Smooth move puts Loni Taylor back in afternoons

Loni Taylor

Robservations on the media beat:

• Loni Taylor, one of the most familiar voices of smooth jazz radio in Chicago, is returning to afternoon drive. Starting Monday, she’ll move from the evening shift she’s held since 2010 to afternoons on WLFM-FM (87.7). She previously hosted afternoons on former smooth jazz WNUA-FM (95.5) from 1994 to 2001. Grammy winner Dave Koz is stepping down from his syndicated afternoon show on Chicago’s Smooth 87.7 to focus on his musical career. “Dave did a tremendous job, and we’ll miss him,” Rick O'Dell, program director and midday personality, said in a statement. “At the same time, Loni Taylor’s taking over Dave’s time slot, with her track record in the format and instant familiarity with our audience, was a natural. I wish all our decisions were that easy.” Evenings will be hosted by Maria Lopez, who moves up from overnights.

• Whether he intended to or not, Chicago Tribune editor Gerry Kern made news Wednesday when he publicly acknowledged the prospect of charging readers for digital content. Chicago Tribune eyes price tag for online news headlined Crain’s Chicago Business after Kern spoke in general terms to a foundation gathering about plans to “begin to charge in a selective way” for stories on chicagotribune.com. “We do have to get more money from that in the future,” he said. The Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily Herald put up online pay walls last year.

• Chicago viewers will get a bonus Tuesday after the PBS premiere of The Interrupters, a Frontline documentary on community activists who work to stem violence in Chicago. Starting at 10pm, WTTW-Channel 11’s Chicago Tonight will follow the broadcast with a special panel discussion hosted by Carol Marin and Phil Ponce. “We believe viewers will want to hear more from the key participants in the film,” said Dan Soles, senior vice president and chief television content officer for Window to the World Communications. “By producing a special edition of Chicago Tonight after the premiere broadcast, we hope to provide the Chicago audience with additional perspective about the film and discuss the key issues raised in the production.”

• Believe it or not, this finally may be the year Walter Jacobson’s autobiography is published. Southern Illinois University Press recently added Walter’s Perspective: A Memoir of Fifty Years in Chicago TV News to its online list of upcoming publications. With a foreword by longtime anchor partner Bill Kurtis, it’s due out in October. Jacobson wrote most of the book while he was between jobs in 2009. He and Kurtis were reunited as 6pm news anchors at CBS 2 the following year.

• Radio Ink salutes the husband-and-wife morning duo of Don and Roma Wade with an audio interview on how their on-air partnership evolved and how they continued to succeed on Cumulus Media news/talk WLS-AM (890). The Wades, who've been married since 1979, began on WLS together in 1985 and moved to mornings when the station switched to news/talk in 1989. “They are tireless workers, innovators, opinion shapers and two of the kindest people in or out of the radio business,” WLS operations director Drew Hayes said of them. “Don and Roma have earned a spot among the legendary morning shows in a city that has a reputation for being a great, rough-and-tumble radio market."

• Clear Channel Chicago bosses won’t say why they abruptly parted company this week with David Livingston, who’d been a sidekick to morning host Christopher Brotha’ Fred Frederick on Top 40 WKSC-FM (103.5). But they strongly denied a report that it was a cost-cutting move. “In reference to David L, he is a true professional and we thank him for his hard work,” said operations manager Tony Coles. “However, I’ll leave it at that as it is our policy not to comment on personnel changes.”