I know some of you will be sick of this, BUT...Markkk Shannon again is on air threatening politicians with Gun violence. Again, how is it possible for someone to threaten another person with murder?? What if someone called in to his show, and told Shannon We need to come down there and burn your building!?? Would not that be an arson threat?? Markkk Shannon also stated WE NEED TO burn Nebraska corn fields!! ARSON THREAT!!! What if someone from Nebraska spewed.."We need to go down and burn the oilfields!! ARSON!!! and all this after threatening our Mayor with arson during the maps3 vote. I again am contacting our DA, Nebraska DA, the Secret Service, the media, and an attorney. Some one has to stop this mad man, before he kills. and ktok radio will be held responsible. Please contact officials and maybe we can have a class action lawsuit against Mark Shannon, and ktok radio.

:LolLolLol

You guys take him way too seriously.

Murder and arson should be taken seriously!!!

Thats really not the point. He's not going to be the one to do it, unless his illness truly has gone to his head. Its the radical kooks who would be the ones to do it at the urging of people like him.

A caller just stated 'WE need to do something to those Democrats so they cannot physically vote'!!!!

There's violence on both sides. What about those SEIU workers who beat the sh*t out of a conservative at a Tea Party?

Murder and arson should be taken seriously!!!

The kind of talk he is spouting is no different than radical Islamic Imams preaching death and destruction in the mosque or over the internet. As the 5 kids recently arrested in Pakistan seems to prove out, as the kook in Texas that mowed down his fellow army servicemen, as all the people who gather in Iraq and Afghanistan and Packistan to fight the "American Devils," a lot of things can happen just by someone saying something on the radio. He really should be stopped and pulled way back by the station.

seiu did not go on air, calling for widespread death!!

Why is anyone listening to him? It seems like he's one of the most successful shock jocks I've seen in a while..

He's not calling for widespread death.

If success means your on a bobsled to hell, well, than yes

What if he did talk his listeners to actually doing something?? Guns would have to be pointed at our own national guard. That never turns out good

What I meant by that he's just a very successful shock jock is that the radio station will never get rid of him because he brings them too much controversy, which is good for ratings. The controversy happens because he is deliberately saying the things he's spewing just to get decent people riled up and you all are taking the bait and still tuning in.

I tune in to listen, not to try to find something here to post about. Met the man at the OKC Tea Party, good guy.

So tell me?? Would you kill for Mark Shannon? Would you kill our own boys and girls in the National Guard?

No sir, I'm doing more than just posting here

So tell me?? Would you kill for Mark Shannon? Would you kill our own boys and girls in the National Guard?

Yes, I would. I would kill for Mark Shannon. Anyone he told me to. (Just say the word, Mark, and it shall be done.)

For I am a Soldier of Shannon.

(And yes, that's what we call ourselves. It was "Shannon's Soldiers" at first but it was decided that was a little too close to "McHale's Navy," so "Soldier(s) of Shannon" it is.)

LOL @ this thread

When you got a pansy, non macho sounding name like Shannon, I guess you better talk tough and threatening.

I thought I heard a shock jock ..
I DID! I DID!
I Did heard a shock jock.

Cartoons without commercials ... ahhh, the good life

So tell me?? Would you kill for Mark Shannon? Would you kill our own boys and girls in the National Guard?

Why would you say such a thing?

Why would you say such a thing?

I guess he thinks there aren't any kooks out there who would kill abortion doctors or preachers if they get angry enough at someone. That fellow who took a statue to the Italian PM certainly was as sane as they come.

At one time I felt the same way as Okcmetal, however, after listening to his show for a few days and reading his web page, as long as anyone on the receiving end of one of his threat's isn't allergic to HOT AIR, I think their safe.

I figure the best response is to never turn the dial to his show. Lousy ratings are the only thing the radio stations understand.

There's violence on both sides. What about those SEIU workers who beat the sh*t out of a conservative at a Tea Party?

