Mr. KABC
Encyclopedia
Marc Germain previously known as Mr. KFI, Mr. KABC or simply Mr. K, is an American
radio talk show
host, formerly broadcasting from Los Angeles, California
. Now a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada
, he can be heard nationwide on Doug McIntyre's
Red Eye Radio on Saturday night/Sunday morning, in addition to being a regular fill-in host for McIntyre. He also hosts his own internet radio show - The Marc Germain Show - usually two or three times a week on TalkRadioOne.com,
near San Diego State University
. He graduated from El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills.
He attended California Polytechnic State University
in San Luis Obispo for two years before transferring to the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he received a degree in Political Science in 1989.
His wife, playfully known on the air as “Mrs. Mister K," hails from Long Island, New York. The two met while both worked at KFI
, a Los Angeles radio station. It was she who hired him at KFI
, as Germain says: "she originally hired me as a weekend board op (operator); that is how I started at the bottom at that station." They have been married since July, 1992, and have a daughter, Nicole, and a son, Ryan. In June 2010, Germain and his family left the Los Angeles area and relocated to Las Vegas, NV.
He is a fifth generation native of Los Angeles
on his father's side. His father's ancestry traces back to the Alsace-Lorraine
region of France
; his mother's heritage is Russian
. Germain once described his maternal grandmother as a "green-eyed Russian." His father was a well-respected journalism and English teacher for almost 20 years at University (”Uni”) High School in West Los Angeles.
Germain is the youngest of four sons. His brother Paul
is an animation screenwriter and producer, best known for Rugrats
, Recess
, and Lloyd in Space
; his brother Daniel is an attorney in Los Angeles; Gregory is an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University College of Law
, where he specializes in taxation, commercial law & bankruptcy, and corporate law.
portion "which was very easy"). He was only able to use the radio to receive and not to transmit. However this was also the time of the citizens' band radio
boom, so he obtained a citizens' band radio, and was able to acquire a license for that. As stated by Germain, he was mostly active on channel 19 and went by the handle of “King Cobra”.
While completing his degree at UCSB, Germain felt drawn to the business of talk radio
. He told interviewer Matthew Gilbert: "it reached out of the radio and grabbed me by the shirt collar." Germain called local radio station KTMS
and offered to do anything to get his foot in the door. At first he was rebuffed. He then discovered that there was an intern position available. On his third day of internship, he was offered a job "running the board." Within a year and a half, he was the assistant program director.
Germain returned to Los Angeles
and landed a job at radio station KFI
. He was a weekend board operator at first, then worked his way up to screener and then producer (for Stephanie Miller
, Bill Press
, former police chief Daryl Gates
, among others). Then, as detailed in the section Genesis of His Signature Show, he started hosting his own show — Ask Mr. KFI. He was briefly appointed Interim Program Director, when David Hall left briefly to take the helm at KIRO Seattle. When KFI moved The Phil Hendrie Show
into Germain's evening time slot in 1996, it offered him the overnight slot. He said no, and he left KFI.
In January 1997, after a 3-month, contractually mandated, non-competition period, he brought his show to KABC
radio as Ask Mr. KABC. The show struggled the first few years: sports programming sometime cut his show to an hour, and often preempted it entirely. For several months in 1999, he co-hosted a morning show with Brian Whitman. According to a newspaper article by Sandy Wells, Germain could not wait to get back to an evening time slot.
Germain's show blossomed in March 2000 when KABC management expanded it to three hours, with the withdrawal of Stephanie Miller’s
syndicated show from the lineup. Germain steadily built a following, and by 2006, each of his broadcasts was earning the 1st or 2nd highest rating in his time slot. Midway through 2006, KABC pushed the start of his show back an hour (to 10 pm) to make room for a syndicated show from New York, Mark Levin
. In January 2007, KABC wanted to usurp yet another hour for Levin’s
show. Germain balked at that proposal, described it as detrimental to his family, and parted company with KABC
. Three weeks later, (March 5, 2007), he returned to the air on radio station KTLK.
In late December 2007, his show was removed from KTLK's lineup.
From Jan 2008 to June 2008, he did a series of 17 podcasts with comedian April Winchell
.
On July 7, 2008 Germain launched Talk Radio One, an internet only "radio" show, using the moniker “Entertaining / Informative / Irreverent Talk Radio”. At first the shows were Skype-cast and he mainly talked to others around the world via Skype
. When Skype
ended that aspect of service on September 1, 2008, Germain switched to a model of co-hosts and provided a "land-line" for callers to interact. His shows usually are about 60-90 minutes long and include as contributors: Dina Losito – Commentary; Sharon "The Gossip Mom" Reardon – Celebrity News, Regan Burns – Movie Reviews; Danny Otten (goes by "Gay Danny" on the show) with "gay news"; Justin Levine - regular news; and usually on Tuesdays, quadriplegic Dan Crews with TV reviews.
During this time, he also occasionally fills in for other radio hosts on terrestrial radio stations around the country. For example, in Nov 2008, he filled in on Radio Station KGO
as Mr. KGO.
In February 2010 Germain became a weekly guest host on Red Eye Radio on Saturday night / Sunday morning. It is heard nationally on KABC
in Los Angeles, WABC
in New York, as well as on other stations through Cumulus Media Networks. The rest of the week Red Eye Radio is hosted by Doug McIntyre
.
