Scott Laughlin, a broadcaster whose quick wit and everyman style of humor made him one of Bloomington-Normal’s most popular radio personalities for decades, has died.
Laughlin died Tuesday at age 65 after a lengthy illness. He retired from WJBC Radio in 2019 after receiving a cancer diagnosis.
Laughlin spent over 40 years as a radio host in Central Illinois. Most of that was in Bloomington-Normal, first as a music deejay at WBNQ where he worked from 1982 to 1996. In 2000, following two short-term radio stints, he moved to WJBC, the community’s heritage news talk station, where he would soon take over as the morning show host and become the station’s top personality for close to 20 years.
Laughlin once acknowledged it was a challenge to transition to the talk format, where there’s much more time to talk without music.
“I was worried we weren’t going to have enough things to talk about and eventually it would evolve into me talking about my kids’ bowel movements to fill the time,” Laughlin quipped in a WJBC interview recorded for the station’s 80th anniversary celebration in 2005.
Laughlin quickly adjusted, and developed an idea for what he wanted his talk show to be.
“I wanted our show to be that backyard conversation across the fence with your neighbor,” he said.
Laughlin’s co-host when he started at WJBC was Colleen Reynolds. They worked together for 16 years.
“We were on-air buddies for a very long time,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said Laughlin taught her to “lighten up” her broadcast style when she joined him as a co-host coming from a mostly news background.
“I started out as a deadly serious news person for the most part, and I think being on an FM morning show with him helped me see how I could do both and not jeopardize my credibility," Reynolds said of their first time working together when Laughlin hosted a show on WBNQ.
"That was the gift he gave me," she said.
Top ratings
The Laughlin & Reynolds show on WJBC became a must-stop for elected officials and those aspiring for public office. In 2004, they spoke with Barack Obama, the previously little-known U.S. senator from Illinois who suddenly became a rising star after his speech at the Democratic National Convention.
They talked to Obama the following morning.
“Are you surprised at the reaction that you got after giving that speech?” Laughlin asked Obama.
“There’s no doubt I’m gratified at the warmth of the reception after the speech,” Obama replied.
Reynolds noted it was simply good fortune they were able to talk to Obama the morning after he became a national sensation. The interview had been scheduled weeks earlier.
“I remember thinking this is historic. It really felt historic,” she recalled. Obama’s speech and subsequent radio interview came four years before he was elected president.
While Laughlin frequently interviewed local, state and federal lawmakers — many of whom had monthly appointments on his show — Laughlin himself said he tried to avoid talking politics himself.
“You’re going to tick off half your audience,” Laughlin said in 2005. “We just try to present what’s going on in today’s news in a light-hearted way, [and] offending as few people as possible.”
His ability to joke with his guests, but also to challenge them when appropriate, was a sign of his versatility as a broadcaster, said R.C. McBride, WJBC’s program director during much of Laughlin’s time there. [McBride is now WGLT’s executive director.]
“The most remarkable thing about Scott was the talent he had to play a role as that ringleader or master of ceremonies," McBride said. “He could be the guy with the acerbic quick wit who could just cut you if he needed to and just give you a big laugh. He had a great laugh. But he could also play the role of the journalist, asking the tough questions. He could play the role of the goof if that’s what was required.”
Red Pitcher, general manager for WJBC and Radio Bloomington during much of Laughlin's tenure, said Laughlin created a “whole new beginning” for WJBC that had struggled to find an heir apparent to fill the shoes of Don Munson, the station's legendary host who retired in 2000 after 35 years as morning show host.
“While he felt the pressure [of succeeding Munson], it didn’t come across on the air. I think he became his own person,” Pitcher said.
Reynolds said Laughlin felt the pressure, but found a way to make it comedic fodder. She recalled he brought a nurse into the studio to check his blood pressure on the air throughout his first show.
“This to me speaks to the way Scott approached life,” Reynolds said.