This is urban legend, promoted by right wingers, just like the two undercover conservatives who dressed up like pimps and hos to implicate ACORN.

Conservatives used to be led by thinkers, like William F. Buckley. Now they they are led by ranting morons.

MarKKK Shannon is just the latest.

I may be liberal, but I think to run a country we need people of all perspectives. Right now, we have no rational conservative voice. The ones we hear are just snide or psychotic "entertainers" like Rush, Beck, and Shannon, or we have out and out bigots and freaks.

We have people like Rick Perry advocating secession from the Union. Nobody even believes the sincerity of this blowdried moron -- including his conservative base.

We need to have rational, thoughtful conservatives contributing to the public discourse. We do not have this right now.

:LolLolLol

You guys take him way too seriously.

I agree, he is just trying to razz up some ratings.....boy it seems to be working!!:ohno:

This is urban legend, promoted by right wingers, just like the two undercover conservatives who dressed up like pimps and hos to implicate ACORN.


YouTube - Obama Thugs Punch Twice As Hard (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBdbTVUeay8)

Looks like an urban legend to me.

You are taking your eye off of the ball. It doesn't matter how the videos were shot, they still exposed the corruption and illegal activities of ACORN. Underage prostitution and trafficking aren't funny.

This is urban legend, promoted by right wingers, just like the two undercover conservatives who dressed up like pimps and hos to implicate ACORN.

Conservatives used to be led by thinkers, like William F. Buckley. Now they they are led by ranting morons.

MarKKK Shannon is just the latest.

I may be liberal, but I think to run a country we need people of all perspectives. Right now, we have no rational conservative voice. The ones we hear are just snide or psychotic "entertainers" like Rush, Beck, and Shannon, or we have out and out bigots and freaks.

We have people like Rick Perry advocating secession from the Union. Nobody even believes the sincerity of this blowdried moron -- including his conservative base.

We need to have rational, thoughtful conservatives contributing to the public discourse. We do not have this right now.

Boortz is pretty good for a talking head, he has a lot of serious and more rational discussion unlike the other talking heads...though he definately gets his entertainment squeezed in :)

YouTube - Obama Thugs Punch Twice As Hard (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBdbTVUeay8)

Looks like an urban legend to me.

You are taking your eye off of the ball. It doesn't matter how the videos were shot, they still exposed the corruption and illegal activities of ACORN. Underage prostitution and trafficking aren't funny.

No, they're not. But the ACORN thing has been completely blown out of proportion. There are a lot of people in this country who actually believe that ACORN stole the election for Obama.

Yes, there are union thugs, just like there are thugs that represent all variety of political positions. But union thugs aren't on the radio night after night recommending things like burning the mayor's house down, killing liberals etc.

How old are you? Have you read any history? Do you actually think it's OK to make light of things like assassination and violence?

I don't want to malign you for no reason, but why do you care so much about defending Shannon? Does he hold a special place in your heart or something? You really seem to "admire" him a great deal, especially now that you're his number one public defender.

This is urban legend, promoted by right wingers, just like the two undercover conservatives who dressed up like pimps and hos to implicate ACORN.


That is not urban legend, the whole incident is on video...and I'm not sure how anyone can defend the actions of acorn, trapped or not they were engaging in illegal activity.

That is not urban legend, the whole incident is on video...and I'm not sure how anyone can defend the actions of acorn, trapped or not they were engaging in illegal activity.

For the record, I'm not a fan of ACORN, at all. I'm only commenting on how this incident is being used to exaggerate the activities of ACORN.

There will be nothing substantial to come out of this investigation, at least to implicate the organization. That is all I'm talking about.

Personally, I'm not a fan of paying people to register voters. And I say this because I think it should be a voluntary activity.

Personally, I'm not a fan of paying people to register voters. And I say this because I think it should be a voluntary activity.

It should be voluntary and paying for registration creates a massive conflict of interest as demonstrated by the dozen plus ongoing investigations into voter fraud and registration fraud.

