John and Ken
Encyclopedia
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
hosts of a four-hour weekday radio show, The John and Ken Show, on KFI AM 640
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. The John and Ken Show airs from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.. The program is the most listened to local talk radio program in the United States: in the peak hour of their daily broadcasts, they draw an estimated audience of approximately 1.1 million listeners. Audience size is measured by people who tune in as little as 5 minutes according to Arbitron Ratings Service. According to Talkers Magazine
Talkers magazine
Talkers Magazine is a trade industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media"...
estimates, they are the only local radio show with more than one million listeners. In addition, they have a regular segment on KTLA-TV during the 6 p.m. newscast.
History
John Kobylt, a native of Saddle Brook, New JerseySaddle Brook, New Jersey
Saddle Brook is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 13,659....
, came into the radio business as a sportswriter, after dropping out of Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
. Ken Chiampou, a native of Brentwood, New York
Brentwood, New York
Brentwood is a hamlet of the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York. According to the 2000 Census, the population of Brentwood is 53,917.The colony was established on March 21, 1851, on 750 acres of land on Long Island, New York, by Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews...
, was an accountant, graduating from the University at Buffalo. Both worked in the Elmira-Corning market in New York state in the late 1980s; Kobylt as a disc jockey at WENY
WENY (AM)
WENY is a radio station in the Elmira-Corning market of New York state. It broadcasts at 1000 watts day and night on 1230 kHz from studios in Corning, New York. It is a talk radio station that airs local sports and a 3 hour morning local talk show with host Frank Acomb...
and Chiampou at cross-town rival WELM
WELM
WELM signed on in 1947 as Chemung County's second radio station and the Elmira-Corning, New York market's third. It broadcasts on 1410 kHz. The station uses a three-tower array, broadcasting at 5,000 watts from a single tower until sundown, when the power is lowered to 1,000 watts and the pattern...
.
Kobylt and Chiampou first worked together in 1988 for a radio station in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. According to Kobylt, the show was named "The Odd Couple" by a producer who was the "stupidest man on two legs". Kobylt became program director of WOND. One of their earliest bits was while they hosted mornings at 103.7 WMGM
WMGM (FM)
WMGM is a radio station based in Atlantic City, New Jersey playing mainstream rock. WMGM serves most of southern New Jersey from Toms River to Cape May.-History:103.7 first signed on June 14, 1961 as WOSJ, later as WMGM...
. They started a food drive for rival 95.1 WAYV
WAYV
WAYV is a commercial radio station located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. WAYV airs a contemporary hit radio format. It has been among the top rated and billing stations in the Atlantic City market since 1980....
morning DJ, Russ Monroe after he was fired only a week before Christmas. After calling WAYV live on the air to see if they'd like to donate, they were hung up on.
In 1990, the duo was offered afternoon drive on the then brand new, New Jersey 101.5 (WKXW-FM) in the state capitol of Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
. They gained national notoriety for heavily criticizing then New Jersey governor Jim Florio for passing the largest state tax hike in United States history immediately after taking office. During this period, their ratings quadrupled to 600,000 listeners. Kobylt criticized Florio for reneging on his promise to not raise taxes.
A caller, postal worker John Budzash, then suggested the idea of Hands Across New Jersey, a protest that would symbolically cut the state in half. When other callers noted that blocking traffic was illegal, the movement turned into a rally in front of the State House in Trenton.
A State Police officer told Budzash, who reported to the crowd from onstage, that approximately 65,000 people attended the event while another 100,000 people were turned away due to lack of parking and crowded conditions. It was the largest rally ever held in New Jersey. Kobylt and Chiampou both attended the rally and spoke passionately about Hands Across New Jersey, better government, lower taxes and encouraging people to stand up and fight back for a better New Jersey.
Kobylt and Chiampou also campaigned feverishly for the abolition of tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
citing that cutting much of the government waste could make continued maintenance funding of this highway possible. They also lobbied for the opening of HOV lanes to regular traffic.
The pair left WKXW in late 1992, to move to KFI
KFI
KFI is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922 as one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations...
to do their afternoon drive time spot, replacing former Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
chief Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...
