WKTI/Milwaukee Hires Karen Dalessandro
Scripps Country WKTI/Milwaukee was touting a major announcement regarding its newly vacant afternoon drive shift, and this morning at 7:10, the station delivered, announcing the hire of market vet and Country Radio Hall of Famer Karen Dalessandro as KTI Country’s new afternoon personality and Music Director, beginning Wednesday, September 27. Dalessandro is a two-time CMA Personality of the Year who notably spent 19 years in mornings on iHeartMedia rival WMIL (FM106) until she “retired” in March.
“I made the switch to 94.5 KTI Country to join a staff that’s excited about Country music, committed to winning and actually living in Milwaukee,” Dalessandro remarked. “It’s refreshing to see this kind of radio still exists… GM Tom Langmyer and PD Ryan Wild deserve much credit for believing that real people doing real radio is important to the community they serve. I spent 19 years hosting Milwaukee morning radio, so to continue my career as music director/afternoons at WKTI is more than I could have imagined!”
Langmyer commented, “KTI Country is proud to be the Local Country station –and Country listeners in Wisconsin know and love Karen. She is an incredibly talented broadcaster. Karen is the most credible Country voice in the market, is the best known and lives for doing good in our community. We’re proud she’s on our team.” PD Ryan Wild added, “KTI Country is fundamentally different from the competition, which is more generic. Outside of the morning show, our competition is automated, using out-of-town voice trackers. We’re committed to playing the most Country every day while having the most fun on the radio with real people. With Karen on board we prove to Wisconsin Country fans that we’re the hometown station.”
• To celebrate Dalessandro’s imminent arrival, the WKTI has temporarily rebranded as “94.5 Karen Country” — backed up with an ambitious billboard campaign — as the station counts down to her first show at 2pm on Wednesday, September 27.
• West On The Loose: Dalessandro succeeds Jonathan “JW” West, who exited WKTI last Friday after nearly a year in the afternoon air chair.
West has been doing weekends at Hubbard Radio Hot AC WTMX (101.9 The Mix)/Chicago, and his earlier on-air stops include WUSN (US 99)/Chicago, KQRS/Minneapolis and WWJO and KZPK/St. Cloud, MN. West is now seeking his next radio opportunity and can be reached at 320-774-9300 or jswest33@yahoo.com.
