Infinity Broadcasting on Thursday took the unusual step of naming one general manager to oversee both WMAQ-AM 670 and WBBM-AM 780, its two competing news stations.

Rod Zimmerman, vice president and general manager of WBBM, also was named general manager of WMAQ after the current WMAQ general manager, Weezie Kramer, was named vice president and general manager of Infinity's oldies station, WJMK-FM 104.3.

Kramer replaces Harvey Pearlman, who is taking an new, unspecified position within Infinity outside of Chicago. Pearlman, who started the oldies format in Chicago in 1984, is credited with building the format into a national powerhouse.

Infinity's move to put Zimmerman over two news stations raised eyebrows in the local radio business on Thursday and had staffers in both newsrooms buzzing, wondering whether their resources would be combined.

Zimmerman said there was "no plan on the table for that," but said it is one of a number of things he will look at as a way of benefiting both stations.

The two stations now often compete for the same audience. Zimmerman says his vision for all-news station WBBM and news/sports WMAQ is to create distinct but related formats, something like cable TV's CNN Headline News versus CNN and its longer stories.

At the very least, the move indicates that Infinity is not planning on swapping formats between WMAQ and its all-sports station, WSCR-AM 1160, as had been rumored for several months.

Pearlman is considered one of the most successful radio general managers in the city.

He is expected to be named to a new position within Infinity Broadcasting in the coming weeks.

Kramer has been with WMAQ for 11 years, starting as general sales manager before becoming general manager of WMAQ in 1994.

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