It should be voluntary and paying for registration creates a massive conflict of interest as demonstrated by the dozen plus ongoing investigations into voter fraud and registration fraud.

I agree with you. However, the investigations into "voter fraud" represent a tiny minority of registrations. ACORN was not the huge perpetrator of voter fraud FOX News is desperate to have you believe.

There are other instances of fraud that would be far more pernicious, such as denying minorities access to polling places, voter suppression efforts (which are a federal felony but happen in every election), etc.

How old are you? Have you read any history? Do you actually think it's OK to make light of things like assassination and violence?

I don't want to malign you for no reason, but why do you care so much about defending Shannon? Does he hold a special place in your heart or something? You really seem to "admire" him a great deal, especially now that you're his number one public defender.

My personal history is of no importance to this discussion. And no, assassination threats and threats of violence should not be taken as a laughing matter. But, you also need to define threat. What person, who is serious about pulling through, would go on air and broadcast is to thousands of listeners, which includes policemen, firefighters, and I'm sure some federal agents on duty in OKC. Real threats are from those who call in threats from telephone booths at 2am, and try to stay anonymous and below the radar. Not from those who are broadcasting through the airwaves in Central Oklahoma.

Had you said, "Mark Shannon was found calling in threats to the Mayor's office from a dark telephone booth in Wellston, OK near a highway." I would take these 'threats' seriously, but since nothing he is doing is hiding himself, and the fact that no one from the govt. has told him to simmer down, I'd say you guys are overreacting.

All of this is completely laughable. Shannon...laughable, His tirates...laughable,
people responding to his garbage...laughable.

The guys an idiot just trying to make his way on the radio by beating a loud bell of B.S. like a snake oil salesman. If your a gullible Gilligan you'll believe everything the idiot says. If your smart, you'll never listen to his blathering lies of garbage and misinformation ever again. I learned to shut the garbage off the second time I heard him. He was a much better jock than a talk radio Limbaugh wanna be.

For the record, I'm not a fan of ACORN, at all. I'm only commenting on how this incident is being used to exaggerate the activities of ACORN.

There will be nothing substantial to come out of this investigation, at least to implicate the organization. That is all I'm talking about.

Personally, I'm not a fan of paying people to register voters. And I say this because I think it should be a voluntary activity.


I'm not sure how it is an exaggeration when it happened at multiple cities. And no, there won't be anything that will come of it - due to their buddy in the white house. I don't know why it is so hard to believe that there is corruption there - not everything is a "right wing conspiracy", Hillary.

I'm not sure how it is an exaggeration when it happened at multiple cities. And no, there won't be anything that will come of it - due to their buddy in the white house. I don't know why it is so hard to believe that there is corruption there - not everything is a "right wing conspiracy", Hillary.

OK, Mr. Smarty Pants,

1. I did not say there was no corruption. Learn to read.

2. Obama has nothing to do with this investigation. Absolutely none. And if you think he does, you don't understand how the federal government operates. Get a clue.

3. You're the one suggesting a conspiracy, not me. You're suggesting that there's somehow some grand conspiracy involving paid vote registrars fraudulently tllting a national election, or at least that's the conspiracy du jour on FOX News.

4. I have not suggested any right-wing conspiracy in this. I've referenced right-wing media like FOX News and shock jocks trumpeting this story endlessly (which is a FACT, not a conspiracy), despite scant evidence that this involved more than a few hundred votes nationwide. The conspiratorial thinking is on your side of the fence, not mine. Grow up.

I know some of you will be sick of this, BUT...Markkk Shannon again is on air threatening politicians with Gun violence. Again, how is it possible for someone to threaten another person with murder?? What if someone called in to his show, and told Shannon We need to come down there and burn your building!?? Would not that be an arson threat?? Markkk Shannon also stated WE NEED TO burn Nebraska corn fields!! ARSON THREAT!!! What if someone from Nebraska spewed.."We need to go down and burn the oilfields!! ARSON!!! and all this after threatening our Mayor with arson during the maps3 vote. I again am contacting our DA, Nebraska DA, the Secret Service, the media, and an attorney. Some one has to stop this mad man, before he kills. and ktok radio will be held responsible. Please contact officials and maybe we can have a class action lawsuit against Mark Shannon, and ktok radio.

why don't you just change the channel?
stop supporting his show.

