16 illinoisentertainer . com mayl 2017
STEVE IN THE MORNING
W
hen Wally Phillips retired from WGN Radio , the afternoon man Bob Collins replaced him . When Bob Collins died in a plane crash , the afternoon man Spike O ’ Dell replaced him . When Spike O ’ Dell retired , Steve Cochran was doing the afternoon show at WGN . “ They offered me the job , and it was the worst deal offered to me since I got to the bigs in 1985 . The morning show with Bob Collins was a $ 2 million show . When Spike left it was a $ 1 million show . And they wanted me to do it for the same money I was doing afternoon drive . Why would I ? Doing afternoons I had a pretty good life . I could take my kids to school , play golf , stay up late watching TV . I was supposed to turn my life around for the same amount of money ? Even more so than the money , one of the things that ( GM Tom ) Langmyer wanted was creative control . The old PD thing . Show me what you ’ re going to do tomorrow before you leave . I mean that was ridiculous .”
So , Cochran turned down the offer . That didn ’ t sit well with the bosses , and so began a relationship that was fairly strained to say the least . “ That 2007-2010 period when Sam Zell came in and brought in the folks from the Star Wars bar , things really got weird . Radio was a slowly digressing business and radio folks were trying to figure out how to keep people involved , but we scared people away with some of the horrible moves that were made . Listeners just left , that frankly we ’ re still trying to get back . Some may never come back . All the goodwill that WGN had built up forever was just pissed away . You put on the former city clerk at night , and some French advertising guy from Cleveland on the weekends . It was one horrific idea after the other . I told them ‘ You guys are on some sort of a Joe DiMaggio streak of bad moves here .’”
It wasn ’ t too much of a surprise that the relationship didn ’ t last . After WGN showed him the door , Cochran found himself working at a conservative talk radio station and it never quite felt like a good fit . “ When I got fired I had to work , and eventually the WIND ( AM 560 ) thing came up . That was tough because it was a very conservative format , and while I lean right , I ’ m more down the middle . But then Jimmy deCastro came back ( as general manager of WGN ) and asked me to join him , and when Jimmy asks , you do it . So I came back to WGN . Jimmy is the best salesman I ’ ve ever seen , but he also gets talent like he is talent . He ’ s supportive . He ’ s a promotional genius . And he ’ s a real lunatic between the ears . Jimmy came in and took a place that felt dead and had a new idea every day and brought the place back up again . Within six months we got the morning numbers back up again , and we ’ ve been second or third in the market ( 35-64 ) ever since .”
Cochran has really settled into the morning spot he was offered several years
Steve Cochran
By Rick Kaempfer
earlier . Of course , he hasn ’ t done it by himself . He has surrounded himself with a quality staff . “ It has sort of become an ensemble cast . You really need the support of everyone who fills the room . At one point we had someone from pretty much every decade . We had Orion ( Samuelson ) who was in his 80s , Dave Eanet who was in his 60s , I was in my 50s , Andrea ( Darlas ) was in her 30s , ( Anna ) Davlantes had just hit 40 . I like the balance we have . I have a phenomenal executive producer , Mary Sandberg . She ’ s really good . But I also remind everyone that we can ’ t get too comfortable because Eric and Kathy are still ahead of us .
WGN is no longer your mother ’ s WGN , and it can ’ t be . The business is constantly changing , especially with the advent of social media , and Cochran does his best to stay on top of the trends . “ I get help . My son is 26 and does social media for a couple of companies . He handles the Facebook page for me , and I do Twitter , and LinkedIn . It ’ s not my favorite thing , but I ’ m also not stupid enough to think it ’ s just a fad . Accept it and make it part of what you do .”
What he does is an information-driven entertainment show . He talks to newsmakers and celebrities , and usually it ’ s all in good fun . On the other hand , he still finds himself in hot water occasionally . Just last month Cochran had to apologize on the air for comments he made about Illinois Comptroller Susan Mendoza . He also faces criticism about his political views . Cochran says he gets heat from both sides of the aisle . “ I hate Trump and I hate Madigan , so what does that make me ? The people of Illinois and America deserve better than they ’ re getting from either party . I think it ’ s great to have this platform to ask more of the leaders of this state and this country , to encourage those in power to do better . If that ruffles feathers , so be it .”
Steve Cochran will be ruffling feathers at 720 AM for at least a few more years . He just signed a new four year deal in January .