WISN-AM 1130 talk show host Mark Belling announced Tuesday that he will transition his program to podcast only at the end of the year.
Belling’s show has been broadcast on WISN-AM 1130 since March of 1989. He has held down the prime late afternoon drive time spot on the Milwaukee radio station, which is owned by San Antonio-based iHeartMedia, Inc.
“I set an incredibly ambitious goal when I began my Milwaukee show,” Belling said in a news release. “I said I wanted it to be the best local radio talk show in America. I feel I have achieved that goal by every possible measurement.”
“The future of spoken word programming on our planet is podcasting,” he said. “We live in an on-demand world. Driving people to listen to or watch content at specific times is a thing of the past. Podcasting allows total flexibility and gives hosts far more freedom. The staggering success of shows like Joe Rogan, Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, all distributed exclusively on the web in a podcast-like format, makes clear what the present and especially the future are.”
“I am not retiring. I will be a podcast-only host and expect my already high listenership and profile to grow. This is my new challenge. I believe I have accomplished as much as any on-air radio personality in Wisconsin history and now want to make my mark in the revolutionary world of podcasting.”
Belling, a conservative political commentator, said he will record his podcasts from the WISN-AM studios in Greenfield. The content will be a combination of local and national topics.
“My intent is for it to be even more freewheeling than my current anything-goes approach,” he said.
Belling said he has signed a contract with iHeartMedia to stay with the company in the new role as podcast show host. The podcast will be released three times per week. It will begin May 1.
The last edition of the “Mark Belling Late Afternoon Show” on WISN-AM 1130 will air on Dec. 30.
“There will be no farewell shows nor any going-away programming or events,” Belling said. “I’m not going anywhere. My show, in its new incarnation, will be bigger and better than ever.”
Belling, 68, also writes a column for the Waukesha Freeman.
He also gained a national audience as a frequent guest host for the Rush Limbaugh program. Belling is ranked #51 on the Talkers Heavy Hundred ranking of the “most important radio talk show hosts in America.”
