Matthew Erich Muller, better known to Chicagoans as Mancow, the shock jock who ruled the city's airwaves in the '90s, will soon be returning to radio on Elmhurst-based WJJG.
Muller, formerly of "Mancow's Morning Madhouse" which first hit Chicago on WRCX in 1994, set up shop at Q101 until the station dropped him in 2006, after 8 years of his edgy morning chatter had begun to scare off advertisers. Unwilling to be silenced, Muller spent the intervening years broadcasting locally, with the nearest affiliate station out of Rockford, and spent just over a year co-hosting a morning show with Pat Cassidy for WLS-AM (890) until February 2010, Robert Feder reports in Time Out Chicago.
When Q101 closed its doors in July, the vocal host responded with his characteristic hyperbole.
“They had ratings with me, but they never appreciated what they had,” he told Time Out. “I found them to be a bunch of selfish, unappreciative people when I worked with them. Lazy, miserable, ultrahip nobodies who loved to hear themselves talk. They’d celebrate this local music show [Local 101] with ten people listening, and over here you’ve got Mancow with millions. Why was I not the hero? I’ll never know.”
Muller's new gig will consist of weekday morning and afternoon drive shows, airing live from 7 to 10 a.m. and be rebroadcast from 1 to 4 p.m. on weekdays, Crain's Chicago Business reports. WJJG General Manager Matt Dubiel advocated for the host, whose show has already secured three of the 10 advertising sponsorships they're expecting. Muller says he's confident the show will grow beyond WJJG's expectations
“So when a radio maverick like Matt asked me to air 2x a day I said yes," Muller said in a release. "Six hours of Mancow a day is not enough but it's a start."
The Elmhurst-based WJJG bills itself as "Chicago’s Hometown Station."
Flickr photo by holga_new_orleans.