Steve Dahl reluctant inductee in Radio Hall of Fame this week

4-Nov-13 – It seems like it would not be an official National Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony without a radio legend needing to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to River North for praise from admiring colleagues. (Left) Steve Dahl in 1979.

This year, it is Chicago radio personality Steve Dahl who has said he will not attend Saturday’s black-tie event at the Museum of Broadcast Communications on North State Street due to his “general disinterest in the proceedings.”

On October 24, Dahl complained to columnist Robert Feder about former radio partner Garry Meier, who is also being inducted, not returning a voicemail message, that his acceptance speech would have to be approved in advance, and that he would have to pay $5,000 for his family to attend the ceremony.

The show will go on without Dahl. Others being inducted include Blair Garner of WNSH New York, John Lanigan of WMJI Cleveland, Paul Smith of WJR Detroit, Eddie Sotelo of SiriusXM, former ESPN anchor Charley Steiner, and Powel Crosley Jr., whose company, Crosley Radio Corporation, was the largest manufacturer of radios in 1924.

Last year, Howard Stern, an outspoken critic of the event, declined to attend his induction into the Radio Hall of Fame.

 Related story: Howard Stern a no-show on State Street