Neil Rogers

Although he was not syndicated nationally or even regionally, Talkers magazine, the trade publication of talk radio, ranked Rogers at Number 15 on its 2006 list of the 100 most important personalities in the business.

[6] He also worked as a music disc jockey at a small station, WCGR, in Canandaigua, New York[7] He studied broadcasting at Michigan State University, but left shortly before he would have graduated to pursue his radio career.

[15] Although Bryant's campaign to repeal the ordinance was successful, Rogers' admission did nothing to hurt his radio career; indeed, his ratings steadily increased with every Arbitron period.

Neil accepted a job at WWDB in Philadelphia and had sent his furniture up there before Dick Casper convinced Rogers into coming back to WNWS.

By that time Rogers was unrivaled as the highest-rated talk-show host in Miami, dominating both the 18-24 and 25-54 demographics (the most coveted age ranges in the business).

[19] After years of agitating for an earlier time slot, WINZ's owner, Guy Gannett Publishing, moved him to mornings on co-owned WZTA (Zeta-4) on October 12, 1987.

Although ratings in the morning were immediate, Roger's long-simmering battle with station management boiled over, culminating with him moving to WIOD on November 7, 1988.

During his tenure at WIOD, the station built a strong lineup of personalities anchored by Rogers' Midday 10 AM - 2 PM slot.

Phil Hendrie, Jaz McKay and Randi Rhodes were part of this lineup, and have cited Rogers as both a friend and mentor.

[28] It was announced on April 14, 2008, that Rogers had agreed to a new 5-year contract on WQAM, which would have kept "Uncle Neil", as he was called by his fans, firmly on the air until 2013.

Rodriguez's future with the show was a topic of interest in the South Florida media, including the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.

His friend and attorney Norm Kent said the radio host suffered a stroke and heart attack in October and his condition had been declining since Thanksgiving.

In a Miami SunPost column eulogizing Rogers, Charles Branham-Bailey described his personality: He could bite into you like a pit bull on the air, yet in his off-air persona, regard you with puppy dog gentility.

Neil at Night