Conservatives used to be led by thinkers, like William F. Buckley. Now they they are led by ranting morons.

Trouble is, the movement has become so damn anti-intellectual it's not even funny. To be educated and intelligent are things most in this party look at with distrust. The leadership is fine with that situation because it allows them to take up positions which cause thinking people to exclaim "WTF," while having the rank and file unthinkingly jump on the bandwagon.

The Dems aren't any better though. At the national level, they *claim* to be thoughtful, intelligent, etc., aren't so outwardly hostile to smart folks [so long as those people agree with the Dems]. On the other hand, the Dems do talk a good game, but they're just as much in the pockets of K Street types as the Republicans. I say this about Dems at the national level because the Dems at the state level do pretty much nothing. Despite losing power, they still seem to think that being in power in this state is some sort of birthright. They do nothing to craft a unified message or theme or really do any sort of marketing. In short, the Oklahoma Democratic Party is a failed party. But that's neither here nor there.

The terms 'conservative' and 'liberal' have really been stripped of all inherent meaning just as the parties have. We're arguing over name brands. Might as well be Pepsi vs. Coke.

Ultimately, we the people do have all the power. We're just too dumb to exercise it. We latch onto these useless name brands because change is scary.

The anti-intellectual crap is just bad. When I discuss things like tort reform (which is probably more properly referred to as 'well-connected-special-interest-lawsuit-immunity), they talk about 'trial lawyers' as if being a 'trial lawyer' is something which is inherently evil. They don't grasp the depth and breadth of the subject, don't know that these protected special interests want to be protected from swindling royalty owners or being able to get off scott free (or at least be subsidized) when they kill or maim people through their reckless or willful acts. The anti-intellectual argument has become this:

premise #1 = lawyers are bad
premise #2 = lawyers file lawsuits
conclusion = lawsuits are always bad and must be prevented at all costs.

[Good syllogisms there, but the underlying premises are flawed as all get out.]

I shouldn't be surprised. Thinking is not something which is really valued in society unless it's going to sell something or accomplish some sort of objective for a client. Thinking abstractly about things which we aren't directly involved with isn't really something most people are very interested in. Especially when the name-brand you associate with, your team, is telling you that 'x is good, therefore we must support x, go team.'

Mark Shannon and his ilk tend to think about things on the most simplistic level. It's all his audience is really capable of. They distrust the word of experts and educated people who actually believe things are complicated and should be subjected to careful reasoning.

This may be a reflection on society. Why should society trust the smart/elite to run the show when the smart/elite time and time again have simply used their status to line their own pockets? I'm not sure. One thing I'm sure of though -- government composed of and for the lowest common denominator in at least 50.1% of a given electorate is probably not the way to go.


/rant

seiu did not go on air, calling for widespread death!!

Then you don't listen to left-wing talk radio. Listen to Randy Rhodes and some of her callers for a while. I also recall a movie about killing President Bush. I think it won some awards.

In fact: Here it is.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0853096/

It won six awards.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0853096/awards


The real President is probably off somewhere doing what he does best, which is vacationing, but the fictional assasination of President George W Bush did make it to the screen at the Toronto Film Festival and with great reviews. "Death Of A President", the controversial British drama, which shows Bush shot dead in Chicago, Illinois in 2007, was recently slammed as "irresponsible" and "horrible" by U.S. politicians.

However, director Gabriel Range claims critics are judging the film unfairly as they have yet to see it. He says, "I think the film makes it clear it would really be a horrific event. I really don't think that anyone would get the idea of assassinating Bush from this film." He adds, "It is using the lens of the future to look at the present. It is about issues that have affected us all in the last five years. It is a film about America today. "The central conceit of the film was that it is a drama, but told in the style of what we hope is a fairly authentic, classic, retrospective documentary. Clearly, if we had told a retrospective documentary with a fictional president, it would have undermined and undercut that central idea."


