Charles Butler has left WVON in Chicago (learned indirectly through a LinkedIn update).
WVON has been THE AM station that targets the black audience on the South Side of Chicago. The station is in a convoluted mess at the moment. A little over 5 years ago, the FCC did a botched expansion of the AM dial (newer radios have 1630-1700 kHz)
WVON’s call sign meant the Voice Of the Negro before Jesses Jackson decided that was a hateful world. Clear Channel did a station swap with original WVON and gave the company behind WVON a lease on its new license at 1690 kHz. The FCC’s intent was that the expanded band license would simulcast the old frequency, and after 5 years the station had to choose which license to turn back in. However, the FCC screwed up and geographically split the pair of a rural station – or maybe it was due to political pressure.
The 5 years are up, Clear Channel wants to sell the downstate station, but can’t until court challenges or the FCC either waive the “turn 1 license back in rule” or enforce it and revoke the license of WVON – the original WVON was playing automated oldies music and in theory could be brought back.
So Charles is gone, Jesse Jackson’s daughter has a midday show, and 9 hours a day of Al Sharpton and Warren Ballentine from Radio One.
As reported a few weeks ago, Bev Smith lost her syndicator and she at one time was in the station.
Since Chicago is President Obama’s home town (when he wasn’t living in Hawaii, Indonesia, New York or Boston), in theory this station should be important in the 2012 election, but it looks like WVON is not immune to the problems facing radio