Former Chicago TV news anchor Jack Taylor is still "the talk of the town"

"I like to talk, and if they pay me, I can talk even more," laughs former Channel 9 news anchor Jack Taylor. He has enjoyed more than 60 years of doing what he does best—talk on radio and TV. Recently, Taylor spent almost three hours with me discussing a variety of subjects, never pausing to add something else interesting about his long and successful chosen profession in the Chicago media.

We dove into Taylor's early career, analyzed his news gigs over the years, and even saved time for some reflections on today's industry operations. Taylor came from a time when there were no broadcasting schools. Instead, he enlisted in the army and worked for Armed Forces Radio and TV Service. Taylor was first heard on WNAX in South Dakota, where TV bandleader Lawrence Welk got his start in the business. He later worked for other small stations in the south and Midwest.

Jack Taylor was a household name in the '60s, '70s and early '80s to Chicago TV viewers. He anchored the news on WGN TV beginning in 1958 and later hosted The Stock Market Observer on Channel 26. Others will remember him as the host of a morning radio show on the old FM 100. Music from that era will be part of the Midwest Ballroom upcoming radio program, which I host. He also had career stops at WBBM, WCFL and WGN Radio.

During our Midwest Ballroom radio interview, Taylor will discuss some of his more than 55,000 interesting interviews, plus share several amusing on-air incidents. He has covered every kind of story, from tragic Presidential assassinations to routine features like firemen getting cats down from trees. They all have a place in the news of the day.

Today, Taylor still hosts a Saturday noon talk show on WKRS in Waukegan, where he used to share the microphone with his late wife, Virginia. "You like this radio stuff," Virginia used to tell him. "Jack, you seem to just light up and go into action when the mike is turned on."

Taylor then would reply, "Yes, I plan to keep on doing it until I get it right."

Taylor's love for the industry rubbed off on his daughter, Amy, who works in Milwaukee TV. "We handle the media attention somewhat differently," Taylor laughed. While Amy tries to avoid it, Taylor thrives on it and enjoys being recognized in a crowd.

When asked about today's TV shows, Taylor praises CBS's Sixty Minutes, for presenting both solid news articles and stories that interest the masses. He pointed out that today's programmers are interested in saving money and retrying formats that seem to work in other cities. "A company will hire one person to voice track (host music shows) on 10 different radio stations. To them, that's cheaper than hiring 10 people to work at those operations."

Taylor pointed out that there is good programming still left on radio and TV, "you just have to look for it." He also credited professional managers like WGN's Ward Quaal, whose friendliness reflected in the faces and attitudes of the on-air staff, which viewers and listeners could sense. "We all basically liked each other and it showed up in the quality of our work," Taylor said.

Today, Taylor still enjoys doing his weekly radio show, along with his side kick Linda Marshall. One media magazine stated that Taylor's program is a refreshing break from what is usually heard on talk radio. "We discuss a variety of subjects and even long-time Chicago weatherman Harry Volkman comes on to reminisce about our early media days." Taylor remembers when his news team of Harry Volkman (later Tom Skilling), commentator Len O'Connor and sportscaster Jack Brickhouse had higher viewing ratings than the local CBS and NBC nightly newscasts. "That's a rarity for an independent station to beat out the networks," Taylor respectfully boasted. "However, we could not top the happy talkers at ABC"—(Channel 7's Joel Daly and Fahey Flynn). Taylor is also a recipient of the Silver Circle Award for 25 years of distinguished service on Chicago TV.

Taylor, now in his 80s, shows no sign of being silent. "You probably got more material than you'll need for your radio show," Jack continued. He was hoping that little of his wit and wisdom would be left on the cutting room floor. "My grandson was over recently and asked me if I knew how to scuba dive" and before I could answer, my son-in-law replied to the question for me saying, 'He (Jack) doesn't scuba dive because he can't talk underwater.'"

Jack Taylor's interview with John "Radio" Russell Ghrist will air on Sat., Jan. 21, 5–7 p.m., on Midwest Ballroom on WDCB. The station broadcasts from College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn at 90.9 FM for Chicago area listeners and worldwide on the Internet at wdcb.org. Listeners may respond to the show at P.O. Box 1073, Dundee, IL 60118 or by e-mailing to midwestballroom@yahoo.com.