KTOK shakeup?

[OKCDrummer77]

What is the status of Calvin Wright?
C. T.

They mentioned him covering a story this morning, so it sounds like he's still there.

[RadicalModerate]

Up around Denver--home of KIMN: "The Denver Tiger" and several locally famous radio personalities--we used to be able to pick up KOMA late at night. I liked the fact that KOMA's playlist wasn't EXACTLY the same as KIMN's.

[metro]

Shannon and The Eggman were great (back in the day).
Then Shannon continued to be great by himself.
Then Shannon and That Larry Guy were pretty darn good.
Then Shannon was great again.

I guess Mark Shannon would have to be considered to be the last great radio personality in the OKC Metro.
(although ron black was no slouch hisownself . . . not great, but no slouch.)

Shannon was as bad or worse than Eggman IMO. He was anti-OKC progress, often had his facts wrong, and like Eggman, would immediately hang up the phone with anyone who disagreed with him, often cursing or demonizing them while on hold.

Most recently, Eggman kept whining that the city was paying $32 million for a DT kids museum, I promptly called in to correct his facts in that they were trying to raise PRIVATE funds for it, and that the city had not committed to that money. He also whined about Devon taking up all the parking spots downtown, again I reminded him their parking garage was private, and I have no problem finding FREE parking DT every time I go DT. He just wanted to attack, discredit and hang up.

It's people like Shannon and Egghead that keep the negative self perceptions and attitude alive in OKC.

[kevinpate]

... now I don't have to listen ...

Oddly enough, ya never did. the little tune dial can be a great friend.

[ctchandler]

This is not directed at anybody, certainly not Metro but the above comment reminded me of a comment in TV Guide where a writer in the "letters to the editor" section wrote "Amazing, tell me more about this one channel television with no off button".
C. T.

[corpsman]

Used to listen to KOMA while in Navy boot camp in San Diego in 1968. Only at nite, though. 50,000 watt clear channel goes a long way.

Up around Denver--home of KIMN: "The Denver Tiger" and several locally famous radio personalities--we used to be able to pick up KOMA late at night. I liked the fact that KOMA's playlist wasn't EXACTLY the same as KIMN's.

[boscorama]

I would prefer local talk radio but Eggman was a waste of time. I stopped checking on him, instead switching between Boortz and 99.7 True Oldies Channel.

Eggman, if you're reading this, I liked you with Mark Shannon because I hated Shannon. Later, I liked Shannon. You're still a good guy, but KTOK afternoon drive just wasn't a good fit. It sux that True Channel had to do the deed.

[boscorama]

I would prefer local talk radio but Eggman was a consistent waste of time. I stopped checking on him, instead focusing on Boortz and FM radio.

Eggman, if you're reading this, I liked you with Mark Shannon, but I hated Shannon. Later, I loved Shannon. You're still a good guy, but KTOK afternoon drive just wasn't a good fit.

{HUGS}

[boscorama]

I would prefer local talk radio but Eggman was a consistent waste of time. I stopped checking on him, instead focusing on Boortz and FM radio.

Eggman, if you're reading this, I liked you with Mark Shannon, but I hated Shannon. Later, I loved Shannon. You're still a good guy, but KTOK afternoon drive just wasn't a good fit.

{HUGS}

[RealJimbo]

I wouldn't blame this entirely on management of Clear Channel. Terrestrial Radio is slowly dying because of technology. Everybody owns an iPod, mp3 player or satellite radio. That means fewer listeners and fewer advertisers which equals lower revenue. Then radio has done a lot to drive ppeople away. Such as replaying the same songs over and over, too many commercial breaks and crappy morning shows that spend more time talking about nothing than anything else.

Shows what you know. Everybody owns an iPod, mp3 player or satellite radio? Really? This would really surprise a lot of people I serve every day. Your post reads as though you have NEVER even listened to the station in question, KTOK. Go gripe about conservatives on the political threads. Bye now.

[RealJimbo]

Shannon was as bad or worse than Eggman IMO. He was anti-OKC progress, often had his facts wrong, and like Eggman, would immediately hang up the phone with anyone who disagreed with him, often cursing or demonizing them while on hold.

Most recently, Eggman kept whining that the city was paying $32 million for a DT kids museum, I promptly called in to correct his facts in that they were trying to raise PRIVATE funds for it, and that the city had not committed to that money. He also whined about Devon taking up all the parking spots downtown, again I reminded him their parking garage was private, and I have no problem finding FREE parking DT every time I go DT. He just wanted to attack, discredit and hang up.

It's people like Shannon and Egghead that keep the negative self perceptions and attitude alive in OKC.

You never really listened to Shannon, OBVIOUSLY.

