KTOK - What Has Happened to You?

[RealJimbo]

I guess the Saturday and Sunday lineups plus Reid Mullins in the mornings during the week are all I am interested in on KTOK these days. The new news guy, Mike Sanders (?) comes across as not-too-slick-or-smart. The weekday lineup has become very stale after Reid kicks it to Glenn Beck. Ranting, ranting and more ranting. KOKC at least has Neal Boortz who actually says something new regularly.

My days of listening to KTOK started in about 1967 when it was still a music station with some regular spots for "Chicken Man" and other novelty things. They had their own news and weather staff as well as Captain Perdue for traffic. They pioneered talk radio on OKC and did a fine job of it with locally-produced talk using the likes of John Dale. Then they started paring down their news staff, going to syndicated talkers like Rush Limbaugh and partnering with KFOR for weather and news. Now we get the same stuff over and over with no different perspective on news stories or even weather.

Oh, and the Egg Man? Phhht!! Not even a pale comparison to Mark Shannon. RIP Mark, we really miss you. When the Egg Man comes on, I switch over to KOKC.

What does anyone else think of the current trend at KTOK?

[MikeOKC]

I agree with a lot you of what you wrote. I remember KTOK being locally produced almost 24/7 with hardly any syndicated programming at all. BJ Wexler, Carol Arnold, and these were in the middle of the day. Then as you mentioned, John Dale. Bob Riggins in the mornings. Solid top-notch news operation. It was a good local radio station. Today, it's all changed under the corporate consolidation and the rise of "Big Radio." One thing I might disagree with you about is Reid Mullins. He's just not very good, in my opinion. Not for a market this size. But that's just an opinion. Most of what you wrote can hardly be denied. It's been a rough downhill fall for KTOK.

Oh, I almost forgot. The weekend line-up has some good locally produced material, but it's spotty with some really bad locally produced material as well. How long has Henry Benedict been doing the home and garden show? He's a link to the past for me, a sense of some stability. The science show with Steve Paris is okay except for that Gary guy who sounds like he's trying too hard to be "Mr. Announcer." Gwin does a good job with her show. It's nice to, at least, see KTOK not selling out their entire weekends to syndication. Things have changed so much in local radio - shadows of their former selves.

[Bobdavid]

I remember KTOK being locally produced almost 24/7 with hardly any syndicated programming at all.

We ran Larry King overnight when he was still doing his talk show for Mutual. I believe the station (already owned by Cheap Channel Commuications) dumped Carlton Cordell in favor of King - because, of course, it was cheaper than paying a live-local air personality. It brought in someone to run the control board while King was on. I worked the overnight news shift and was also handed board duty for King for part of the night - not easy when having to stop everything to run a spot while in the midst of generating news.

[Midtowner]

Eggman is terrible. He obviously does no research, does a few comedic spots, and then takes callers and compliments them on their views. Terrible radio.

[SoonerQueen]

I miss Bob Riggins, BJ Wexler, Bob Durgin, John Dayle, Carlton Cordell, and the old Night Cap show. Al Eschbach did the sports, and it was an exceptional local station. Bob Riggins, John Dayle, and Carlton Cordell are all deceased, and Bob Durgin is back east.Lou Staples was very good and I loved his show, but he committed suicide. In later years, WKY went to local talk and it was very,very good, but the owners went Spanish on us one day. I don't understand Spanish, so they lost me and probably all their listeners. I wish we could get the Pat Campbell show here in OKC. He is up in Tulsa and needs a bigger market. He is an awesome host.

[ctchandler]

I think one of my favorites was Jackson Kane. He always wrote an excellent comment. And his presentation/voice were a perfect match. I believe he won a couple of national radio awards.
C. T.

I miss Bob Riggins, BJ Wexler, Bob Durgin, John Dayle, Carlton Cordell, and the old Night Cap show. Al Eschbach did the sports, and it was an exceptional local station. Bob Riggins, John Dayle, and Carlton Cordell are all deceased, and Bob Durgin is back east.Lou Staples was very good and I loved his show, but he committed suicide. In later years, WKY went to local talk and it was very,very good, but the owners went Spanish on us one day. I don't understand Spanish, so they lost me and probably all their listeners. I wish we could get the Pat Campbell show here in OKC. He is up in Tulsa and needs a bigger market. He is an awesome host.

[Cat]

I think one of my favorites was Jackson Kane. He always wrote an excellent comment. And his presentation/voice were a perfect match. I believe he won a couple of national radio awards.
C. T.

Jackson Kane was my father. Thank you for the nice words. I miss him.

Cat

[ctchandler]

Cat,
Sorry for your loss. Didn't he leave KTOK and come back? I also remember that he hosted a Saturday movie on channel ?. I think it was 25.
C. T.

Jackson Kane was my father. Thank you for the nice words. I miss him.

