Northern Illinois's Shaw Media Purchase Of 8 Local Radio Stations Complete

Sale Of Stations Complete

The sale of eight radio stations to SHAW LOCAL RADIO was completed on MONDAY (4/3), bringing the stations under the umbrella of the NORTHERN ILLINOIS newspaper group, SHAW MEDIA. The stations, which consists of Country WALS (WALLS 102)/OGLESBY; Top 40 WIVQ/WSTQ (Q Hit Music 997 & 1033)/SPRING VALLEY; Oldies WSPL-A, Classic Hits WYYS (Classic Hits 106)/STREATOR; Classic Country WGLC/MENDOTA; Classic Rock WBZG (100.9 FM Rocks)/PERU; and 98.6 W253BX/STREATOR, were purchased from the family-owned STUDSTILL MEDIA of PERU. The purchase price was $1,800,000. BOB HEYMANN of the CHICAGO office of MEDIA SERVICES GROUP served as the exclusive broker for the seller in this transaction.

Listeners should not anticipate any major changes to the stations, said SHAW MEDIA Pres./JOHN RUNG. “There are no plans to change the formats." he said.

SHAW LOCAL RADIO has hired HERB CODY as its VP and Market Manager for the local market. CODY, who will begin in MAY, was most recently in southern WISCONSIN where he served as VP and Market Manager for QUEENB RADIO. CODY has more than two decades of radio experience, holding positions as a consultant, radio host and account manager.

RUNG said of the purchase, "This move made a lot of sense for us, because these were a group of family-owned, very well-run, very well-respected radio stations, not a part of a larger entity. The STUDSTILL family did a great job, we’re hoping to continue their legacy and we’re going to be careful not to do anything that messes that up.”

COLE STUDSTILL added, “The family would like to thank our listeners for allowing us in their cars, their homes, and their workplaces, ever since my older brother and his wife came to LA SALLE COUNTY when we purchased WGLC back in 1988. In the years since, we’ve had the opportunity to add six more stations, and in some ways I’m sad, personally, to leave radio, which has been a part of my life since I was 9 years old. But I’m happy the people at SHAW saw fit to include our stations into their organization. We’ve been most impressed with the people at SHAW, and know they will continue to maintain, and improve on, our focus on serving the listener.”

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