By Rick Kaempfer
SCOTT MILLER IN THE MORNING
S
cott Miller was a regular on the radio in
Chicago for several decades (WJMK,
WCKG, WGN, WDRV, News 101.1 FM,
Oprah Radio). Still, a few years ago, after his
stint at the Drive (97.1 FM) with Pete
McMurray and Dan McNeil, Miller found
himself out of work. Despite knowing just
about everyone in town, he couldn’t find a
gig.
“A friend of mine named Katherine Kelly,
who is now Katherine Murphy,” he explains,
“was also looking for a gig, and she found the
news director job at WJBC in Bloomington-
Normal (AM 1230). She came down here
mid-2018, and her first week down here, the
afternoon man quit. The PD sent out a note
asking if anyone knew someone looking for a
network, Gayle’s radio show was live on TV
every day. I was the only guy on the show, so
Gayle would have me on the air to talk about
the guy’s perspective. So, I was still a produc-
er, but I was getting on the air, and getting
that experience, recognition, and publicity.”
His on-air style emerged after a lifetime of
living and breathing Chicago radio. “I have
taken something from everybody. Steal from
all of them, and make it your own, right? I got
my start in this business at 12 years old with
Dick Biondi. I met him when I was standing
in line to get his autograph. He found out my
name was Scott Miller, and he put me on the
air to do the weather on Oldies 104.3 live from
the Auto Show in February of 1991, at the
Jeep-Eagle dealership. We became friends.
Scott Miller
gig, and Katherine recommended me.”
That led Scott on a career trajectory that
nobody saw coming, including himself.
“They hired me for afternoons in September
of 2018, and I came in like a tornado. Most of
the on-air staff at the station were 60-plus, and
I came in there as a 40-year-old full of vim and
vigor, and I made a name for myself quickly,
getting involved in the community. I called
Bingo, I went to every bar and restaurant in
town, every garage sale in town, and pretty
soon people knew who I was. Unfortunately,
the morning man Scott Laughlin was diag-
nosed with kidney cancer, and he decided to
retire to take care of his health, so they moved
me to mornings. Now I’m doing mornings
with Katherine Murphy, and this is our third
radio station together. We launched Oprah
radio together in 2006, and then we launched
FM News 101.1 together with Randy
Michaels, and now this.”
Miller had hosted shows before (in
Carbondale, and briefly in Chicago), but this
was the sort of gig he has always wanted.
Most of his time in Chicago radio, he had
worked as a producer. Although, he notes
there should be an asterisk next to that desig-
nation. “My whole life I’ve wanted to host a
radio show,” he explains. “On-air jobs are
hard to come by in Chicago, so anytime I got
a producer job that allowed me to be on the
air, I did it. Pete McMurray told me that I was
going to have the title of producer, but I was
going to be on the air with him, and I was at
WCKG, WGN, and the Drive. He always
treated me as a co-host. I was a producer for
Oprah radio too, and I produced Maya
Angelou, Gayle King, and more. Gayle had a
live two-hour show every morning on Oprah
radio. Well, when Oprah launched the TV
16 illinoisentertainer.com february 2020
After that, my parents drove me to his live
remotes at car dealerships, and I did the
weather on his show from 12 years to 18 years
old. The personal connection with the audi-
ence, the meeting, and greeting of the fans --
that’s what I learned from Dick Biondi. The
entertainment aspect, yes, I stole from Steve
Dahl, Jonathon Brandmeier, and Kevin
Matthews. I was influenced by all of them,
and I’ve luckily got to meet and work with
almost all of them.”
And what is the result? What kind of
show does he do now? “It’s news/talk. I
cover anything happening in the world. I’m
sticking to lighter topics, but I do a monthly
call with Dick Durbin, and we have our local
state reps and senators on, and we talk about
things happening in and around the commu-
nity. The Mayor comes in. Council members.
But other than that, I’m doing a normal morn-
ing show, with my own spin on it. Keeping it
fun and light and exciting.”
And Bloomington-Normal is an excellent
fit for him. “This feels so much like home,
being here. This community has really accept-
ed me quicker than I ever could have imag-
ined. There are hosts down here that have
been on these stations twenty or thirty years.
They all told me, ‘You have to take a slow
approach. It’s going to take 6-8 months before
anyone even knows who you are, so don’t get
discouraged.’ Within three months of being
here, I can’t go shopping without someone
stopping me to say hello. So, it really has
blown up, and I couldn’t be happier. There
are no rules for me. Just do well, don’t upset
the advertisers, do your thing, and we’ll let
you be. And they have. You can’t ask for more
than that!”