Gale Upped To News Director At WLS/Chicago
• Nick Gale has been upped to News Director for Cumulus News-Talk 890 WLS-AM/Chicago. He will continue to serve as morning drive news anchor, and succeeds local legend John Dempsey, who retired on Dec. 23.
A native of Glenview, IL, Gale caught the radio bug in 1994 at Glenbrook South High School’s WGBK-FM. He went on to work as News Director at a five-station group in LaSalle-Peru, IL, and later as a reporter and anchor at WOKV-AM/Jacksonville, FL before coming home to Chicago and spent six years with the Illinois Radio Network. He also worked part-time at WLS before joining full-time in 2013.
Stephanie Tichenor, PD of 890 WLS-AM, said, “There’s a spot in Chicago, below Michigan Ave., where the sun rarely shines, and the conversation is always flowing. It’s the Billy Goat Tavern, a haven for the kings and queens of Chicago print and on-air journalism, and it’s where, for the past eight years, Nick Gale has ordered a fried egg sandwich to go as he began the short walk to the NBC Tower to start his news shift at 890 WLS-AM. Nick, like the Billy Goat Tavern, is reliable, relatable and fulfilling. That is why he’s the perfect person for the News Director position at 890 WLS-AM. He is exactly what Chicago news needs right now and I look forward to working with him to enhance our news product for our listeners.”
Gale commented, “As the great John Dempsey signs off, it is humbling to even have been considered for the position that he and others synonymous with Chicago radio and WLS have held (think Jennifer Keiper, Steve Scott, Bud Miller). I’m proud to say that all have been my mentors over the years (thanks, Bud, for setting up a tour of the station with Steve when I was just a kid in college; thank you, Jen, for giving me a chance all those years ago; and Dempsey… well… you’re just the best! Congrats on your retirement!).” Gale added, “I have big shoes to fill and look forward to working with our newsroom team in keeping the ‘Big 89’ a place where Chicago can turn to for all the news and information they need through the day. Thank you to Stephanie, Marv and the rest of the management team at Cumulus for the opportunity.” [Photo from Twitter]
