When WLW-AM morning host Mike McConnell signed his last contract three years ago, he decided that would be his last one.
He told his bosses a year ago that he would retire in 2025 鈥� and told his listeners Wednesday morning that his last show is Friday, April 4.
鈥淚 am going to retire. Why? Because I鈥檓 old,鈥� says McConnell, who turns 70 on May 16.
鈥淚鈥檒l be here through next week, and that will be it. I鈥檓 not taking any more time off. I鈥檒l be here every day through next Friday, and we鈥檒l pull the plug on it then.鈥�
McConnell returned to his show after taking a long weekend off. Thom Brennaman filled in Monday and Tuesday, as he had done earlier this year. (Don鈥檛 be surprised if Brennaman gets the job.)
McConnell, who replaced Jim Scott as morning host 10 years ago, announced his retirement three weeks after midday host Bill Cunningham, 77, said he was delaying his retirement 鈥� again 鈥� until the end of President Donald Trump鈥檚 term in office. Cunningham would turn 81 in December after the 2028 presidential election.
This is the second stint at WLW-AM for McConnell, a Philadelphia native and University of Dayton graduate. McConnell was hired from Hamilton鈥檚 WSKS-FM to be WLW-AM commercial production director by Randy Michaels, who had recently taken over the station. McConnell worked next door to the studio where Michaels and Alan Gardner hosted Midday, and frequently dropped in on the show. He eventually took over Midday in 1985.
For about 18 months in 2006-2008, his WLW-AM show was syndicated nationally. McConnell ended the national distribution when the syndication company could not provide an adequate mix of stations. He also hosted a nationally syndicated Saturday Weekend show.
In 2010, McConnell left WLW-AM's 9 a.m.-noon shift to work for Chicago鈥檚 WGN-AM, which was part of the Tribune Co. run by Michaels. His bosses were so upset when McConnell told them he was leaving that they refused to let him back on the air to say goodbye to his Greater Cincinnati audience.
After his Chicago deal expired, McConnell returned to Cincinnati and did various shifts until taking over mornings from Scott in April 2015. McConnell indicated Wednesday that his departure from the station next week will be a big contrast to the snub 15 years ago.
鈥淲e鈥檒l have plenty of time to talk about it between now and then,鈥� he said on the show.
鈥淚鈥檝e thought about this (retirement) for a long time... I鈥檒l miss many aspects of it, but I look forward to it at the same time. I have no regrets because I鈥檝e done this for a long time. I did the math and I realized I started doing this for a living in April of 鈥�75, so that鈥檚 50 years, and that鈥檚 enough.
鈥淚鈥檝e enjoyed it. Great job most of my life, and I will miss it.鈥�
Listen to his announcement .
Cunningham has moved the goal posts several times when talking about retirement. For years he said that he wanted to work until WLW-AM turned 100 in March 2022. When he reached that date, he pushed back retirement until August 2023, his 40th anniversary at the station.
The outspoken conservative Republican and vocal Trump supporter revealed his contract extension three weeks ago after coworker Scott Sloan told listeners that Cunningham had died when he fell in the studio during his national show Sunday, March 2. Cunningham followed Sloan on the air at noon and made it clear he was still alive.
A lawyer, Cunningham got into radio by accident in 1983. He was representing WKRC-AM talk host Alan Browning, who has signed a contract to jump to the 50,000-watt station that August. But he didn't. So Michaels, then WLW-AM operations manager, gave the late-night talk show to Cunningham, who had made some appearances on Browning's popular WKRC-AM show.
"Absolutely it was accidental. I never intended to be a radio talk show host," Cunningham told me in 2022. Cunningham did the 9 p.m.-midnight show for about 15 years before moving to noon-3p.m., where the outspoken conservative Republican beat Rush Limbaugh's popular syndicated show on WKRC-AM in the local ratings. Cunningham also does a national talk show Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