. The hosts began national syndication in 1997, which displeased management at Cox Communications
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
, the then-owners of the station (most radio stations, even the largest and most powerful ones, prefer that their so-called "Afternoon Drive" program have a local 'flavor,' as opposed to the national nature of a countrywide syndicated program. This time period is usually one of the heaviest ratings periods of a given broadcast day and one of the most intensely saturated with local programming). At its peak, 125 stations carried the program. On March 19, 1999, The John and Ken Show was taken off the air at KFI, allegedly by a vice president in Atlanta due to the syndication issue. Officially, the spat was referred to as a "contract dispute". In addition, the hosts themselves were more comfortable with dealing with state and local issues.
Kobylt and Chiampou were replaced by syndicated consumer advocate Clark Howard
Clark Howard
Clark Howard , is a popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show. The show covers consumer and financial news, with advice on how to spend less, save more and avoid rip-offs...
from 3pm to 4 pm followed by Karel
Charles Karel Bouley
Charles Karel Bouley, known on-the-air as Karel, is an American talk radio host and author. Bouley is best known for his highly rated work on KGO in San Francisco, California. Prior to working for KGO the first time, Bouley and his late partner, Andrew Howard, were the first openly Gay radio talk...
and Andrew, the first openly gay couple in weekday talk radio in the country. Kobylt and Chiampou publicly referred to them as "Siegfried and Roy", and constantly berated the quality of the show and the lowered ratings the new show had compared to their show. On July 1, 1999, The John and Ken Show was reborn as a morning drive talk show on crosstown competitor KABC
KABC (AM)
KABC is a Los Angeles radio station, and a West Coast flagship station for the Cumulus Media company. A pioneer of the talk radio format, the station went "all-talk" in 1960 and was one of the first stations to do so...
. The morning show was short-lived as they kept their afternoon show style and brought it to the mornings. Kobylt and Chiampou also had various stunts, one of which got them in trouble and forced them into attending diversity training, which they later said they resented taking, and disliked the Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
management toning down their banter. Due to low ratings and mutual dissatisfaction between the station and the hosts, KABC dropped the show on October 20, 2000.
The John and Ken Show returned to KFI on May 2, 2001, and the hosts regaled listeners with the behind-the-scene problems at KABC before returning to their normal topics. Since then they have remained as a live program; however, some interviews are pre-recorded and replayed between hours, and at times Kobylt or Chiampou will broadcast from their home studio.
On January 14, 2006, a new version of the show entitled John and Ken: Saturdays began. The show has been repeated on the weekend from time to time, however, J&K: Saturdays covers new material that was otherwise omitted during the week. The hosts do not actually show up to the studio live on Saturday but tape the Saturday edition during the week as time permits. J&K Saturdays was syndicated to other stations. The Saturday show was cancelled in September 2009 due to the expansion in their weekday time slot.
On March 4, 2006, Kobylt and Chiampou won the Radio & Records
Radio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
News/Talk Local Personality of the Year award, sharing the honor with KGO
KGO (AM)
KGO is a news/talk-format radio station radio with offices and studios in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other American news/talk stations, KGO originates nearly all of its own programming locally. Since 1978, KGO radio has received Arbitron's number-one ranking in the Bay Area...
radio host Ronn Owens
Ronn Owens
Ronn Owens , is an American talk radio host. Owens is the top-rated talk radio host on KGO in San Francisco-Career:...
. Chiampou accepted the award on behalf of the pair and on stage thanked Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
, Stanley Tookie Williams, David Dreier
David Dreier
David Timothy Dreier is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1981. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and business career:...
, L.A. Archbishop Cardinal Roger Mahony, Robert Blake
Robert Blake (actor)
Robert Blake is an American actor who starred in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, but on November 18, 2005, Blake was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death.-Early...
, Michael D. Brown
Michael D. Brown
Michael DeWayne Brown was the first Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response , a division of the Department of Homeland Security . This position is generally referred to as the director or administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency . He was appointed in January 2003 by...
, and Armando Garcia for providing the material that made the program possible. They were also nominated for the 2006 National Association of Broadcasters
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters is a trade association, workers union, and lobby group representing the interests of for-profit, over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States...
Marconi Award.
On September 10, 2009, The John and Ken Show started simulcasting the 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. portion of the show on San Francisco, California's KNEW (AM)
KNEW (AM)
KNEW is a radio station in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, CA, USA. The station is owned by Clear Channel. Prior to the format change, the station operated as CNET Radio, offering business and technology news 24 hours a day...
-910. In the opening of the 3 p.m. hour, Kobylt welcomed the new listeners to the show, and promised the old listeners that the format would not change, despite the newly expanded audience. In July 2010, the program was replaced with John Gibson
John Gibson
John Gibson may refer to:*John Gibson , British architect*John Gibson , English cartographer and engraver*John Gibson , English cricketer...
.
Kobylt is married to the former Deborah Zara and has three sons. Chiampou is single and has no children.
Political and social activism
In 2001, Kobylt gave cheese to Mexican immigrants waiting in line to turn in INS documentation, which Spanish media asserted was insensitive.In 2003, Kobylt and Chiampou were instrumental in the recall of California Governor Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
. Davis, who was derisively called Gumby
Gumby
Gumby is a green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey, who also created Davey and Goliath. Gumby has been the subject of a 233-episode series of American television as well as a feature-length film and other media...
on the show for his shifting positions on issues, was criticized on a daily basis for the state's budget deficit, signing a bill that would give drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants, increasing the state's car licensing fee, offering large concessions to state employee labor unions, and for his alleged role in creating the California electricity crisis
California electricity crisis
The California electricity crisis, also known as the Western U.S. Energy Crisis of 2000 and 2001 was a situation in which California had a shortage of electricity caused by market manipulations and illegal shutdowns of pipelines by Texas energy consortiums...
. The hosts regularly had recall petition gatherers on the air and almost immediately threw their support to Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
when he announced he would run for governor. On October 6, 2003, as part of the fallout from Schwarzenegger's scandals, the hosts read information from the Los Angeles Superior Court, purporting that one of the key accusers against Schwarzenegger had a long criminal record. In fact, the information retrieved was about an individual who had nothing to do with the scandal, and the pointers to the information were provided by a Schwarzenegger assistant. The hosts apologized on October 8, after the election. Increasingly, after Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election, Kobylt and Chiampou criticized several of the governor's policies. The tirades culminated with an image of Schwarzenegger's head on a sword after the governor signed the largest state tax increase in United States history (eclipsing the New Jersey increase).
In the run-up to the 2004 elections, their main issue was fighting what they saw as misguided policies of the federal and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
state governments to encourage illegal immigration
Illegal immigration to the United States
An illegal immigrant in the United States is an alien who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa....
. They devised a "competition" that they dubbed Political Human Sacrifice, in which five Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from California were grilled regarding their stance on illegal immigration. The "winner" would be the Representative whom the show's listeners saw as the worst on illegal immigration restriction; Kobylt and Chiampou would endorse his or her opponent in the general election and urge listeners to vote for the opponent. Political Human Sacrifice was conducted in a fashion similar to reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series such as Survivor
Survivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
. U.S. Representative David Dreier
David Dreier
David Timothy Dreier is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1981. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and business career:...
won the nomination as the "victim" of the "sacrifice." Kobylt and Chiampou also designated a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Congressman, Joe Baca
Joe Baca
Joseph N. "Joe" Baca is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 42nd from 1999 to 2003, is located in southwestern San Bernardino County and includes Fontana, Rialto, Ontario and parts of the city of San...
, to be "sacrificed" in the general election. The comments about Dreier resulted in a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission being filed by the National Republican Congressional Committee
National Republican Congressional Committee
The National Republican Congressional Committee is the Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives....
, which was rejected by the FEC on March 17, 2006. As it turned out, both Dreier and Baca won reelection, but this apparently has not deterred Kobylt and Chiampou from their activism on this issue. Dreier outspent his opponent by 30 to 1 and won with 54% of the vote versus 43% for his opponent, his lowest percentage in 24 years. On the other hand, Baca appeared to have been unaffected as he garnered 66.4% of the vote in 2004, exactly the same percentage as his 2002 vote.
