Friday, March 4, 2011

On the Beat with Catherine Johns-Part 1

Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting and chatting with Chicago radio legend Catherine Johns.  Usually I would have written "interviewed", but Johns was so gracious and made me feel so at ease that it really was more of a conversation.
During my teens, my sisters and I spent a lot of time simply sitting on the front porch listening to WLS radio.  There weren't nearly as many listening options back then, but even if there were more, I'm pretty sure we would have listened to WLS anyway.  It was that good.
Johns was a news reporter, anchor, sidekick, host and more during her 18 years at WLS.  She worked with legends like Larry Lujack, Fred Winston and John Landecker.  I believe Johns was instrumental in WLS having one of the earliest forms of the morning zoo (and certainly one of the best).
After WLS, Johns had stints at WJMK and in the business world.  Since 2005, Johns and partner Karen Hand (another Chicago radio veteran) have owned Chicago Hypnosis Center, where "the emphasis is on you at Chicago Hypnosis Center. Your goals, your progress, your results".
In my research on Johns, I read a quote from another interview, where she said, "We'll talk to any old blogger that walks in the door."  With a quote like that, I figured I might have a chance.
What I got was a lot more than I anticipated.  Johns talked with me for about an hour at the local Starbuck's.  I will be discussing various parts of the interview here in the future.
For now, I'd like to end with two things.  First, Karen Hand is hosting a workshop on March 10 called Change-It's easy when you put your mind to it.  The workshop will be at the Chicago Hypnosis Center at 4801 West Peterson, Suite 601 in Chicago and will run from 6:30-8:30 pm.  It's only $20 and you can register by calling 773-725-3200.  If it is anywhere near as fascinating as Johns was, it will be a great experience.
Finally, I'll leave you with a very short video of Catherine discussing the Chicago Hypnosis Center and how they would approach the fear of flying.  This is just one example, but it might be especially interesting to readers of Global Traveler magazine.
I really appreciate Catherine giving me her time and energy.  I look forward to future conversations and to presenting more info from our conversations.

6 comments:

Cleveland Mike said...

I listened to WLS all of the time back in the day. I totally remember Catherine. How cool! I am really looking forward to reading more about her.

Paul said...

I had no idea she owned a hypnosis center. How did that come to be? Oh sorry, you'll probably answer that in future blogs. Very interesting.

Ellie said...

She looks great! I checked her site and was fascinated. I never knew. I could see her being a hypnotist though. She always seemed so genuine.

Anonymous said...

I heard of CHC, but I never but it all together. I loved her on WLS. She had personality, smarts and she was a huge part of those shows.

Steve L. said...

Oh for the good old days of WLS. Catherine looks great!

Nancy said...

I do remember the days sitting on the porch as we listened to WLS. Catherine was great.