WGN host brings 'Hometown' show to Palatine
WGN Radio morning host Greg Jarrett said he has spent his first 18 months on the job getting to know Chicago and its listeners.
Friday's broadcast, part of his Hometown Voices tour, was part of that effort.
Jarrett and his morning crew did Friday's show from the stage inside Durty Nellie's in Palatine. A crowd of about three dozen people stopped in for an early breakfast and to enjoy listening to Jarrett's show.
The Palatine show was the last of 10 Hometown Voices broadcasts Jarrett has done in 2010. Previous shows were held in Geneva, Barrington and Libertyville, among other locations.
“I'm still trying to learn everything I can about the area,” Jarrett said after his 8:30 a.m. signoff. “These Hometown Voices shows really help. Plus, having a live audience in front of you really brings the show alive. It's more like talking to someone face to face.”
Jarrett made sure to feature Palatine people and places during the show. The Fremd High School Chamber Singers performed two holiday songs live on the stage. Brandt's, a local tavern, was spotlighted in a short feature. And, of course, Jarrett made use of Durty Nellie's itself, going into the kitchen to cook a breakfast frittata while on the air.
A veteran newsman and broadcaster, Jarrett took over the morning-host duties at WGN in July of 2009. He replaced John Williams, who now works an early-afternoon slot. Jarrett had previously worked at KGO-AM in San Francisco.
His hiring raised some eyebrows because he was taking over a slot that historically had been occupied by established homegrown talent people like Spike O'Dell, Bob Collins and Wally Phillips. Jarrett said Friday that while he was new to Chicago, the city and WGN had long been close to his heart.
“I've been doing this for nearly 40 years, and I spent roughly half of that trying to get a position at WGN,” he said. “You have to realize that the rest of the country doesn't care about radio anymore, but Chicago does. This is a great radio town.”
And so far, the audience has been very supportive, Jarrett said.
“I knew that the WGN audience was passionate about their radio station,” he said. “The depth of that passion, though, caught me off guard. But the audience was very welcoming, and even the critical responses I got weren't mean. They just came from people who really feel strongly about their radio. Frankly, I'm delighted to be working for an audience like that.”