[RealJimbo]

I'm an unabashed radio lover from way back. I had the privilege of living through the '50s and '60s when radio was at its best. I dearly loved WKY, KOMA, KOCY, KLPR, KTOK and even KBYE back in the day, each one for its own distinct personality. The know-nothings seem to gravitate to subjects about which they should remain silent. Terry McGrew, Don Wallace, Ronnie Kaye (yep, he has been on radio THAT LONG), Dale Wehba (spelling?), Danny Williams, Tom Furlong, Bob Riggins, Big Ben Tipton, B. Mark Summers, and so many other DJs set a high standard in the OKC market. When talk radio got going, Andy McCollum, Ed Hardy, John Dale, again Bob Riggins, among others made it interesting. Remember the serials on radio, like The Adventures of Chicken Man? KTOK has a rich history and I am so saddened to see Clear Channel cheapen it. Times change and so do programming methods, tastes and social mores. So long, KTOK. It was nice to know ya.

[happyday]

If I was an unemployed talk radio guy, I would 'audition' nationally by creating my own daily or weekly podcast. Do it from home with only a microphone and an internet connection. A fairly unknown marketing guy in South Africa recently started his own podcast. Within two weeks he had an audience (subscribers) of over 30,000 downloads. That's way more listeners than these local stations. If nothing else, do your own affiliate marketing to Amazon and other places as your commercials.

There are endless possibilities for getting your voice out there, despite these mega-corporations who lock down the local market with their large footprint.

[GaryOKC6]

Eggman was no loss, now I don't have to listen to his anti-OKC diatribe on the drive home.

I listened to Lee Matthews on the drive home yesterday. I think that he does a good job. I don't know if it is temporary or not. I hope they keep him there.

[Midtowner]

I listened to Lee Matthews on the drive home yesterday. I think that he does a good job. I don't know if it is temporary or not. I hope they keep him there.

Agreed. With Eggman, I'd resorted to NPR for the drive home. Matthews covered relevant subjects, had relevant guests from both sides of the issue and did his homework. What a concept!

[SoonerDave]

I'm an unabashed radio lover from way back. I had the privilege of living through the '50s and '60s when radio was at its best. I dearly loved WKY, KOMA, KOCY, KLPR, KTOK and even KBYE back in the day, each one for its own distinct personality. The know-nothings seem to gravitate to subjects about which they should remain silent. Terry McGrew, Don Wallace, Ronnie Kaye (yep, he has been on radio THAT LONG), Dale Wehba (spelling?), Danny Williams, Tom Furlong, Bob Riggins, Big Ben Tipton, B. Mark Summers, and so many other DJs set a high standard in the OKC market. When talk radio got going, Andy McCollum, Ed Hardy, John Dale, again Bob Riggins, among others made it interesting. Remember the serials on radio, like The Adventures of Chicken Man? KTOK has a rich history and I am so saddened to see Clear Channel cheapen it. Times change and so do programming methods, tastes and social mores. So long, KTOK. It was nice to know ya.

I grew up listening to KTOK when John Dayle was parroting his fake moon landing theories, and Carlton Cordell was doing these hysterical comedy bits about Oklahoma being attacked by the Mexican Navy or the dangers of electrons falling out of your electrical plugs. The great thing is that callers would pick up on the joke(s) (although Dayle was deadly serious) and perpetuate it at the expense of people who thought it was serious. Those folks really knew how to stir up a radio audience.

I remember KTOK's Ten-Spot Jackpot and HiLo games, and their Diamond Hunts that were run by Ed Sossen, who left OK under quite a bit of controversy relating to a child's home called the Genesis House. I remember Bob Durgin playing hangman on some evenings, and even Lou Staples (RIP) starting a sports radio talk gig with a guy named Al Eschbach (sp), which was arguably one of the very first radio talk shows devoted to sports nearly anywhere. There was an afternoon crew called "John and Debbie" (John McCormick and Debbie June Mann, actually, as I recall) who used to get in trouble for all kinds of racy double-entendre jokes, which was very surprising considering their manager at that time was Ken Gaines, a devout Christian who helmed a biblical/prayer hour on Sunday mornings with his wife (Barbara, I think?).

Bob Riggins was as much an institution in OK radio as you can get. He was always "pouring a fresh cup of coffee" and you could just hear the smile on his face. B.J. Wexler used to do his "Telephone Poll" at lunchtime after Paul Harvey, and is still in this market on OETA hosting the movie club. KTOK was a great, great station in that era, an era that is, sadly, gone forever.

[Dubya61]

I also love local radio. Do the commercials annoy me? yeah, but it's good to hear local radio. Naturally, I would prefer to not hear piped in or nationally syndicated stuff. I want radio that's made to appeal to me, not someone from NY, WA, CA, FL, or even TX. It is mildly distressing that local radio seems to be dying out. Stephen King predicts and laments that he thinks local radio won't even exist in 50 years or less. That would be sad.

