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Michael Jackson KABC-AM Radio Host dead at 87
- Thread starter david
- Start date
Michael Robin Jackson, legendary KABC Radio host, dies at 87 after battle with Parkinson's disease
Pioneering talk radio host Michael Robin Jackson, who spent more than 32 years at KABC Radio in Los Angeles, has died following a 10-year battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 87.
Well LA TV has talked about Michael Jackson more on his time at KABC-AM.
Owen Spann -- influential voice in Bay talk radio
Owen Spann, the consummate interviewer who helped define talk radio as a medium and...www.sfgate.com
I know what you mean though but Owen Spann was a KGO-AM Host in San Francisco when ABC Talk Radio Network was around.
Thats Interesting Owen Spann also did TV while doing his radio show in San Francisco.
Here is an old Michael Jackson on KABC-AM promo from 1980's
He was absolutely the best ever!
With no disrespect for Michael Jackson, he was "right" for the pre-elimination-of-the-Fairness-Doctrine era. On a station like KABC which was balanced and rather centrist, he stood out due to his style... Just as Cronkite or Huntley & Brinkley stood out in a different era on network TV: totally in tune with the national spirit and feeling.
Once "Fairness" was removed, stations like KFI with a more contentious and polarized presentation thrived. Again, without intending disrespect, when I programmed talker KTNQ in LA I used a scoped Michael Jackson aircheck to show the style of pacing, delivery and attitude that I did not want.
That said, in a long era he was absolutely magnificent and helped establish talk radio as a viable alternative for the AM band in the decades when music was becoming less viable there.
I think logic says that the majority of current KPCC listeners may be too young to remember Michael Jackson.
I didn't know there is a Michael Jackson in Radio
Only know the singer & the football player
RIP
Only know the singer & the football player
RIP
Michael always seemed to "respectfully agree to disagree with some of his guests" so they always came back.
My only criticism of him was that he rarely explained his own positions...you knew where he stood on a given issue, and you may have agreed with him, but he took very little time explaining why.
Larry Mantle at least on one occasion had Michael fill in as his guest host.
Why? He was quick witted, compelling, educated, informative, interesting, connected, embracing, positive... Which of those is 'bad' to emulate?
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
He was also known as Michael Scotland at crosstown KYA.
A lot of talk hosts started their careers as DJs, especially since that format was virtually unknown before the 1960s.
A lot of talk hosts started their careers as DJs, especially since that format was virtually unknown before the 1960s.
Wow. What a blast from the past.Here’s video of Michael in the KABC studio, the morning after the 1988 election. At the time, the first two hours of his show were on the ABC Talkradio network, the second two were KABC only.
The Michael Jackson Radio Show
A simulcast of KABC Radio's [The Micheal Jackson Show]. Micheal Jackson interviewed guests over the phone and commented on listeners' questions. During program breaks, He talked about his career in talk radio.www.c-span.org
So great to listen to that show, which I finally got around to hearing this afternoon when local radio wasn't so interesting.
I recall hearing Michael Jackson's national show and that theme music, also brings memories.
Listen to the callers, of all political persuasions. The callers were almost as interesting and appealing as the host.
Dawn from Trenton NJ was great, as was the conservative Republican who thinks the reason Dems. control both houses of Congress is due to gerrymandering. Sounds like today, huh?
To be honest, I don't recall a lot about Jackson's show. I know there was an Talk Radio affiliate I heard him on, but as I had other things to do in life, couldn't listen to his show (and others) as much as I would've liked. Now working from home the last 15+ years, I have radio on much more.
What a stark difference in talk radio. Here is a man with class. He has his opinions, of course, which he doesn't hide from, but the show isn't all about him.
It's not like he is some "expert" and how his listeners should believe like him. Or, that any time someone knocked his show, it was them knocking their beliefs. It wasn't so much us vs. them back then.
I guess that age of talk radio is gone, but with most of the country not so one-sided as the majority of national talk radio hosts, the (mostly) angry white conservative men, you would think this kind of radio would appeal to people, much like Art Bell's show.
After all, conservatives, last I recall, constitute about 40% of the U.S. population. While big, it's the majority minority but no way the majority of the country. I speak as a conservative who's tired of this never-ending ignorant yapping all over the AM dial. It's like no other demographic exists. Only appeal to a very narrow segment -- a declining one at that -- of angry and mostly white males.
Hearing Michael Jackson was a breath of fresh air. We need more of this kind of talk radio.
It's not like he is some "expert" and how his listeners should believe like him. Or, that any time someone knocked his show, it was them knocking their beliefs. It wasn't so much us vs. them back then.
I guess that age of talk radio is gone, but with most of the country not so one-sided as the majority of national talk radio hosts, the (mostly) angry white conservative men, you would think this kind of radio would appeal to people, much like Art Bell's show.
After all, conservatives, last I recall, constitute about 40% of the U.S. population. While big, it's the majority minority but no way the majority of the country. I speak as a conservative who's tired of this never-ending ignorant yapping all over the AM dial. It's like no other demographic exists. Only appeal to a very narrow segment -- a declining one at that -- of angry and mostly white males.
Hearing Michael Jackson was a breath of fresh air. We need more of this kind of talk radio.
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Michael Benner did a wonderful tribute on KPFK (90.7 FM). On his Tuesday afternoon show, he aired about 50 minutes of a two-hour interview he did with Michael in the early 21st Century. It's probably still on the KPFK archive.
I'm sure the 1500 average listeners of KPFK enjoyed the show. KPFK has a rating of 0.0.
If a tree falls in the forest...
(Here is a description of Benner's show: "The Ageless Wisdom is a non-religious approach to spirituality, the nature of the Soul, and the development of consciousness. Also known as the Perennial Philosophy, Esoteric Philosophy, Mysticism, and prisca theologia, the Wisdom is a consensus about the spiritual reality of human souls incarnate.")
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