Steve Cochran fired from WGN-AM Radio 720

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: June 25, 2010 : Steve Cochran done at WGN-AM : : Steve Cochran, who was hanging by a thread as a midday host of WGN-AM 720 finally was cut loose by management at Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.'s radio station after his program Friday. : The exit for Cochran, 49, after a decade at WGN-AM, was not unanticipated. His contract expires at the end of the month and the station had trimmed his show by one-third to two hours when it moved it to 1 p.m. this spring. : Also, WGN-AM earlier this month hired Mike McConnell, 54, a host from Cincinnati's WLW-AM who will come aboard in August in a slot to be announced later, though he has said it will "air sometime between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m." : With the exception of a one-year stint in Detroit in the late 1990s and a few brief stretches between jobs, Cochran (pictured right) has been on Chicago radio since 1993. : : Originally, he was hired as morning man by the old WCKG-FM from KDWB-FM in Minneapolis. But just days before he was to make his debut, WCKG management told him he was to do a sports-oriented show and, after a dry run on an overnight Friday shift, he didn't show up for his official launch the following Monday morning. "After pulling his second no-show on Tuesday, all parties concerned agreed to part company for good," the Chicago Sun-Times reported at the time. : Cochran eventually landed at the old WPNT-FM and later also worked for WLUP-FM 97.9 and WMVP-AM 1000. : After returning from Detroit, Cochran was a rising star at WGN-AM up until just a few years ago. Management eyed him as a replacement for retiring morning drive host Spike O'Dell in late 2008 but was unable to come to terms with Cochran on a new contract. The job instead went, temporarily it turned out, to John Williams. : Williams, whose current contract runs into next year, was replaced by San Francisco import Greg Jarrett in morning drive after six months and returned to middays. He remains in WGN-AM's 9 a.m.-to-1 p.m. slot, and since April also has hosted a two-hour weekday program for CBS Radio's WCCO-AM in Minneapolis. : "Mike McConnell and John Williams, who currently hosts 9 a.m.-(to)-1p.m., make a great team to take our listeners through the events of the day,” Tom Langmyer, WGN-AM's vice president and general manager, said in a statement thanking Cochran for his service and wishing him well. : : Cochran's fans can still enjoy his standup comedy act Friday and Saturday at Metropolis Performing Arts Center in Arlington Heights as part of a bill that includes John DaCosse and Patti Vasquez. Tickets are and more information are available through Metropolisarts.com. : : (Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)

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