[RealJimbo]

I grew up listening to KTOK when John Dayle was parroting his fake moon landing theories, and Carlton Cordell was doing these hysterical comedy bits about Oklahoma being attacked by the Mexican Navy or the dangers of electrons falling out of your electrical plugs. The great thing is that callers would pick up on the joke(s) (although Dayle was deadly serious) and perpetuate it at the expense of people who thought it was serious. Those folks really knew how to stir up a radio audience.

I remember KTOK's Ten-Spot Jackpot and HiLo games, and their Diamond Hunts that were run by Ed Sossen, who left OK under quite a bit of controversy relating to a child's home called the Genesis House. I remember Bob Durgin playing hangman on some evenings, and even Lou Staples (RIP) starting a sports radio talk gig with a guy named Al Eschbach (sp), which was arguably one of the very first radio talk shows devoted to sports nearly anywhere. There was an afternoon crew called "John and Debbie" (John McCormick and Debbie June Mann, actually, as I recall) who used to get in trouble for all kinds of racy double-entendre jokes, which was very surprising considering their manager at that time was Ken Gaines, a devout Christian who helmed a biblical/prayer hour on Sunday mornings with his wife (Barbara, I think?).

Bob Riggins was as much an institution in OK radio as you can get. He was always "pouring a fresh cup of coffee" and you could just hear the smile on his face. B.J. Wexler used to do his "Telephone Poll" at lunchtime after Paul Harvey, and is still in this market on OETA hosting the movie club. KTOK was a great, great station in that era, an era that is, sadly, gone forever.

SoonerDave...Wow, I forgot to mention the Ten-Spot Jackpot, etc. Yep, all those personalities you mention I remember well. John and Debbie were a ton of fun. How about Red Rover and Captain Jim Perdue? Of course my friend Pam Henry started out doing her news reporting on KTOK. And you are so right about Bob Riggins. I'll bet he sold tons of Cain's Coffee just from the sound of the coffee pouring and his velvet-smooth "ahhhh, that's good".

First time I ever heard Al Eschbach it hurt my ears. I couldn't stand him! But he proved very shortly that he was a local Howard Cosell - he knows his stuff!

I ran into John Dayle once at a friend's place of business. He was HUGE! And intimidating! But really friendly and gracious in person. Thanks for the memories!

[metro]

You never really listened to Shannon, OBVIOUSLY.

Sure did, MAPS3 anyone? Man that sure boiled Shannon's blood the thought of MAPS3 passing. He was pro-union.

[oneforone]

I listened to Lee Matthews on the drive home yesterday. I think that he does a good job. I don't know if it is temporary or not. I hope they keep him there.

Matthews is the program director for KTOK. He will likely stand in until they find someone else. Matthews stood in when McCarville left, then again when Gerry Vaillancort (Hornets Announcer) left and again when Shannon left. I believe KTOK was hoping Eggman would eventually come around and fill the void Mark Shannon left when he passed away. However, he stuck with cheese ball humor and factoids more then he talked about current events in the political world. Slowly one by one the listeners left. I stayed around as long as I could then I switched over to listening to Mike McConnell on podcasts from WGN on the drive home.

[ctchandler]

And how about the "footed mugs" that were given away for some reason. I had one of those. Also, on the morning drive, they talked about "the big swing is to Dennis donuts". And don't forget Ed (Sossen) and Larry and the "Tuttle Shuttle" an airline flying from Tuttle to OKC. And one of my favorites, Jackson Kane. And, correct me if I am wrong, but I am sure I listened to Lou Staples by himself until they hired Al Eschbach to join in on the nightly show. I was listening the night that Lou didn't show up for work. The next day we learned what happened.
C. T.

[Bellaboo]

I thought Mark Shannon was a little obnoxious myself, and he looked like the Jim Boy dude on the Waltons.....didn't take much effort to turn the channel.

[ou48A]

She may be a very nice person but I can’t stand the voice of KTOK news reader Beth Myers.
It’s her terrible accent.

[RealJimbo]

Sure did, MAPS3 anyone? Man that sure boiled Shannon's blood the thought of MAPS3 passing. He was pro-union.

OK, so you apparently listened long enough to form an opinion, one to which you are entitled. My opinion of Shannon was and is that he was an incredibly principled person whose views came through very clearly and, although I didn't always agree with him, I admired him in a big way. I miss him very much still.

[soonerguru]

Sure did, MAPS3 anyone? Man that sure boiled Shannon's blood the thought of MAPS3 passing. He was pro-union.

I supported Maps3 and I'm not opposed to unions. There can be middle ground on these issues.