FREE RADIO: STILL KICKING


My parents, who divorced in 1972, will never get back together -- they're dead -- but there's hope for the pioneering radio duo of Steve Dahl and Garry Meier.

Their 1993 split was almost as devastating for me.

Steve has been coasting ever since.

Garry has been off the air since my second trip to Mysore in 2004, when he turned down an unsatisfactory contract renewal (negotiated by his wife) and he split up with then-partner Roe Conn.

But Robert Feeder's column today shows there's still hope:

WCKG opening door for Garry's comeback

March 20, 2007
BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist
Garry Meier, whose Chicago radio career crashed and burned when he left news/talk WLS-AM (890) in 2004, could be rising from the ashes like the proverbial phoenix. If all goes as planned, he'll soon turn up on the same frequency as his former partner, Steve Dahl.

CBS Radio "Free FM" WCKG-FM (105.9) is expected to make room on its weekday lineup for a late-morning talk show to be hosted by Meier. With widespread speculation heating up on Internet message boards and chat rooms, an official announcement could come this week.

The move wouldn't quite reunite Dahl and Meier, who were a smash duo for 14 years before their bitter breakup in 1993. But it would provide WCKG bosses with some tantalizing promotional opportunities at a time when the station desperately needs a boost.

A one-time walk-on by Meier on Dahl's show last August made local TV newscasts and front-page headlines.

Except for occasional guest shots and courtroom appearances, Meier has been out of the public eye since he turned down a contract renewal at ABC-owned WLS and severed his eight-year partnership with afternoon host Roe Conn.


Steve and Garry first got together in 1979, when they did "crosstalk" between their radio shows. It was so engaging that Meier started doing news on Dahl's show. He went on to become Dahl's (subservient) partner. They split up because he wanted a more equitable arrangement.

Now at least more crosstalk is possible.....