KFI-AM 640 afternoon host Ken Chiampou called it career last week after working alongside co-host John Kobylt since 1988 at various stations.
In his final John and Ken show, several celebrities, co-workers, and former California political figures wished Chiampou well, before the longtime host said his goodbyes to longtime listeners.
“I’ve been asked over the years two completely divergent points of view. There’s people who say, ‘Oh, you just sit on the air and talk to another guy for three hours? Well, it’s got to be easy. I’d like to do that.’ And then there’s the extreme other side. ‘How do you do that? How do you come up with stuff to say? How do you know what to do? Oh, I’d be so scared.’ The truth is, it’s somewhere in between,” Chiampou said in his final segment.
“But I always knew I had to do it with somebody else. So I ran into you and it worked from day one. I appreciate that. And I’ve been very lucky to have this career and make this much money,” the longtime host joked.
Chiampou noted he’s hosted the program from home for the past three years, which was a welcomed change from the long commute he handled for 16 years before the pandemic forced him to lead the show from home.
“We accomplished a lot. I don’t think there’s another team in talk radio that was on as long as we’ve been on,” Kobylt said. “That had an audience as large as we’ve had over 30 years now and made as much money for their companies as we have. And if there’s a record book for that, we’re in it and I want to thank you, you’ve been the perfect radio partner.”
Kobylt extended an invitation for Ken Chiampou to join the program whenever he’d like, which the longtime host appreciated before saying “I tend to not look back, but you never know”.
They worked at 103.7 WMGM in Atlantic City for a while before launching New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton in 1990. In 1992, the duo joined KFI as afternoon hosts. The pair briefly joined 790 KABC in 1999 before returning to KFI for the duration of their run together.
John Kobylt will continue to host the 1-4 PM timeslot at the Los Angeles station. He will host The John Kobylt Show by himself as a lead-in to Tim Conway Jr.
