Matt McCann
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Matt McCann was born on September 16, 1960 in Chicago. He has been a well known radio station air-personality, program director and now a nationally known expert on long-term care insurance and long-term care planning and a well known speaker on long-term care issues.
He attended Hinsdale South High School in Darien, Illinois. His love of radio started having grown up listening to legendary top 40 station WLS, Chicago. When he started high school at Hinsdale South High School he quickly joined the school's radio station, WHSD (88.5 FM). It was in high school that his radio career started.
[edit] Biography
While in high school McCann joined the school's FM radio station where he quickly became the station's student station manager. In 1976, McCann got his first chance at a commercial radio station landing a weekend on-air job at WKDC (AM) , Elmhurst, Illinois. By the time his senior year started, he added a job working at another Chicago suburban station, WAUR (FM), Aurora, IL.
McCann decided to go to Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. So in the fall of 1978 he moved to Carbondale where in 1982 he received his BS degree from SIUC. But while in school he worked, grabbing a job at WCIL (AM & FM), Carbondale.
When he did graduate in 1982, the owner of WCIL offered him the job of program director for WCIL (AM).
In January of 1986 it was time for him to leave southern Illinois and he accepted the program director's position at WLRW, Champaign, IL. McCann is crediting for putting this station on the map. This top 40 station dominated in ratings and revenue for years under his leadership.
Just a few months after the birth of his son, Joe McCann, he left for Des Moines, IA to take the program director's job at KRNQ, Des Moines in the fall of 1991.
In 1993 McCann went south and arrived in San Antonio, Texas where he was named program director of country formatted KDIL. Soon he was also given control of co-owned KKYX (AM). The owners changed formats at KDIL and was told to move KDIL from country to smooth jazz and KDIL became KCJZ.
In January 1996 McCann was able to go home. ABC hired him at WLS-FM where they were about to change format of the station to country. WLS-FM became KICKS Country and McCann was the mid-day air-personality and music director for the station.
The station did not last very long and when ABC changed formats again, McCann moved to WUSN, Chicago and later to WUBT, Chicago. It was at WUBT where McCann was teamed up with legendary Chicago radio personality Larry Lujack. That show had huge ratings as Lujack had been in retirement for years before coming back to Chicago radio. McCann was in the Chicago studio and Lujack worked from his home in New Mexico. Most people had no clue they were in different studios and were amazed they worked so well together.
When McCann's mother became ill, McCann took a major career change and went into the long-term care insurance business. He did not leave radio completely as he did some weekend work at suburban stations like WERV, Aurora and WJTW, Joliet.
But the long-term care business took off where he quickly established himself at a nationally known expert and a nationally known speaker on long-term care issues.
McCann is often sought as a speaker for meetings large and small. He is often quoted in news stories about long-term care issues. McCann is also been recognized as one of the top insurance agents in the country in long-term care and has thousands of clients.
He is a frequent contributor to the editorial page of the Chicago Tribune's "Voice of the People" feature.
[edit] Awards
McCann is a two time winner of the coveted Golden Harvest Award for outstanding public service in long-term care. He also is a six time winner of the Illinois Broadcasters's Association Silver Dome Award,