I am sure many of you Shannon haters will defend this directors comments. I wonder if he will do "Death of President II" starring Obama? I think not.

Trouble is, the movement has become so damn anti-intellectual it's not even funny. To be educated and intelligent are things most in this party look at with distrust. The leadership is fine with that situation because it allows them to take up positions which cause thinking people to exclaim "WTF," while having the rank and file unthinkingly jump on the bandwagon.

The Dems aren't any better though. At the national level, they *claim* to be thoughtful, intelligent, etc., aren't so outwardly hostile to smart folks [so long as those people agree with the Dems]. On the other hand, the Dems do talk a good game, but they're just as much in the pockets of K Street types as the Republicans. I say this about Dems at the national level because the Dems at the state level do pretty much nothing. Despite losing power, they still seem to think that being in power in this state is some sort of birthright. They do nothing to craft a unified message or theme or really do any sort of marketing. In short, the Oklahoma Democratic Party is a failed party. But that's neither here nor there.

The terms 'conservative' and 'liberal' have really been stripped of all inherent meaning just as the parties have. We're arguing over name brands. Might as well be Pepsi vs. Coke.

Ultimately, we the people do have all the power. We're just too dumb to exercise it. We latch onto these useless name brands because change is scary.

The anti-intellectual crap is just bad. When I discuss things like tort reform (which is probably more properly referred to as 'well-connected-special-interest-lawsuit-immunity), they talk about 'trial lawyers' as if being a 'trial lawyer' is something which is inherently evil. They don't grasp the depth and breadth of the subject, don't know that these protected special interests want to be protected from swindling royalty owners or being able to get off scott free (or at least be subsidized) when they kill or maim people through their reckless or willful acts. The anti-intellectual argument has become this:

premise #1 = lawyers are bad
premise #2 = lawyers file lawsuits
conclusion = lawsuits are always bad and must be prevented at all costs.

[Good syllogisms there, but the underlying premises are flawed as all get out.]

I shouldn't be surprised. Thinking is not something which is really valued in society unless it's going to sell something or accomplish some sort of objective for a client. Thinking abstractly about things which we aren't directly involved with isn't really something most people are very interested in. Especially when the name-brand you associate with, your team, is telling you that 'x is good, therefore we must support x, go team.'

Mark Shannon and his ilk tend to think about things on the most simplistic level. It's all his audience is really capable of. They distrust the word of experts and educated people who actually believe things are complicated and should be subjected to careful reasoning.

This may be a reflection on society. Why should society trust the smart/elite to run the show when the smart/elite time and time again have simply used their status to line their own pockets? I'm not sure. One thing I'm sure of though -- government composed of and for the lowest common denominator in at least 50.1% of a given electorate is probably not the way to go.


/rant

Great post. I agree that the Democrats have aligned themselves with some anti-intellectualists in the name of populism. Certainly, brutish union organizers have some anti-intellectuals in their midst, and they tend to be a Democratic constituency.

That said, it's not exactly a scarlet letter in the Dem Party today to be known as a thinker.

OK, Mr. Smarty Pants,

1. I did not say there was no corruption. Learn to read.

2. Obama has nothing to do with this investigation. Absolutely none. And if you think he does, you don't understand how the federal government operates. Get a clue.

If you think he has no weight at all in this you've got to be kidding yourself

3. You're the one suggesting a conspiracy, not me. You're suggesting that there's somehow some grand conspiracy involving paid vote registrars fraudulently tllting a national election, or at least that's the conspiracy du jour on FOX News.

I said no such thing - who needs to learn how to read?

