Merlin lays off workers, changes FM News 101 to music station

Merlin Media, the radio station company led by former Tribune Company CEO Randy Michaels, is changing the format for two of its stations, in Chicago and New York.

Merlin said most of the news staffers will be dismissed, but it didn't say how many people that is. The Chicago station that attempted an all-news format under the FM News 101.1 brand will become an “adult hits” station, airing as i101 and playing artists such as 'N Sync, Goo Goo Dolls, Poison and Alanis Morissette, Merlin said in a release. The WIQI-FM station was formerly WKQX-FM before it was purchased in June 2011 by new owners including Mr. Michaels and Chicago-based private-equity firm GTCR LLC. They bought the station, as well as WLUP-FM/97.9 in Chicago and WRXP-FM/101.9 in New York, from Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp., which maintained a minority stake in the new owner partnership.