All Mike McConnell wanted to be was a talk show host.
鈥淚 never saw myself as a morning guy,鈥� says McConnell, who retires Friday, April 4, as WLW-AM鈥檚 5-9 a.m. host. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad it worked out and I was successful.鈥�
McConnell will be best remembered as WLW-AM鈥檚 Midday talk show host for 25 years, until he left for Chicago鈥檚 WGN-AM in 2010. He returned to the station and took over mornings in 2015 when Jim Scott retired.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a fabulous ride,鈥� he told listeners Wednesday morning. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a fun place to work.鈥�
McConnell was a new breed of talk show hosts hired in the 1980s after Randy Michaels took over WLW-AM, along with lawyer Bill Cunningham. He benefitted from the talk radio explosion in the 1980s and 鈥�90s, thanks to the popularity of cell phones, when men driving around town outnumbered calls from women at home on their land lines.
And he鈥檚 witnessed a decline in the variety of opinionated guests on talk shows, which he blames on social media.
鈥淭alk has gotten harder to do with social media,鈥� says McConnell, who turns 70 on May 16. Some experts and guests 鈥渄on鈥檛 want to come on because they鈥檇 get too much flak (on social media). That鈥檚 why when most guests come on, they agree with the host. They don鈥檛 get as much flak. This started when I was in Chicago [2010-14]. The media is so divided.鈥�
Michaels, who called in Wednesday morning, says most talk shows in the early 1980s were hosted by men who lectured listeners. Michaels, later the head of Clear Channel鈥檚 radio division and the Chicago-based Tribune Co., said he 鈥渨anted young, bright, curious and plugged-in people who had never been on radio鈥� to host shows. Michaels wanted talk shows to be entertaining and fun.
However, McConnell didn鈥檛 start at WLW-AM as a talk show host. He was hired in 1984 as the production director, preparing commercials on audio tape. He replaced Bill Gable, who had been bumped off air by Gary Burbank when Michaels hired Jim Scott for mornings and moved Burbank to afternoon drive.
At that time, McConnell was nine years into a radio career that started in April 1975 at WVUD-FM on the University of Dayton campus. Then he did stints at Dayton's WTUE-FM, Hamilton鈥檚 鈥�96 ROCK鈥� (WSKS-FM) and briefly at an FM station in Miami, Florida.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I decided I didn鈥檛 like being a DJ, and I wasn鈥檛 going to uproot my entire family and move them to Florida,鈥� he says.
The WLW-AM production studio was next to the main studio 鈥� on the other side of a large glass window 鈥� when the station was located on East Fourth Street Downtown in the 1980s. He could watch Michaels host Midday with Alan Gardner do their show. When Michaels鈥� station duties prevented him from doing the show, 鈥淎lan would wave me into the studio to join him. Alan would flag me in all the time. When Alan left, I took a crack at [hosting],鈥� he said.
When he was promoted to Midday host, it wasn鈥檛 a dream job. He also remained production director for months. 鈥淚 did two full-time jobs. I was the only guy [producing commercials] back in the days of tape,鈥� he says.
McConnell reveals that rival talk stations WKRC-AM and WCKY-AM 鈥渢ried to hire me away鈥� back in the days when the Federal Communications Commission limited a company to owning one AM station and one FM station. Since 1996 the FCC has allowed a company to own up to eight stations in one market. Today, all the Cincinnati news talk and sports talk stations are owned by iHeartMedia (WLW-AM, WCKY-AM, WKRC-AM, WSAI-AM).
McConnell tweaked Scott鈥檚 old morning format basically to do a talk show 8-9 a.m. That鈥檚 when Michaels called in Wednesday. He praised McConnell as being 鈥渆xactly the right person at the right time.鈥� On Tuesday he chatted with John Phillips, the longtime WLW-AM traffic reporter now living in the Tampa area.
In his last week on the air, McConnell has heard from longtime listeners. Some have sent cards and notes. Some have called during the show, such as Earl Correll, who thanked McConnell for his support for the Vietnam War veterans鈥� memorial installed in Eden Park 41 years ago.
鈥淚鈥檓 surprised I鈥檝e been doing mornings for 10 years. It went by quick, from April 2015 to April 鈥�25,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 started in April 1975, and it鈥檚 now 2025, so that鈥檚 50 鈥� a nice round number.鈥�
One thing that won鈥檛 change in the morning after he leaves is WLW-AM broadcasting the 7 a.m. time check. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going away 鈥� as pointless as it is 鈥� because it鈥檚 sponsored,鈥� he says.
McConnell says he鈥檚 looking forward to staying up past 8:30 p.m., sleeping in and traveling. Going to Australia and New Zealand is first on his bucket list.
Not on his list is writing a book.
鈥淧eople say, 鈥榊ou should write a book.鈥� But I can鈥檛. I can鈥檛 type,鈥� he told listeners Wednesday. 鈥淚鈥檝e worked 50 years in a white collar job, and I鈥檝e never learned to type.鈥�
