The End of the Longest Running Talk Show on Radio - KFI’s ‘John & Ken Show’ host Ken Chiampou Announces Retirement

This has been my favorite radio show for twenty years. While I was in California it kept me up to date on what was happening in my state and around the country, today it serves as my link to what is happening back home. The news that Ken is retiring hit me really hard because his voice will always remind me of home and I will miss hearing it everyday. On the flip side it will be comforting to know that John will still be around to keep Angelinos informed and holding California politicians accountable for their blunders. Sigh, an end to an era of LA radio.

From the LA Daily News:

Ken Chiampou, half of the long-running and tremendously popular “The John and Ken Show” airing weekdays from 1 to 4 p.m. on KFI (640 AM), is hanging up his headphones. He announced the decision to retire at the start of the program Monday, Nov. 13th. Chiampou will leave the show on Dec. 6th, at which time the other half of the show — John Kobylt — will go solo.

Los Angeles Like a Local: By the People Who Call It Home (Local Travel Guide) Hardcover - $14.99 @ Amazon.com - Order Here

“I am saying goodbye,” said Chiampou at the top of the show. “After very little thought, this is what I’m gonna do.”

Well, maybe a little thought. The move was not totally unexpected.

“I mentioned it to one of my sons who’s in his twenties,” said Kobylt. “He goes, ‘Wow, wasn’t he talking about that when I was in elementary school?’”

Together since 1988, they made a name for themselves at WKXW when they went after New Jersey Governor Jim Florio on the air for passing a tax hike. The coverage caught the attention of listeners throughout the broadcast area, and helped propel them to the top of the ratings.

In 1992, the duo moved to Los Angeles to take over afternoons on KFI. Except for a roughly two-year period at KABC (790 AM), they have called KFI home for the past three decades.

“Ken is such a talent!” exclaimed KFI programmer Robin Bertolucci. “He has the unique ability to add information, wind John up, cool him down, and keep the show on track. Their chemistry is true magic!”

READ MORE 

Check Out:

Rediscovering An Old Friend: The John and Ken Show KFI 640 AM Los Angeles

Back when in lived in Southern California I was a dedicated listener of the John and Ken show on KFI 640 AM (Los Angeles) every afternoon There simply isn't a better source of information about both local and national politics anywhere on the airwaves. The shows hosts, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, stand out - READ MORE

The John and Ken Show - Has The 'California Dream' Vanished?

"In a new report for Chapman University, my colleagues and I find California in a state of existential crisis, losing both its middle-aged and middle class, while its poor population faces dimming prospects," Joel Kotkin writes. "Despite the state’s myriad - READ MORE

Kay Smythe: The Sexy Brit Who Wants To Save Los Angeles

Kay became a published journalist, writer and researcher when she was 11-years-old; since then, her work has been featured by Guardian, Huffington Post, The Tab, Cannabis Industry Journal, Variety, and more. In 2015, Kay graduated from Plymouth University with BA Honors in Geography, and moved to California - READ MORE