Cat

[Bobdavid]

I think one of my favorites was Jackson Kane. He always wrote an excellent comment. And his presentation/voice were a perfect match. I believe he won a couple of national radio awards.

(emphasis mine)

You are correct. Jax won at least one International Radio Festival award for his commentary, "Kane's World."

Jackson had a wealth of radio experience, in several top markets including but not limited to New York (which, IMO, is the pinnacle of radio markets), Denver, St. Louis, Louisville, Miami and Buffalo. He brought major market experience to an already top-rated radio news station. To use your words, it was a perfect match. I, for one, learned much from having Jackson as news director.

[metro]

Eggman is terrible. He obviously does no research, does a few comedic spots, and then takes callers and compliments them on their views. Terrible radio.

Totally agree.

[RealJimbo]

BTW- I consider myself very conservative, but I'm not a bigot. I take the view that true conservatives can't be bigots.

[Larry OKC]

Is Mike Macarvel (sp) not there any more? He had the self-deprecating line that went something like, "the face that is perfect for radio". I enjoyed his evening program when I had to work late, then I changed employers and no radios allowed.

[SoonerQueen]

I think he retired to his blog, but every now and then you hear his voice.

[RadicalModerate]

Years ago, I used to listen to KTOK ALL the time. I even called the offices, at least once, to complain about the way that their signal dropped off (in my listening area) at sunset when they had to realign the antenna array (or whatever) in compliance with FCC regulations for "real" "clear channel" stations. I especially liked Carol Arnold, Gwin Faulconer (Lippert), Mike McCarville, Bob Durgin and Mark Shannon. Wasn't Ron Black on KTOK for a short time? Or was that a different station? Maybe WKY before it morphed into something replacing local talk radio with trumpets and accordion music?

I must admit that I was hooked on Rush Limbaugh (back when he used to include humorous parody stuff in his show) on account of KTOK, but after a decade or so, I got a bit tired of his relentless . . . one-note blather.

I can't remember the last time I tuned the dial to KTOK.

I actually got to work with Carol Arnold for a short period of time on another station. She is a true broadcasing professional and a real sweetheart

[ctchandler]

[QUOTE=RealJimbo;446311]
My days of listening to KTOK started in about 1967 when it was still a music station with some regular spots for "Chicken Man" and other novelty things.

Since you were listening in the late sixties, do you remember the "Ten Spot" jackpot? Every hour they gave away a ten dollar bill to some lucky listener. I also received a "footed mug" coffee cup from "The Big Swing" donut store, Dennis donuts. I was the driver for a car pool and listened to KTOK out of self defense. If the radio wasn't on, one of my friends in the back would break out in song and that always caused me to break out in a sweat!
C. T.

[USG '60]

If you guys like talk radio listen to KGOU, 105.7 in OKC or 106.3 in Norman. They genuinely cover all sides and there is no yelling, screaming or spitting on the mike. Just civil and professional. I couldn't live without it.

[jstaylor62]

If you guys like talk radio listen to KGOU, 105.7 in OKC or 106.3 in Norman. They genuinely cover all sides and there is no yelling, screaming or spitting on the mike. Just civil and professional. I couldn't live without it.

My last breath...on the next Diane Rehm Show...

[RadicalModerate]

Now KGOU is about the only station I listen to.
(That, and KOSU)

[SoonerDave]

Wow! I feel like I just stepped through a radio time machine!

I remember the Ten Spot Jackpot, Hi Lo, Mike McCormick and Debra Mann and their sometimes-racy (for that era) afternoon show, and I remember that Gary "Thunder Lizard" England was their meteorologist BEFORE he started at KWTV. He was followed by Gene Collett (sp), and then Rick Tasetano, and I think he was there until they started all this teaming nonsense.

Ken Gaines was the GM of KTOK during its heyday, during which time I think it had gained national recognition as one of the top talk stations in the country. John Dayle and his psycho delusions and paranoid theories about how we never went to the moon were worth listening to if only for the humor. I used to call into Bob Durgin's show when he'd play Hangman, and he was actually very nice to me as a kid caller (well, older kid, and I knew how to handle myself on the phone better than most my age).

I remember when Lou Staples committed suicide, because he was late for his co-hosting gig one night with Al Eschbach on the sports show. I don't think many here recall that you could make a case for Eshbach and his 6pm, one-hour sports talk program as the forerunner for contemporary sports talk radio. To my knowledge, no one was doing that. No one believed you could make an ongoing show of nothing but sports, but they were proven wrong. Eschbach was the sports editor at the old Oklahoma Journal then.

