anywhere in the world that we can pay Greg Jarrett to attend, and have him off the WGN airwaves?  The best weeks recently for morning radio in Chicago were the ones Jarrett spent in South Africa.  “Bob” Sirott filled in for the ego-driven Jarrett, and radio listeners were allowed the warmth, candor, and humor of a real broadcasting talent.  Best of all Sirott was CLUED into the city he lives in………which leads me to the latest WGN embarrassment.

Greg Jarrett knows far less about Chicago than I do, and I reside in Madison, Wisconsin. I have never…..ever…..heard such a pompous know-it-all on radio, when in reality he is not well-versed on Chicago in any way.  There are times that I just want to shake the radio!  Greg Jarrett proved again big-time why he is not suited for the Windy City, and now all are laughing over the egg Greg Jarret has on his face.  When  Greg Jarrett  plopped his over-sized butt and ego into the morning chair of WGN radio there were hundreds of thousands wondering what the heck happened.  This was the same place that Wally Phillips once called home!  Anyone who has that spot on the AM dial needs to have  better pulse of the city than to suggest that Bill Kurtis was not a Chicago institution with a local address.   For that truly stupid remark came this volley from the pen of Robert Feder.

Greg Jarrett again proved why he’s unfit to host mornings on the Tribune Co.-owned news/talk station:

“Bill, are you going to be living in Chicago again?” Jarrett asked. “I mean, you’re going to be on TV every night at 6.”

Living in Chicago again? Are you kidding me? It’s not clear where Jarrett thought Kurtis has been living for the last quarter-century. (In New York? On his ranch in Kansas? On the moon, perhaps?) But it is clear that Jarrett didn’t have a clue that Kurtis and his longtime partner, Donna LaPietra, have been one of Chicago’s most prominent and influential couples in media, social and civic circles since Harold Washington was mayor

It’s been more than a year now since Jarrett got off the bus from San Francisco and stepped right into the WGN morning job — arguably the most venerated and important radio position in Chicago — without one day’s prior experience in the market. From the moment he signed on here, he’s shown a penchant for parading his ignorance of local personalities and places. Nevertheless, his bosses repeatedly have defended their decision to hire him, even as they recently announced plans to cut his show back by 30 minutes. At least that’s a step in the right direction.

Somewhere, you just know, Wally Phillips and Bob Collins are weeping.