JILL RILEY NAMED HOST OF THE CURRENT’S MORNING SHOW, MEANWHILE BRIAN OAKE IS NOW PODCASTING

Jill Riley (image courtesy of MPR)

Last August, when Brian Oake was dumped from 89.3 The Current’s morning show, co-host Jill Riley wasn’t certain what would happen next. Now she knows.

On Monday (3/2) Minnesota Public Radio announced that Riley has been named the permanent and sole host of the Monday- Friday 5am to 10am air shift.

Riley told reporter Chris Riemenschneider from the Minneapolis Star Tribune that she feels comfortable as a solo host:

“It’s back to me talking one-on-one with the listener, mostly about music.”

We urge Spark News readers to download Riemenschneider’s excellent article about Riley and The Current here. The article also says that The Current now has an entirely female daytime lineup. After Riley’s shift ends at10 am, Jade Tittle and Mary Lucia follow her on weekdays.

Brian Oake

So, what ever happened to Riley’s former co-host Brian Oake? 

We still don’t know the reason why Oake was canned by MPR. 

Our August 2019 coverage of Oake’s unusual termination [link] continues to be one of the most popular archive posts ever on Spark News.

Oake’s arrival at The Current in 2016 was a major news story in the Twin Cities. Before he moved to The Current, Oake was the morning host at Cities 97. At that time, Oake was one of the highest rated (and highly paid) morning personalities in the market. You could say Oake was “bellowed.”

The Palace Theater

Things appeared to be appeared to be fine until the night of July 31, 2019. 

Oake and his 20-year old daughter attending a Tenacious D show at The Palace Theater, a popular music club in downtown St. Paul.

Oake’s daughter asked him if she could have a sip of his drink. 

Oake said “yes.” 

Before his daughter put the glass back down on the table, several security officers surrounded the two and asked them to immediately leave the club.

When the two were home, Oake posted a rant on Facebook criticizing the Palace and its security squad. In the post, Oake included the names of the security people.

Oake and Riley

When Oake cooled down, he realized his post was over-the-top and he deleted it. 

He apologized to everyone who was involved. 

Then, Oake vanished from The Current and he never returned. 

MPR didn’t even say that Oake was gone until August 17^th.

Since then, MPR has said nothing about Oake’s dismissal. Oake claims he has never been told the reason he was fired.

Recently Oake reappeared. In a November 2019 article in MSP Magazine [link], Oake announced the debut of his first podcast – The Brian Oake Show – on Spotify [link]. He described the podcast this way: 

“I'll talk about the news of the day. It'll occasionally get a little goofy. It's not going to be a shock-jock thing, I'm not going to be dropping F-bombs every other sentence. That being said, if one pops out, no harm, no foul. I don't want to offend anybody.”

Oake told MSP Magazine that he is done with “traditional radio.” He is unemployed for the first time in his 25-year radio career. Oake sounded wistful when said in the magazine article that he has no idea what to expect of the podcast or where he stands with his former listeners.

In the Star-Tribune article, Oake wished his former co-host well and praised how well she handled the chaotic aftermath of his firing.

LGBTQ JOURNALISTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ENTER NLGJA’S 2020 EXCELENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS

The Association of LGBTQ Journalists – NLGJA – is now accepting nominations in over 30 categories for their second Excellence in Journalism Awards.

The competition began in 2019. Applicants do not need to be members of NLGJA or identify as LGBTQ to enter. The winners will be honored at NLGJA’s National Convention September 10-13 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago.

For more information, go to nlgja.org or email questions to awards@nlgja.org.