Bob Romanik, Controversial St. Louis Radio Talk Host And Station Operator, Dies At 72

Romanik (Campaign Photo 2017-18)

BOB ROMANIK, the ST. LOUIS talk show host, convicted felon, and station operator who combined extreme right-wing politics and support for President TRUMP with racist and homophobic comments on his show and lost the licenses for four AM stations after the FCC determined that he was impermissibly the de facto owner of the station licenses. died SATURDAY (5/7) in BELLEVILLE, IL at 72, reports the BELLEVILLE NEWS-DEMOCRAT.

ROMANIK, a former police officer who called himself "The Grim Reaper of Radio," operated News-Talk WQQW-A/HIGHLAND, IL; News-Talk-Oldies KZQZ-A/ST. LOUIS, MO; News-Talk-Classic Country KQQZ-A/FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, IL; and News-Talk KFTK-A/EAST ST. LOUIS, IL (LMA'd to then-ENTERCOM as a simulcast of KFTK-F), all licensed to ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TRUST and operated by his INSANE BROADCASTING CO. He hosted a daily show, "ON THE DARK SIDE," on which he proclaimed extremist views and used racial slurs and insult GBTQ+ people.

Having been convicted of felony perjury (lying to a grand jury) and bank fraud charges, ROMANIK could not hold licenses in his own name, but he operated the stations under an LMA with the licensee, a trust (ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TRUST) the FCC determined was a front for ROMANIK. The licenses were revoked and the call letters were deleted by the FCC in 2020. He also ran for a seat in the ILLINOIS House of Representatives in 2016.

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