Mike McConnell is an American

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

host most recently on

WLW WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as The Big One. WLW operates with around the clock. Its daytime signal provides ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

from 2014 through present, on WGN in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

from 2010 to 2013 and for the prior 25 years on WLW.

Early career

McConnell started out in radio as Alan McConnell, as a rock music DJ at an album-oriented college radio station WVUD (

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

) in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

in the 1970s. After five years at the University Of Dayton, McConnell left for crosstown Album Rock WTUE in Dayton, where he used the name Mike McConnell due to Alan Sells already being "Alan" on

WTUE WTUE (104.7 FM) is a classic rock formatted radio station with studios in Dayton. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. Its transmitter is located in Moraine and can be heard clearly throughout Southwest Ohio, including nearly all of ...

. In the spring of 1982, McConnell moved to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

to flip formats on KISS 96 in Cincinnati from top 40 to rock, where he remained until late 1983.

WLW

After a short time with WSHE in Miami, McConnell returned to Cincinnati, where he filled in for

Randy Michaels Benjamin Homel, known professionally as Randy Michaels, is an American broadcasting executive and a former member of the National Association of Broadcasters TV Board. Biography Michaels has been involved in large market radio broadcasting since th ...

' mid-day talk show on 700

, before Michaels handed the talk show off to McConnell so Michaels could take on a larger role in management. On WLW, McConnell previously hosted two programs. His weekday show aired Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (ET) on WLW in Cincinnati and formerly nationwide on

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...

(discontinued by Clear Channel in March 2009). In the late '90s, McConnell's show began airing at 9 a.m., taking one hour from WLW radio morning personality Jim Scott's previously five-hour time slot.

Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to: People *Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player * Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s *Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), profe ...

, the longtime evening personality at the station, switched to afternoons around this same time period, hosting from noon to 3 p.m. and in direct market competition with

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...

whose syndicated program aired on another station in Cincinnati, WKRC. "Midday with Mike", as it was now called, formerly known as ''The Mike McConnell Show'', aired from 9 a.m. to noon on WLW and it was picked up for national syndication by

Premiere Radio Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It ...

in July 2006 (replacing the then retiring

Phil Hendrie Philip Stephen Hendrie (born September 1, 1952) is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting ''The Phil Hendrie Show'', a ...

, who returned to radio in 2007), and at its peak, aired on roughly 20 stations across America, including WIBC in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, WGST in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and WSYR in

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. However, the show failed to acquire a nationwide audience, and a dwindling affiliate count resulted in Premiere quietly canceling the show's syndicated run in February, 2008. McConnell's Saturday show, ''The Weekend with Mike McConnell'', was heard Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. (ET) on over 100 stations. ''The Weekend'' was developed in 1998 to feature rotating guest hosts. McConnell took over the show permanently in 2004.

WGN

It was announced on June 7, 2010, that McConnell was no longer working at WLW-AM and was leaving Cincinnati to become a host for WGN in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. His show originally ran from 8:30 a.m. (CT) to 12:30 p.m. As of December 12, 2011, it was changed to 9 a.m. to noon. In August 2013, McConnell was no longer on the air after a regime change at

Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC was an American media company which operated as a subsidiary of Tribune Media, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. The group owned and operated television and radio stations throughout the United Sta ...

. His show was available via podcast only until October, when it ended and he reportedly reached a buyout settlement on the remaining two years of his contract.

Return to WLW

McConnell guest hosted several shows on WLW during the week of June 16 to June 20, 2014. As of late 2014, McConnell is back on the full-time schedule for WLW. He currently hosts the 5:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. morning slot. McConnell had held the midday time slot prior to leaving WLW for WGN.

Views and style

McConnell's shows often feature a broad range of topics, from "in the news" social issues to the oddities of everyday life. McConnell describes himself as politically and socially moderate on most issues, and has identified himself as one that has libertarian leanings. More so than such hosts as

Sean Hannity Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...

, he can be dismissive of conservative callers who agree with him but make statements that he finds exaggerated or poorly reasoned. McConnell has taken a

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

position on various issues including his opposition to the drug war and specifically on marijuana being illegal.

Personal life

McConnell grew up in the

Philadelphia area The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

and attended the

. He has an adult daughter with his former wife, Cincinnati radio personality Mary Kuzan.http://radiodiscussions.com/smf/index.php?topic=182760.10;wap2

References

August of 2010

Mike McConnell's page at WGN-AM Chicago

External links

WLW-AM 700 Cincinnati information on McConnell

ClearChannel announcement on McConnell's syndication launch.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McConnell, Mike Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American talk radio hosts American libertarians Radio personalities from Cincinnati Radio programs on XM Satellite Radio