For much of her career, Lisa Dent had a destination in mind. She’d built a Hall of Fame résumé working in major markets — San Diego, Seattle, Minneapolis, Houston, and Chicago — and earned induction into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2016. But none of those stops, impressive as they were, scratched the particular itch she’d carried for years. WGN Radio was always the goal, and five years after joining the legendary Chicago institution, Dent’s still pinching herself.
“WGN has always been the dream because it combines everything I love about radio: great storytelling, great communicators, and iconic personalities,” Dent said. “It’s always been Chicago’s radio station, and I looked at it as the pinnacle. If I could ever work at WGN, then I would consider myself to have had a successful career.”
That moment arrived, and she’s since eclipsed the five-year mark. The milestone carries extra weight for someone who grew up about 90 miles west of Chicago in Rockford and long dreamed of working in the city. Getting there was one thing. Thriving there — in an institution carrying the legacies of Wally Phillips, Bob Collins, and Spike O’Dell — was another challenge entirely.
Earning Her Place Among Legends
Settling into WGN Radio didn’t happen overnight. Dent estimates it took a year and a half, maybe two, before she felt fully at home. That timeline surprised some who watched from the outside. She’d already conquered multiple formats across top markets. How hard could a new format be?…