{"id":11735,"date":"2016-06-27T06:00:02","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=11735"},"modified":"2016-06-27T06:38:50","modified_gmt":"2016-06-27T11:38:50","slug":"wgn-radio-renews-steve-cochran-though-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2016\/06\/27\/wgn-radio-renews-steve-cochran-though-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"WGN Radio renews Steve Cochran through 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Steve<\/a>

<\/a> Steve Cochran<\/p><\/div>\n

No one could have imagined all the twists and turns in Steve Cochran\u2019s remarkable radio odyssey at WGN AM 720.<\/a> Least of all Cochran himself.<\/p>\n

As the morning star of the Tribune Media news\/talk station marks his latest milestone \u2014 a contract extension through December 2020 \u2014 he can only look back with wonder and gratitude.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started at WGN in 2000 I thought it would be for good, and I was\u00a0wrong,\u201d Cochran said. \u201cWhen I was thrown out in 2010 I thought I would never be back, and I was wrong.\u00a0When I came back in 2013 I thought I would be lucky to have just a three-year run, and I was wrong. So no more predictions.\u00a0I'm glad I'm here for as long as it lasts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cochran, 55, still had more than two years left on his last deal \u2014 a four-year agreement signed in September 2014. The additional two-year extension, expected to be announced Monday, signals another vote of confidence from Jimmy de Castro, president and general manager of WGN. (The station also recently extended the contracts of afternoon personality Roe Conn and vice president of programming and content Todd Manley.)<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve makes it look easy with his affable brand of intelligence, but nobody works harder to gather and share the stories Chicagoans care about,\u201d Manley said of Cochran and his show. \u201cHe\u2019s got the raw talent and work ethic we need for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jimmy<\/a>

Jimmy de Castro<\/p><\/div>\n

From the beginning of his tenure as general manager, de Castro said, Cochran\u2019s contribution has gone far beyond his performance on the air. He\u2019s been an integral part of management\u2019s inner circle. \u201cSteve has been lock step in every single move that we have made,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a total advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cochran returns the compliment, saying: \u201cThere has never been anyone better at running stations than Jimmy de Castro.\u00a0He's an innovator, a cheerleader, an ass kicker, and a good time.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don't understand how bad things were when de Castro took over.\u00a0He made a million tough decisions.\u00a0He hired the right people.\u00a0He learned what WGN was and what it could be. So with his leadership we continue to \u2018honor the past, fix the present and build the future.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Now the consummate insider, Cochran couldn\u2019t have been more of an outsider when his initial 10-year run ended in 2010. He lambasted the Tribune Co. bosses who fired him, calling them \u201cthe worst kind of management\u201d<\/a> \u2014 including chairman Sam Zell, CEO Randy Michaels, WGN program director Kevin Metheny and WGN general manager Tom Langmyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have no respect for the audience,\u201d Cochran said at the time.\u00a0\u201cThey simply don\u2019t seem to care what the listeners think.\u00a0Imagine that attitude in any other business. . . . The current Tribune Co.\u00a0appears to be\u00a0run by a\u00a0club of Randy and friends who only talk to each other and really seem to think they are the smartest guys in the room.\u201d All of them are gone now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said a lot of really hard things about the Zell, Michaels, Metheny, Langmyer regime,\u201d Cochran acknowledged.\u00a0\u201cI don't regret any of it because it was all true.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WGN<\/a>

WGN Radio<\/p><\/div>\n

Despite the\u00a0relinquishing\u00a0<\/a>of Chicago Cubs broadcast rights by WGN, ratings have held steady for Cochran\u2019s morning show, which ranks third in the market with a 5.6 percent share and cumulative audience of 345,000, according to the latest Nielsen Audio survey. That\u2019s equal to Cochran\u2019s rank and share in May 2014 (when WGN still aired the Cubs) and up more than a full share point from May 2013 before Cochran signed on.<\/p>\n

Airing from 6 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday on WGN and streaming on WGNRadio.com,<\/a> TuneIn<\/a> and iHeartRadio, <\/a>Cochran\u2019s show features an ensemble of contributors, including co-anchor and reporter Andrea Darlas, news and business reporter Steve Grzanich, sports anchor Dave Eanet and traffic reporter Mary Van De Velde.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show is funny, informative, and\u00a0Blackhawks-filled,\u00a0and I'm proud of that,\u201d Cochran said.\u00a0\u201cBut with the mess the world is in, I promise we will talk about that, too,\u00a0everyday.\u00a0I think the audience has responded to that, and it's a direct reason we have had ratings success.\u00a0You may not agree with what I say,\u00a0but you will get the truth and you won't be bored. . . .\u00a0I think I have a responsibility to this audience and the legacy of Wally Phillips, Bob Collins and Spike O'Dell to work harder and be better everyday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI'm blessed to have this show and very happy that I'll be doing it for another few years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No one could have imagined all the twists and turns in Steve Cochran\u2019s remarkable radio odyssey at WGN AM 720. Least of all Cochran himself. As the morning star of the Tribune Media news\/talk station marks his latest milestone \u2014 a contract extension through December 2020 \u2014 he can only look back with wonder and... Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11735"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11735"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11757,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11735\/revisions\/11757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}