Chicago’s Smooth Jazz WNUA is Gone
May 22, 2009 – It didn’t take long for the word to get to us. Within 15 minutes of station WNUA in Chicago flipping formats, Smooth Jazz Now received hundreds of angry emails from diehard Smooth Jazz fans. One of the biggest forces in Smooth Jazz was gone.

There had been tell-tale signs that the station might be in trouble. In January two long-term personalities at WNUA, Rick O’Dell and Danae Alexander were given their walking papers sparking numerous rumors.

The station is now known as Mega 955, a Spanish AC format. They started by playing 5,000 commercial-free songs in a row.

Owner’s Clear channel blamed the format flip on "their inability to sell advertising against the Smooth Jazz format in the current radio environment for the need to switch formats at WNUA," says the Chicago Sun-Times.

There is some good news for Chicago Smooth Jazz fans, Broadcast Architecture's Smooth Jazz Network has relocated to WLFM-FM (87.7 The L) in Chicago.

Of course some people are blaming this whole mess on Broadcast Architecture who are owned by WNUA’s parent Company Clear Channel.

Smooth Jazz Now owner John Beaudin who has programmed Smooth Jazz and its predecessor, NAC since 1986 said, “I certainly don’t think Broadcast Architecture are blameless but there are a lot of factors going on here. If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten. In this case, and I know I sound like a broken record, but to freshen up the format the consultants started adding too many stale R&B vocal hits coupled with Groove/R&B instrumentals. It started relating to less people by the day. Who gives a crap about Groove instrumentals? It didn’t work. I know there’s a new Groove chart now so they’ve billboarded what’s wrong with the format and tried to make it stand on its own. Good luck with that.”

On the subject of WNUA Beaudin said, “Like KKSF last week, it’s sad when one of these huge stations fold. I’m glad the fans in Chicago will have the New “L” but trust me the answer to saving this format is not in canned Broadcast Architecture shows but who knows, let’s see what they come up with. Maybe everything will be live in Chicago.” – by Kari Graham

Rick O’Dell and Danae Alexander Ousted from Smooth Jazz WNUA Chicago
Jan. 27, 2009 – The rumors of WNUA switching formats just got louder last week with the layoffs of two of their most popular personalities, mid-day host Rick O’Dell and evening announcer Danae Alexander. Though part of Clear Channels huge 1,800 job cuts on Barack Obama’s Inauguration Day, the loss of O’Dell and Alexander should be felt considering their 20 year tenures at the station.

O’Dell, though disappointed, seemed somewhat relieved, "It's been about 40 percent disappointment, 60 percent relief, to be honest with you," he said. "They have been putting the screws to middle management in Chicago for the last five or six months so much that on the one hand it's the loss of a job, on the other it's a sigh of relief.”

"I think there are others who will feel this way too," O'Dell continued. "They had cut to the bone so severely that anyone who still had a job was essentially doing two to three jobs. ... Just three years ago, they had four separate full-time jobs for the one job that I was doing when I was let go. That's how far they trimmed. Every station in the cluster was under the gun in the same sort of way."

WNUA has also had problems in the ratings in the last 12 months. The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that “the jazz format isn't working in Chicago, where the station is among the lower-rated outlets in the market, with ad revenues to match.” The paper says “most local radio executives expect a format change at the station sooner, probably, rather than later.”

Downsizing is a sobering experience in any industry and news that O’Dell who considered WNUA his home for 20 years was escorted out of the building, a policy that unfortunately many companies have adopted borders on insulting. O’Dell said, "In 20 years of working there, there's a lot of stuff, but I put as much as I could in my gym bag.” He added, "This poor guy who works in the mailroom at Clear Channel has been given the job all day long of escorting all the people who've been laid off to the elevator and seeing them off."

Comments on the Chicago Tribune website were not pretty. Here are a few…

“You work at a place for 20 years and they escort you out with what you can carry? That is outrageous. This is so typical of Corporate America. I am a big WNUA listener and now I will remove this from my pre-set car radio channels and I will no longer listen to it while I work from my home office. I have been in Mr. O'Dell's position and I want to say it is very humiliating to have this done to you.”

“I will no longer be listening to WNUA. What a big mistake they have made!”

“Wow! What is this world coming to when someone like Rick O'Dell can be treated like a common criminal? For years WNUA has been my source of inspiration to get through the work day, now I’ll just have to find it someplace else.” - By John Beaudin