On May 2, 2005, KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
entertainment reporter Sam Rubin made comments alleging that Kobylt employed an illegal immigrant. Kobylt demanded that Rubin apologize on his program for making this allegation without any basis in fact, and later Kobylt's wife called in to berate Rubin for making the statements. Rubin later apologized and retracted the statements on the KTLA 5 Morning News, as well as on The John & Ken Show.
Kobylt and Chiampou often do various stunts in regards to their topics. When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said to a group of illegal alien supporters "We clean your toilets", the duo urged their listeners to send toilet brushes to the mayor's office, of which thousands were received. Other jokes include taking Cardinal Roger Mahony's words of, "So Disappointed," whenever the duo are talking about illegal immigration.
When Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California residents protested the presence of several paroled registered sex offenders
Sex offender registration
Sex offender registration is a system in various states designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions , information in the registry is made available to the...
living in one apartment complex, Kobylt and Chiampou hosted a remote broadcast near the complex on February 19, 2008. Fueled by this story, on March 11, 2008, and approved with a required second vote on March 18, 2008, Long Beach City Council members voted 7-0 to enact 18 ordinances heavily restricting the residency and recreational activity of all registered sex offenders.
In September 2011, Kobylt and Chiampou expressed opposition to the California Dream Act, a bill that would extend financial aid to immigrants regardless of their legal status. As part of their opposition, they broadcast the cellular number of a spokesperson for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles is an American political advocacy organization.-History:Following the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, representatives from Central American Resource Center , Asian Pacific American Legal Center , Los Angeles Center...
(CHIRLA). The spokesperson received several hundred phone calls from irate listeners, some of which expressed threats towards the spokesperson. CHIRLA said that the phone number was a private number, although the number was listed on the press release for the event. Subsequent to this, CHIRLA has called for the cancellation of The John and Ken Show, which KFI has resisted. Observers such as Gustavo Arellano have said that the show targets Mexicans specifically, in contrast to other KFI hosts such as Bill Handel
Bill Handel
William Wolf Handel is the director and founder of the Center for Surrogate Parenting and an AM radio personality in Los Angeles, California....
that make light of all races, a charge the hosts deny.
The duo was named one of the 100 most influential people in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
in 2006.
Format
The show is generally broadcast directly from the studios of KFI, with guests usually appearing on the show via telephone. There are occasional remote broadcasts to the site of news or to various political rallies. Also, KFI news reporters come on the show and expand on stories aired in the newscasts. The 5 p.m. hour is the most listened to hour of the show and is sometimes themed. The Political Human Sacrifice Hour, Hour of O.J., Michael JacksonMichael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
Hour, Tookie Must Die for Murdering Four Innocent People, Tax Revolt, Heads on a Stick, and Waiting for Jerry
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
hour appeared in this time slot. Currently the 5 p.m. hour is themed as "Tax Revolt 2011." In addition to politics and high profile trials, bizarre news stories are often discussed to fill out the hour. Another feature of the show is Chiampou's Friday movie review, where he grades one movie released that week on a logarithmic scale
Logarithmic scale
A logarithmic scale is a scale of measurement using the logarithm of a physical quantity instead of the quantity itself.A simple example is a chart whose vertical axis increments are labeled 1, 10, 100, 1000, instead of 1, 2, 3, 4...
(described as a "Richter scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
" on the show).
One regular segment that does accept significant caller participation is The Hour of Rage, where callers rant either about a topic selected by the host or do freeform rants. However, it is common for an entire show to pass without a call being taken from a listener.
Some of their recurring issues are tax increases, deceitful politics, crime, traffic, and illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
. Some of their most outrageous antics have taken place during high-profile criminal trials. Targets of their bombast have included O.J. Simpson, Scott Peterson
Scott Peterson
Scott Lee Peterson , an American, was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn child in Modesto, California, in 2002. Peterson's arrest and subsequent trial dominated the American news media until 2005, when he was sentenced to death by lethal injection...
, Robert Blake
Robert Blake (actor)
Robert Blake is an American actor who starred in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, but on November 18, 2005, Blake was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death.-Early...
