710 KNUS Every Saturday Morning 6-9 a.m.
by Keith Thompson
The highly rated and critically acclaimed Chuck and Julie Radio Show is back on the air and can now be heard on 710 KNUS Saturday mornings. The show dominated the ratings when it was on 850 KOA but was cancelled last December as Clear Channel went into a massive cost cutting effort shelving a great deal of local programming across the country, including Denver. Whether you’re a political junkie, avid talk show listener or a mom driving kids around on a Saturday morning, the Weekend Wakeup Show with Chuck and Julie on Newstalk 710 KNUS radio is intended to reach a broad audience.
The program is hosted by Chuck Bonniwell, owner and publisher of the Glendale Cherry Creek Chronicle and Julie Hayden, an Emmy award-winning television reporter at KDVR Fox 31 News. The couple is married with a three-year-old son.
KNUS, which is part of Salem Communications, has decided to make a major in
vestment into local programming in Denver hiring some of the best talent available in the Rocky Mountain region. Kelly Michaels, Operations Director for Salem Communications in Colorado, stated, “We are thrilled to have been able to land Weekend Wakeup with Chuck and Julie. While our main competitors are cutting back in Denver were are expanding and we intend to make KNUS the top newstalk station in the entire area.”
Bonniwell notes, “While other radio stations are doing less local programming and relying more and more on canned, nationally syndicated shows, KNUS is dedicated to doing what radio does best and that is focus on what’s going on locally, in our own communities.”
Hayden says, “We like to keep things upbeat. We tackle serious topics but we also like to give listeners something to smile about.”
Weekend Wakeup is already breaking ground in talk radio circles. It was the only local Denver radio program to feature Dave Brat a couple of weeks before his incredible upset victory over House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in Virginia’s GOP 7th District primary. Bonniwell predicted not only Brat’s victory but also the political tsunami that followed.
Other programs have featured Colorado GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Kopp. While Kopp was on air, the show broke the news that a controversial negative ad run against Tancredo in favor of Kopp was in fact funded by former U.S. Senator and Kopp supporter Bill Armstrong to the apparent shock to the candidate. That show also featured the lawyers in the center of a federal judge’s battle for justice with Denver’s Police Department (see lead story on page one).
Bonniwell says, “We’re fair, but we hold politicians’ and newsmakers’ feet to the fire and ask the tough questions. We hope our listeners come away from the program having learned something. And we encourage people who don’t agree with us to call in. A good debate gets everyone thinking.”
And they also have fun. Hayden says, “We enjoy doing the show, and are always impressed by how intelligent the listeners are.” She adds, “We’re working parents with a toddler, I have a grown daughter and parents who are on the other end of the spectrum. We have something in common with just about everyone and feel like we really relate to the topics that matter to our listeners, whether it’s figuring out the best school for your kids, what’s going on with the economy, as well as national and international concerns.”
Bonniwell says, “I am passionate about politics and enjoy discussing the latest issues, everything from local city councils, state and national elected officials or Iraq.”
Because of their newspaper and television careers, Bonniwell and Hayden are plugged into the latest hot topics in the news.
Admitting it’s not always easy to get up at 4 a.m. on a Saturday to prepare for the show, Bonniwell says nonetheless that it is something they are happy to do. “Weekend Wakeup is a labor of love for us. We’re grateful for the opportunity. And if you’ve been craving great, local talk radio on the weekend or just want to have something fun and interesting to listen to as you start your Saturday, we hope you tune in to 710 AM KNUS, every Saturday morning.”