4. I have not suggested any right-wing conspiracy in this. I've referenced right-wing media like FOX News and shock jocks trumpeting this story endlessly (which is a FACT, not a conspiracy), despite scant evidence that this involved more than a few hundred votes nationwide. The conspiratorial thinking is on your side of the fence, not mine. Grow up.

Sounds to me more like you 'd rather just blow off the acorn stuff and let it slide - you do realize just because something is on Fox, does not invalidate it - just as it being on CNN doesn't?



xx

OKCMetal one thing you need to comprehend is that there will be many things that turn your stomach in this world. Just because you do not like what somebody has to say it does not mean they have to be silenced or re-educated to accept your point of view and lose theirs.

You need to learn to stop taking everything/everyone at face value. You make a conscious decision to let something bother you. You can always listen to another radio show. You can listen to CD's. You can purchase an IPOD and download progressive talk shows that fit your political views.

So markk Shannon is just an entertainer?? Just a comedian??? So you people think arson and assassination is funny?? Isn't ktok radio NEWS TALK?? NEWS!! not a comedy station. So Markkk Shannon and ktok radio used the fireman and police opposition to maps3, just as a comedy skit?? Markk Shannon threatens a politician, just for laughs?? Is the tea bagger movement,{which Markkk Shannon is a self proclaimed leader} Just a joke? Threatening to burn the Tax commission down, funny?? His drug induced rants made to Fire up the knuckledraggers who listen to his show,{ to kill our boys and girls in the national guard,} is suppose to be satire? This so called christian man, told a listener, she should have her uteris jerked out, He told an elderly man that,"You just like taking it in the butt from Cornett" Shannon likes to talk about little boys getting "FISTED", and raped..which probably is why he likes to be called a TEA BAGGER.. Wow..if you enjoy his show, you may have a problem, and need to get to church as soon as possible. And no I will not turn the channel, I will listen an report, word of mouth will shut down his on air bigotry. And letting the consumers of Oklahoma know what sponsers actually believe in Markkk Shannons hate filled bile, and just say No to the "dumbing Down of OKC!!

:LolLolLol

Mods, I think this is just getting a little out of hand. When you resort to name calling, you immediately forfeit an argument/debate.

:elmer3:

So markk Shannon is just an entertainer?? Just a comedian??? So you people think arson and assassination is funny?? Isn't ktok radio NEWS TALK?? NEWS!! not a comedy station. So Markkk Shannon and ktok radio used the fireman and police opposition to maps3, just as a comedy skit?? Markk Shannon threatens a politician, just for laughs?? Is the tea bagger movement,{which Markkk Shannon is a self proclaimed leader} Just a joke? Threatening to burn the Tax commission down, funny?? His drug induced rants made to Fire up the knuckledraggers who listen to his show,{ to kill our boys and girls in the national guard,} is suppose to be satire? This so called christian man, told a listener, she should have her uteris jerked out, He told an elderly man that,"You just like taking it in the butt from Cornett" Shannon likes to talk about little boys getting "FISTED", and raped..which probably is why he likes to be called a TEA BAGGER.. Wow..if you enjoy his show, you may have a problem, and need to get to church as soon as possible. And no I will not turn the channel, I will listen an report, word of mouth will shut down his on air bigotry. And letting the consumers of Oklahoma know what sponsers actually believe in Markkk Shannons hate filled bile, and just say No to the "dumbing Down of OKC!!

The man is nearing a day when the Lord Almighty will punch his ticket. I highly doubt any of your complaints are original. If you feel too strongly, write a letter to Clear Channel specifically citing the words you thought were inappropriate.

Also, in the future, if you're going to complain about anyone 'dumbing down' someone or something, please at least attempt to sound like the intelligent and educated person which you probably are. Your credibility is on life support as it is.

I'll make this quick:

As soon as this Mark Shannon creep incites someone to kill or burn something down, he'll go to jail. Simple.

This concludes your lesson for today.

I'll make this quick:

As soon as this Mark Shannon creep incites someone to kill or burn something down, he'll go to jail. Simple.

This concludes your lesson for today.

