By Rick Kaempfer
BREAKING THE MOLD ON WLS
F
or seven months, Jenniffer Weigel occu-
pied a co-host chair in Mancow’s stu-
dio at WLS. She already knew him
socially but was impressed by seeing
Mancow work firsthand.
“He works very hard on his show,” she
says. “He’s the first one there every morning.
Watching him run the board is like watching
someone with ADD fly an airplane. It’s real-
ly impressive. I have great respect for what
he’s accomplished with his career.”
And yet, after trying to mesh their styles
and approaches for a few months, they real-
ized it wasn’t the perfect fit. “We had very
different ideas about content, so I thought it
was best to go our separate ways.”
Luckily for Jenniffer, the management at
There are so many people who helped create
this town. I’ve worked at just about every
station in town, both on TV and radio and
[at] both newspapers. I’m going to tap into
my Rolodex from all of those places and give
everyone a platform. It’s going to be Chicago
through and through.”
Even though WLS is a conservative polit-
ical-talk station, don’t expect a lot of political
talk on Jenn’s new show. “You are not going
to hear me talk about Trump this or Obama
unless something is breaking. I did a show
called “Jen and Mary” during the Bush
years, and we gave people an oasis to laugh
and relax, and that’s the type of environment
we tried to create. I'd like to do that again - a
break from the mayhem, and an attempt to
Jenniffer Weigel
WLS didn’t want to lose her, and they gave
Weigel her own show. It debuted in October,
and it’s a little different than the other shows
in the station lineup. Jenniffer definitely has
a vision for what she wants the show to be.
“I’m Chicago through and through,” she
says. “I think deep-dive conversations on the
radio are interesting and compelling. I’m
looking forward to having in-depth conver-
sations with people who are making a differ-
ence. The content is everything from authors
to entertainers to lawmakers to chefs. We’re
not going to be a blow horn about things
people want to complain about. I want to be
positive, to make people laugh, to really con-
nect with the listeners, and let them have
their say. I’m super-excited to connect with
the listeners. I’m them. I’m a single mom,
and when I was getting up at 4:30 to go
work, there wasn’t a community to get
involved in. I want to be that community for
the hours my show is on, and I want it to be
compelling for the people who listen to it on
demand. I want people to be inspired, laugh,
contribute, and go to bed. That’s my goal,
and that’s what I’m working hard to create.“
Focusing is on the positive will come as no
surprise to people who have followed Weigel
and her career.
“My brand is all about being positive and
lifting people up, and that’s what I try to
bring to everything I do. To look at what is
working, as opposed to focusing on what is
broken. Research proves that when you hear
something inspiring, it makes you want to
inspire others. It's science. Why wouldn’t
people want more of that?”
She also plans on having lots of guests on the
show. “Every week, I’m going to have as
many people live in the studio as possible.
Pam Zekman, John Landecker, Bill Kurtis.
16 illinoisentertainer.com november 2019
find solutions. I know it sounds like I’m run-
ning for office, but heck no! I am not running
for office!”
If she had to choose one thing she is striv-
ing to avoid, it’s anger. And she points out
that anger is not just the domain of one side
of the political spectrum. “I interviewed
Deepak Chopra years ago, and he said, even
the people who are protesting for peace are
angry. They are adding anger to the pot.
Even if you think you’re right, if you’re
angry – you’re still angry. There will be
nobody screaming their opinions.”
Weigel is, of course, considered broad-
casting royalty in this town. Her father Tim
was a beloved sportscaster, and her brother
Rafer also works in the business--he’s with
Fox 32 in the morning. I asked Jenn what her
father, who passed away many years ago
now, would think of his children’s careers.
“Lately, Rafer and I were on the same sched-
ule. We both started the morning shift at 4:30
on March 4th, which was my dad’s birthday.
I felt like that was a little wink from my dad.
When that happened, Rafer and I were on
the same clock, and we began to text and call
each other a lot more. It was fun to have
someone you know and trust that well on the
same schedule. He’s going to come on my
show once a week (Fridays). Every Friday,
we do a little Weigel weekend talk and shoot
the breeze. I’m really looking forward to that.
We emceed a gala together a few months
ago, and people were coming up to us say-
ing--Why aren’t you two working together? I
had to say, ‘You know, that’s a great question.
I have no idea. We have to rectify that.”
Consider it rectified.
You can hear Jenniffer Weigel’s show on WLS (AM
890) every weekday from 10 pm--Midnight, and on
Friday nights, you’ll be able to hear Rafer Weigel too.