Sunday afternoon update: Merlin issues a release with the complete cast of "FM news 101.1", including Mary Ellen Geist in mornings, and Andy Friedman confirmed as VP of Programming. Merlin. Merlin Media CEO Randy Michaels says "My favorite format has always been spoken [word] radio. I've had a nostalgic love affair with the big AM stations known for the format, and today, as music moves to the iPod, it's time for spoken word to move to FM." Read the Merlin lineup of staffers here.

The website isn't done yet and it doesn't stream, but the Facebook announcement says "Welcome to the new FM News 101.1! We are building this station from the ground up for you, so tell us what you want to hear about! Weather? Traffic? Certain kinds of news stories? You tell us!" The newsroom at WWWN, the former alternative "Q101" WKQX, has been producing more frequent 5-6 minute newscasts since last week, and now the station is transitioning toward its new talk format: a female-leaning one, apparently. Chicagoland Radio and Media says "FM News 101.1" appeared this afternoon (7/29). As planned, the temporary morning team of Robert Murphy and Lise Dominique did their last hot AC music show this morning. Randy Michaels-led Merlin Media is acquiring 101.1 from Emmis in a deal that gives Emmis cash and a minority position in that frequency, plus Chicago's classic hits "Loop" WLUP (97.9) and New York City's 101.9 (the former WRXP, now WEMP). New York didn't launch Friday, though it too has been filtering in newscasts in dayparts outside of morning drive. WEMP is expected to debut its own talk-based format. Talk about "FM News 101.1" on the Chicago Board of Radio-Info.com, here.