Not really.. no. I doubt the D.A. would even press charges. You're free in this country to say any crazy 'ol thing you want so long as you aren't egging people on into illegal activity with the reasonable expectation that they will actually follow through.

I can't see how you'd possibly find there to be such a reasonable expectation considering the vast breadth of material under Shannon's belt where he suggested folks do bad things, yet no one did those bad things.

Racist white folk like to listen to the radio and BAWWWW (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=BAWWWW) sometimes. It's probably cathartic.

xx

There you go again.

Where did I say we should just "blow off" the ACORN stuff? I didn't. For the record, I think anyone, ANYONE, guilty of vote fraud should be prosecuted. That is anyone and everyone. Let me say it another way: I hope every phony ACORN registrar (All 300 of them or whatever) is prosecuted. I hope every fraudulent voter, whether or not they were registered by ACORN officials, is prosecuted. In case you have any question, let me put it another way: I want everyone involved in ACORN who broke the law to face justice.

Do you understand what I'm saying? Do you get my position? Is this clear enough to you?

And regarding Obama, please explain how the president of the United States can intervene in court cases and US Attorney investigations of voter registration fraud? And in what manner would that benefit the president?

I know a year is a long time ago, but Barack Obama won the White House by 9 million votes in an electoral landslide. As someone who volunteered for his exceptional presidential campaign, I can tell you unequivocally his extensive -- and completely legal -- voter registration effort was one of the most impressive in the history of American presidential campaigns.

The Obama Campaign had its own voter registration, they weren't waiting for ACORN folks to get it done. We did not work with ACORN.

Please report back to this board when ACORN gets hit with RICO violations. It hasn't happened and it won't.

He's not calling for widespread death.

Yeah, as long he's limiting it to more narrow and more targeted death and destruction, what's the big deal?

:lol2:


You guys take him way too seriously.

And apparently so do a lot of his callers.

I listen to Mark Shannon at least a couple days a week when I am in the car. He and I disagree on most things politically, and he is blatantly over-the-top. THAT'S HOW HE MAINTAINS AN INTERESTING SHOW, and, RATINGS. Does he oversimplify and speak to the worst in people and pander to the lowest common denominator of his ideological brethren? Yep. But in his business (and, yes, it is a BUSINESS, not a public-information forum), and given the fact that most people react to current events based on limited, and well-spun, summaries from talk show hosts and news snippets, I can see his appeal to some. He makes complicated issues easy for people who don't know much to understand. I don't mean to be condescending in saying that, but have you listened to his callers? 90% of them aren't exactly what I would call part of Oklahoma's "best and brightest." You have a lot of marginalized, displaced people who love to get riled up about "others" are stealing their traditional way of life (as mythological and romanticized as this abstract "way of life" may be).

Seriously, give Mark Shannon a break. He is doing a job, and by perusing this thread, he is apparently very successful at it, since we're all talking about him. If you don't like him, you have 3 options as I see it: 1.) Stop listening; 2.) Keep listening and complain to his employer if he crosses a line; or 3) (and this is what I do) Continue to listen to his show recognizing it for EXACTLY what it is - entertainment.

If I am perplexed by one thing about him though, it's the fact that a guy who so notoriously abhors homosexuality can't make it through 5 minutes without a tasteless gay joke (he thinks and talks about men's body parts more than most of the gay people I know) or calling them perverts or "sexually confused." Seems like the gay issues seem to hit a little close to him, given how much he talks about them. Radio show host doth protest too much???

I used to listen to talk radio. Too much of it. I am very fortunate that I still have some semblance of the intellectual capacities that I once had when I was in high school. Parents, don't let your kids hear any talk radio..it really will brainwash them. It is amazing how blatant a lot of the brainwashing on talk radio is. Tune in, some blowhard will always be ranting about something that goes against what rational society supports.

I can handle the Sports Animal. When I disagree with them, it's just because Jim Traber is ranting and he is an idiot..not because someone just said that we had better be writing a million letters to their congressmen about those damn illegals prying our jobs from our grandparent's cold dead fingers .