Laughlin’s role as WJBC morning host almost never happened. Pitcher recalled Laughlin had a falling out with management when he left sister station WBNQ in 1996. Pitcher, who was station manager for both stations [and country station B104] at the time, had to convince then-general manager Richard Johnson to bring Laughlin back to host WJBC's afternoon show.
“He did of course and they [became] really good friends,” Pitcher recalled.
Guests became friends
Many of Laughlin’s regular guests also became lifelong friends.
Bob Nielsen first met Laughlin when he became superintendent of District 87 schools in 1998. Nielsen recalled tuning in to hear Laughlin chide him on the air for canceling school after a snowstorm had fizzled in January 1999.
“I remember him saying, ‘The temperature outside is 20 degrees. There’s no wind. There’s no new snow but District 87 is closed again. What is it with this new guy?'" Nielsen recalled with a chuckle. “I thought, welcome to the community Scott.”
Nielsen, who retired in 2010, said he and Laughlin later became golfing buddies in a group that grew to more than 20.
“We just refer to it as Scott’s group,” Nielsen said. “He was able to bring together a very diverse population of guys and women together. He was just a wonderful man."
Generosity
Friends and colleagues reflected on Laughlin’s kindness and generosity, even if he didn’t always share that with his listeners.
“What I think people don’t know is he would do some stuff behind the scenes to help people he had heard were having problems,” Reynolds said.
McBride noted Laughlin was one of the first to offer congratulations after each of his three daughters was born.
“He didn’t necessarily like a big fuss being made about that. He did it because it was the right thing to do,” McBride said.
One of Laughlin’s most notable examples of generosity was his annual bell ringing shifts for the Salvation Army and the public challenges he would issue to help raise additional dollars for the Bloomington nonprofit.
Laughlin was one of the Salvation Army’s most prolific fundraisers, collecting nearly $22,000 for the organization over the last decade.
“What isn’t [included in that total] is all the people who signed up to ring because of Scott, all the people who attended our golf outings, all the people who brought things to our food pantry because they heard us talk about it,” said Angie Bubon, who serves as the nonprofit’s donor relations director. She said their monthly radio interviews were foundational to the agency’s community outreach.
“As a nonprofit we have no marketing budget. That was our marketing, going on with Scott,” Bubon said.
In 2022, the Salvation Army created the Scott Laughlin Spirit Award to honor its top fundraisers through the annual red kettle campaign.
“It honors those who go above and beyond to spread joy during the holiday season,” said Deborah Cole, the Salvation Army’s development director.
Sticking to his roots
Laughlin was a Pontiac native who never left Central Illinois. That’s rare in an industry where turnover is high and top talent often flock to larger markets. He suspected those deep local roots helped form a lasting bond with his audience.
“Like an old pair of shoes, maybe familiar [with listeners],” Laughlin said in 2005. “I talk to maybe 30-year-old women who say, ‘I listened to you as a little kid’ when I was at BNQ. That was hard to take.”
McBride said Laughlin had the talent to work in a larger market, but seemed happy to stay in Bloomington-Normal.
“It always struck me he was settled here. He had a great family, a great thing going, a great circle of friends. Did he have the talent to move on to things that are ostensibly bigger and better? Of course,” McBride said.
McBride and Reynolds both said Laughlin was very much a family man who was proud of he and his wife Lori’s two sons, T.J. and Casey.
“Scott would always give the credit to Lori and say, ‘Lori did all that [raising the children].’ But I think he had a lot to do with that, too,” Reynolds said. “They are great kids.”
Reynolds said one of the main reasons for Laughlin’s popularity and longevity as a radio host was his ability to connect with his audience.
“Scott in many ways was an everyman. He was good at articulating what people were thinking,” she said.
Laughlin received a proclamation from the McLean County Board in July 2023 for his service to the county.
His family will host a reception at Illinois Wesleyan University's Shirk Center from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 8. A short program is scheduled for 6 p.m.
