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Published on Wednesday, 18 August 2010 00:14
Well... that didn't take long...
Just a matter of days after finding out that his
WBBM-TV morning show has been canceled and set to end on August 27th, Mike North has already found new employment. Tuesday afternoon, Premiere Radio Networks and FOX Sports
announced the hiring of Mike North for a future show on the FOX Sports Radio Network.
Mike North has been part of the Chicago media landscape since 1990, when he would do the weekly "NFL Handicap Show" on WSBC-AM. Less than two years later, he was among the founding personalities of The Score sports radio station, where his fame & popularity soared for a few years. In addition to radio, North has been part of Chicago TV for many years. His most recent televised work began as "Monsters in the Morning" on Comcast SportsNet, which a year later morphed into "Monsters & Money in the Morning" on WBBM-TV. The extremely low-rated morning show was canceled this month, just under seven months after it began. North has been on "vacation" since the cancellation announcement and is not expected back to be on any of the remaining shows.
Mike North has won two local Emmys for his television work. He has won numerous awards for his radio work, especially in the late 90's and early 2000's. He has received many other honors including being named the first radio broadcaster inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and being named "Man of the Year" by the Softball Hall of Fame.
In today's statement, Mike North expressed his excitement over this latest opportunity for him: "I've always wanted to broadcast on a national network, so this is a dream come true. To be heard in over 300 markets, as well as on XM Satellite Radio, is huge. Dan Patrick and JT 'The Brick' are friends of mine, so it's exciting to join them on FOX Sports Radio."
Don Martin, FOX Sports Radio Network's Vice President & General Manager, added: "We couldn't be happier to have Mike join the FOX Sports Radio family. His credentials in sports talk radio speak for themselves."
North's hiring by FOX Sports is the latest in a string of somewhat surprising hirings and moves by the radio network. Last week, Fox Sports Radio
hired Pat O'Brien -- most famous for being a host on tabloid TV shows "Access Hollywood" and "The Insider," and also for leaving x-rated voice mails for female friends while under the influence of drugs & alcohol -- even though he does have some sports reporting in his background. The network
recently announced that it will begin to nationally syndicate the former Loop DJ, Zakk Tyler (now going by Dominic "Zakk" Zaccagnini) on a new sports morning program, "The Zakk and Jack Show". Many FOX Sports Radio fans are still upset by the replacing of Steve Czaban with Stephen A. Smith, which happened months ago.
Details of Mike North's new show -- such as the show's name, the show's other contributors, what time it will air, which FOX Sports Radio affiliates will carry it, and so on -- will be revealed in a few weeks. Currently, no Chicago radio station carries FOX Sports Radio Network programming. Far west suburban WBIG-AM carries a small amount of FSRN programming, but only limited amounts of it overnights and some on weekends. Full programming can still be heard by Chicagoans
online and via XM-Sirius Satellite Radio.
On his newly revamped
website, Mike North today said, "Hey Folks, I'll be starting at Fox Radio soon and am really looking forward to it. Want to thank Don Martin of Fox and my guy, Jeff Schwartz for getting it done. We've always said XM concentrates on the coasts and ignores the Midwest. Well, we will cover the national sports scene like a blanket, but Chicago and the Midwest will be represented big time!"