, and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. John Kobylt became nationally known when he stood in front of Scott Peterson's house with a bullhorn, demanding that Peterson give an interview. For several months the pair ran a 5 p.m. show called the "Tookie Must Die for Murdering Four Innocent People Hour," culminating on December 12, 2005, when they broadcast live outside of San Quentin Prison before the execution of Stanley Tookie Williams.
Kobylt and Chiampou were active during the David Westerfield
David Westerfield
David Alan Westerfield , of San Diego, California was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder and kidnapping of seven-year-old Danielle Van Dam in 2002. He was a successful, self-employed engineer who owned a luxury motor home and lived two houses away from Van Dam...
trial. One notable quote by Kobylt was: "Hey, Westerfield, are you in there? Did you kill Danielle [Van Dam]?"
Every night at 6:15 and 6:40 pm, they do a regular segment called "Driving It Home with John and Ken". In this segment, they talk with KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
's Micah Ohlman
Micah Ohlman
Micah Ohlman is a television news anchor in Southern California. He currently co-anchors the weekday editions of the KTLA News @ 6pm and 10pm. A Los Angeles native, Ohlman was born in Torrance, graduated from William S. Hart High School in Newhall, and earned a degree in communication studies...
(or a different anchor if Ohlman's not present) about that day's hot topic or watercooler stories. The 6:15 pm version is live on TV only, while the 6:40 pm version is live on both radio and TV.
Political views
The hosts eschew any party labels or loyalties. Mostly fiscally conservative on issues like taxes, they also frequently lean conservativeConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
with regard to crime. They are staunch opponents of illegal immigration
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
and government employee labor unions. They support strong sentences for child molesters and murderers, the death penalty, Megan's Law
Megan's Law
Megan's Law is an informal name for laws in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Individual states decide what information will be made available and how it should be disseminated...
and Jessica's Law
Jessica's Law
Jessica's Law is the informal name given to a 2005 Florida law, as well as laws in several other states, designed to punish sex offenders and reduce their ability to re-offend...
. They also oppose driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. They are libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
in other aspects, such as being pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
, supporting gays in the military and gay marriage, opposing the influence of the Religious Right
Christian right
Christian right is a term used predominantly in the United States to describe "right-wing" Christian political groups that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies...
on American politics, opposing the Iraq War, opposing funds for public transportation, and opposing tax increases. "Big government" positions they take include further construction of freeways, funding for embryonic stem cell research, an enhanced federal role in emergency preparedness for the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA), increased federal law enforcement on the border. They tend to be moderate to liberal on the use of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
.
In the 2006 elections in California, they endorsed six Republicans and one Democrat in statewide races. http://www.johnandkenshow.com/state-wide-office/ In 2007, Kobylt appeared at a fundraiser for Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
. In 2008, they opposed Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
, which banned gay marriage within California.
One notable disagreement between the two was in the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, where Kobylt voted for John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
while Chiampou voted for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. The two then discussed the merits of their candidates and defended their choices. Kobylt spoke about McCain's history of opposing wasteful spending while Chiampou stated how he felt that Obama was best suited to bring meaningful reform after what both agreed was a need to break away from the shortcomings of the Bush years.
External links
- The John and Ken Show (Official site)
- Heroes of Talk Radio ~ The Unofficial John and Ken Show Fan Site and Forum
- John and Ken Blog at KFI AM-640
- Alternate feed from Cable Radio Network
- Michael Jackson Trial Coverage
- Cheers, jeers at immigration town hall meeting (contentious meeting featuring John and Ken, DHS Undersecretary Asa HutchinsonAsa HutchinsonWilliam Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S...
, and Congressman Darrell IssaDarrell IssaDarrell Edward Issa is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 48th, serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was formerly a CEO of Directed Electronics, the Vista, California-based manufacturer of automobile security and convenience products...
discussing immigration sweeps in Temecula, CA) - "(Hutchinson) slammed for stopping illegals sweeps" (discusses John and Ken's campaign in favor of those immigration sweeps and includes link to a 22-minute interview John Kobylt conducted with Asa HutchinsonAsa HutchinsonWilliam Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S...
)