As a social experiment I would be kind of interested to see what would happen if a local station put someone really, really liberal on the air for a while. I would imagine the show would get a lot of calls, probably mostly angry. I bet listenership would spike because a lot of people out there just want to be angry about something. The big question is in the end would it generate more revenue for the station, or would it end in boycotts.

As a social experiment I would be kind of interested to see what would happen if a local station put someone really, really liberal on the air for a while. I would imagine the show would get a lot of calls, probably mostly angry. I bet listenership would spike because a lot of people out there just want to be angry about something. The big question is in the end would it generate more revenue for the station, or would it end in boycotts.

I think its been pretty much proven that liberal talk radio doesn't work very well. Even names such as Al Franken couldn't garner enough listners to make the liberal talk radio network Air America remotely profitable so it filed for bankruptcy in 2005 or 06 and was bought by a couple of east coast liberals who bankroll it now. It is a nationally syndicated network but its largest Talk Host gets only 1.2 million listners compared to It seems only on Public Broadcasting can truly liberal radio survive economically.

To be fair, that network has an awful distribution network. There's also very little established listener base for liberal talk radio, ergo an awful distribution network for syndication. It's not the content causing issues, it's the business strategy (or lack thereof).

I used to listen to talk radio. Too much of it. I am very fortunate that I still have some semblance of the intellectual capacities that I once had when I was in high school. Parents, don't let your kids hear any talk radio..it really will brainwash them. It is amazing how blatant a lot of the brainwashing on talk radio is. Tune in, some blowhard will always be ranting about something that goes against what rational society supports.

I can handle the Sports Animal. When I disagree with them, it's just because Jim Traber is ranting and he is an idiot..not because someone just said that we had better be writing a million letters to their congressmen about those damn illegals prying our jobs from our grandparent's cold dead fingers .

The same thing can be said about the Sports Urinal. In the eyes of the Urinal the University of Oklahoma can do no wrong. Poor performance is never reflected on the players. It's always the coach, refs, the weather, the television network, the other teams fans, etc. etc. OU should be in the championship game of every sport by default.

The same thing can be said about MTV. They have every other viewer thinking life is about partying and spending your parents money/other people's money. Success should be handed to you. Hard work should not be required.

Talk radio is entertainment. If you get your talking points from talk radio, you are a fool. Your political views should be based on your own personal expierence with the world around you. If you take notes from talk radio, seriously you need a life.

Most talk radio listeners are like myself. You listen for pure entertainment value only. It's fun to laugh at the people who call in nine kinds of ticked off over something host said.

Mike McConnell is who I listen to more than anything these days. He has show on Saturdays on KTOK and I listen to his podcats from 700 WLW in Cincinnati. His show covers a little a bit of everything and he is not afraid to call BS on the right or the left.

If success means your on a bobsled to hell, well, than yes

I really thought it was hand baskets. Now they're taking bobsleds?....

As a social experiment I would be kind of interested to see what would happen if a local station put someone really, really liberal on the air for a while. I would imagine the show would get a lot of calls, probably mostly angry. I bet listenership would spike because a lot of people out there just want to be angry about something. The big question is in the end would it generate more revenue for the station, or would it end in boycotts.

Joy Behar had a pretty successful talk radio show for years. So did Larry King, so did Jim Bohannon, etc, etc

Are you just talking about this market?

There is a difference between a talk show and an interview show. Larry King made a name for himself nationally by interviewing people all night. By the way, there is a difference between a serious threat and someone exagerating to make a point. I am not sure Mark Shannon is serious about doing some of the things he mentions on his show. It is kind of like the person that says "I will give you a million dollars if you make a half-court shot". When you know the person does not have a million dollars and it is just a friend joking around it is not a serious offer to pay a million dollars. People like Mark Shannon bother me less than people that smile at me when they are sticking a knife in my back.

Bigray in Ok