After announcing in early April its intent to shut down Urban Alternative “Vocalo 91.1” W216CL /WBEZ-HD2 Chicago and 89.5 WBEW Chesterton IN on May 1, the radio format will live on a bit longer.
WBEZ first extended the station’s run through the end of May before announcing on Friday that the station will continue on-air indefinitely. However, only two of its hosted shows will continue with afternoon host Nudia Hernandez from 1-5pm weekdays and its Spanish language “Domingos En Vocalo” hosted by Jesús Echeverría on Sundays. The remainder of the shows will end today including Mornings With Bekoe, The Windy City Hour, The 5 O’Clock Mix, the Friday Night DJ Series and This Is What Chicago Sounds Like.
WBEZ announced the planned shut-down at the start of April as part of layoffs that also eliminated its Content Development Unit, business reporting at the Chicago Sun-Times, and its fellowship program. The station noted at the time that after 17 years of operation running at a significant financial loss for many years, Vocalo only had a weekly audience of 11,000 listeners. The brand will continue as a digital platform with two staffers moving to WBEZ’s Arts & Culture unit to cover Chicago music and events while continuing to manage its “The Goods” newsletter, which has grown to over 50,000 subscribers.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com