Audacy announces that all-news and news/talk radio pro Craig Schwalb will take over as brand manager and news director for WBBM Newsradio on January 23, succeeding the retiring Ron Gleason. In this role, Schwalb will oversee content strategy, talent, operations and branding for the station. Audacy Chicago VP of programming and operations Greg Solk tells TALKERS, “When Ron Gleason announced his retirement last summer, we knew we had a major challenge in replacing him, since Ron has been the driving force behind WBBM for nearly two decades. We believe we have struck gold in tapping Craig Schwalb as WBBM’s new brand manager. Craig’s vast experience in news and spoken word formats, most recently running content and operations at WTOP in Washington, gives him the ideal skill set to lead this brand and drive innovation and growth for Chicago’s most trusted news voice.” Schwalb comments, “The chance to lead WBBM is an incredible opportunity that doesn’t come around often. It brings me back to my home state and to a city that I adore, while working with the team behind one of the nation’s elite news radio brands. Thank you to Jeff Sottolano, Rachel Williamson, Greg Solk and Bill Smee for their support in allowing me the honor of leading this great station.”