KTOK was indirectly involved in its own share of controversy. There was a time when a very amiable on-air personality by the name of Ed Sossen was affiliated quite publicly with what I recall was a children's shelter organization called The Genesis House. At some point, something went awry with the management of the house, a scandal emerged that hit local TV, and I believe the project closed and Sossen more or less left town due to his association with it. I had met Ed Sossen personally at a KTOK remote during OU-Texas weekend (that was obviously back when KTOK was the flagship station for OU football), and he recognized my name and voice and was incredibly gracious to me as a younger caller.

I remember BJ Wexler (who still does the movies on OETA if I'm not mistaken) and his daily "Telephone Poll" at 12:30, and Bob Riggins was a fixture there FOREVER.

KTOK also ran two treasure contests - a $10,000 diamond hunt, and a similar $5,000 cash contest, by hiding something at a secret location, then releasing clues as to its location. What just kills me to this day is that in the latter contest (which ran due to the popularity of the diamond hunt) was that I had figured out the clues and knew the location of the secret message - a park over on Robinson - we went to the park in the early evening, but it was in that near-downtown area that wasn't exactly the best part of town, and there was a group of what looked to me (and, more importantly, my mom) like some area tough guys that didn't want us around. We thought we'd come back (it was fairly early in the contest), but a day or two later we heard that someone had beaten us to the prize. AAAARRRGHH!!

Man, so many memories of that once-great station. I believe Ken Gaines is now in Colorado, and I don't know why he left KTOK, but clearly he was the driving force behind it during those times.

[MikeOKC]

Nice post, Kevin. I remember all of that so very well. Yes, Ken Gaines was with KTOK up through their acquisition by Insilco Broadcasting (International Silver Company) along with their FM sister station, KZUE at that time. Ken left shortly after KTOK/KZUE were sold to a small San Antonio-based outfit in 1978 (or '79) called "San Antonio Broadcasting" that had a couple of stations over in Tulsa and a few in Texas. They changed their name to Clear Channel, now the behemoth (and some say destroyer) of commercial radio.

Ken was also the voice of those Braums radio and TV commercials that made you want a Braums chocolate fudge sundae that very moment. Nice guy.

[UnclePete]

Have not listened to KTOK since it became a right-wing talk station. In the days of them playing music, it was very enjoyable, but their night-time signal was not very strong. I couldn't pick it up at all in Nicoma Park.

[Cat]

Ken was also the voice of those Braums radio and TV commercials that made you want a Braums chocolate fudge sundae that very moment. Nice guy.

My father worked at KTOK for 10 years...Ken Gaines was a very, very nice man...his wife was also very nice.

Cat

[Bobdavid]

[Gary England] was followed by Gene Collett (sp), and then Rick Tasetano, and I think he was there until they started all this teaming nonsense.

Ken Gaines was the GM of KTOK during its heyday, during which time I think it had gained national recognition as one of the top talk stations in the country. John Dayle and his psycho delusions and paranoid theories about how we never went to the moon were worth listening to if only for the humor. I used to call into Bob Durgin's show when he'd play Hangman, and he was actually very nice to me as a kid caller (well, older kid, and I knew how to handle myself on the phone better than most my age)....

***

I remember when Lou Staples committed suicide, because he was late for his co-hosting gig one night with Al Eschbach on the sports show....

***

I had met Ed Sossen personally at a KTOK remote during OU-Texas weekend (that was obviously back when KTOK was the flagship station for OU football)....

***

I remember BJ Wexler (who still does the movies on OETA if I'm not mistaken) and his daily "Telephone Poll" at 12:30, and Bob Riggins was a fixture there FOREVER.

KTOK also ran two treasure contests - a $10,000 diamond hunt, and a similar $5,000 cash contest, by hiding something at a secret location, then releasing clues as to its location....

***

I believe Ken Gaines is now in Colorado, and I don't know why he left KTOK, but clearly he was the driving force behind it during those times.

I never knew Lou Staples, but heard of him. Except for Gary England, I knew and worked with all the other people you mentioned. Rick Tasetano was a helluva nice guy. I remember the diamond hunt and cash contest.

Clear Channel purchased KTOK-KZUE circa 1984. Mr. Gaines was ousted during the CCC takeover. John Butler replaced him. Mr. Gaines went to KVOR-KSPZ in Colorado Springs. I don't recall how long he was there.

Yes, KTOK was a great radio station.

[RealJimbo]

By the way, remember Tom Furlong and B. Mark Summers (sp?)? Tom used to sign off at about 5 pm with "put on the coffee pot, honey. I'm coming home". I met John Dale (Dayle?) at a friend's business once. I big guy and really fun. My friend is Bob Miller who had a weekend show, "swap shop" or something like that. I agree that the locally-produced weekend shows are still very enjoyable. Someone mentioned that Gary Owen is trying too hard to have a "radio voice"...well, that's his normal voice. Have you ever met him? He's pretty awesome in person. Very thin...doesn't look like he would have that deep, velvety voice.

[USG'60]

Is this the Gary Owens that was the "voice" on Laugh-In?