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Nov 21, 2008 1:08 pm US/Central
Eddie & JoBo Out At B96 Radio
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Ed Volkman and Joe Bohannon, better known as Eddie & JoBo, were cut Friday as morning hosts at B96 radio.
CBS 2
They have long been a staple of Chicago radio.
Eddie and Jobo have been entertaining listeners for nearly 20 years on WBBM-FM B96. On Friday, their show was suddenly canceled.
CBS 2's Pamela Jones talked with Volkman about the end of an era.
B96 officials wouldn't say why Eddie and JoBo had to go. He said the station wanted to go in a different direction and maintain its hold on a younger crowd.
"Being on the air is like such a powerful feeling that when you're not, you feel kind of neutered," Volkman said Friday. "Because if I get bad service at a restaurant, I can go on the radio and talk about it."
But after nearly 20 years, the Eddie and JoBo radio show has signed off – for good.
Ed Volkman and Joe Bohannon dominated morning radio in Chicago through generations of teen, Top 40, pop, rock and R & B lovers. After Friday morning's show, Volkman says their program and general manager let them go. Their contract ends in July, and Volkman remains upbeat.
"We're paid for the next eight months, which is like the longest paid vacation I've ever had," he said, "and our keycards still work to go in the station, unlike when we were fired before in '94 and had to be escorted out by security guards. And I never did get my headphones back."
But they did get their jobs back, and they announced a multi-million-dollar deal with CBS. Volkman pulled in around $1.5 million a year. He says he earned it by working with both the famous and the infamous, including Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey and Beyonce.
Volkman wasn't ready to say what's down the road in his career, but he was headed out to party Friday night with fond memories of the fans and lessons learned.
"There's an old saying by radio people: There's a lot of stations I can work at right now -- Mobil, Shell, BP Amoco," Volkman said.
B96 officials say a new host will debut in January. Bohannon's immediate plans reportedly include spending time at his vacation home.
Eddie & JoBo were first teamed together at B96 in 1988, but they were let go in late 1994 after former WMAQ-TV news anchor Joan Esposito sued for comments about the death of Esposito's husband.
The team was rehired in late 1996 after short runs with two other morning teams.
Volkman is the son of Harry Volkman, a longtime Chicago meteorologist who spent much of his career with CBS 2. Eddie and JoBo had most recently been hosting their show with co-host Erica Cobb.
Both B96 and CBS 2 are owned by CBS Corp.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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