Summary:
format. His trademark response to "how are you?" is "better than most, not as good as some."
He answers no sports-related questions, explaining that he was "born without the sports gene." Three other questions Mr. K won't accept, ostensibly because they've been asked so often that Mr. K fears his audience feels as weary of the three as he himself has grown to be: (1) "what is a Sig Alert
?"; (2) "what is the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan?"; (3) "what are your views on the legalization of drugs?".
Beyond current events and everyday questions — just about anything is fair game — he professes a marked interest in cars, motorcycles, and computer technology.
Notwithstanding his primary format, Mr. K will sometimes present a guest. He initially justified such a guest as merely "hanging with Mr. K" (to preserve the format); later he regarded such sessions as brief hiatus from "Ask Mr. K": if in such a session he were to accept any questions or comments from callers at all, each would have to pertain to the subject under discussion with the guest. Among his more notable: in 1995 Mr. KFI hosted the very last interview of Wolfman Jack
, and one of the last interviews with Milton Berle
.
LA Observed reported that the difficulty was that KABC management wanted to add a second hour of the ABC-syndicated Mark Levin show, which would have pushed the highly rated Mr. KABC show to an 11 PM - 2 AM time slot, a situation which Mr. Germain found unacceptable.
The KTLK rendition of Germain's show incorporated aspects of the traditional talk radio
format. These included: "News You Can't Use" — unusual news stories told with light-hearted banter between Germain and Lisa Goich, the wife of harmonica artist Teddy Andreadis
, (introducing her as Germain's producer, sidekick, call screener and "woman about town"); what many might consider more frivolous topics — such as the Tuesday, March 6, 2007, hour-long topic, “Does Jesus love Osama Bin Laden”; more traditional interviews about topical, news-related events — as he did on the day of the Scooter Libby conviction; and finally, for the last hour of each show, his signature setting — Ask Mr. K, with its traditional motto of "no guests, no topics, no screeners," providing his audience an insider's seat at the side of the screener to the host, with "Mr. K" wearing both of those hats himself.
The KTLK show was canceled in December, 2007. The last show aired on December 21, 2007, with Germain saying he'll be back in January. However, KTLK has updated its web site to indicate that the show has been canceled. http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/01/germain_running_out_of_le.php http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/01/message_from_marc_germain.php on his Web site, Germain has said that he is seeking a new home for his show.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
radio talk show
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...
host, formerly broadcasting from Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Now a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, he can be heard nationwide on Doug McIntyre's
Doug McIntyre
Doug McIntyre is the host of "Talking the News" on 77 WABC New York City , the lead-in morning drive show before "Imus in the Morning." He also hosts the four-hour radio talk show "Doug McIntyre's Red Eye Radio", syndicated across the United States on Cumulus Media Networks, and is the page one...
Red Eye Radio on Saturday night/Sunday morning, in addition to being a regular fill-in host for McIntyre. He also hosts his own internet radio show - The Marc Germain Show - usually two or three times a week on TalkRadioOne.com,
Personal
Marc Germain grew up in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles (Tarzana and Woodland Hills), with the exception of a 6-year period between 1969–1975, when his family lived in San DiegoSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
near San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
. He graduated from El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills.
He attended California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....
in San Luis Obispo for two years before transferring to the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), where he received a degree in Political Science in 1989.
His wife, playfully known on the air as “Mrs. Mister K," hails from Long Island, New York. The two met while both worked at 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...
, a Los Angeles radio station. It was she who hired him at 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...
, as Germain says: "she originally hired me as a weekend board op (operator); that is how I started at the bottom at that station." They have been married since July, 1992, and have a daughter, Nicole, and a son, Ryan. In June 2010, Germain and his family left the Los Angeles area and relocated to Las Vegas, NV.
He is a fifth generation native of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on his father's side. His father's ancestry traces back to the Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
region of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; his mother's heritage is Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
. Germain once described his maternal grandmother as a "green-eyed Russian." His father was a well-respected journalism and English teacher for almost 20 years at University (”Uni”) High School in West Los Angeles.
Germain is the youngest of four sons. His brother Paul
Paul Germain
Paul Germain is an American animation screenwriter and producer. Among the shows Germain has written and/or produced for are Rugrats, All Grown Up!, The Simpsons, Recess, Even Stevens, Lloyd in Space, The Tracey Ullman Show, and Beethoven: The Animated Series...
is an animation screenwriter and producer, best known for Rugrats
Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
, Recess
Recess (TV series)
Recess is an American animated television series created by Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere and produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The series focuses on six elementary school students and their interaction with other classmates and teachers...
, and Lloyd in Space
Lloyd in Space
Lloyd in Space is an animated television series, created by Joe Ansolabehere and Paul Germain , and released in 2001. The pilot was written by Ansolabehere, Germain and Mark Drop...
; his brother Daniel is an attorney in Los Angeles; Gregory is an Assistant Professor at Syracuse University College of Law
Syracuse University College of Law
Syracuse University College of Law , founded in 1895, is a Juris Doctor degree-granting law school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is one of only four law schools in Upstate New York Syracuse University College of Law (SUCOL), founded in 1895, is a Juris Doctor degree-granting law...
, where he specializes in taxation, commercial law & bankruptcy, and corporate law.
Radio career
Germain’s first venture into radio came at the age of twelve in 1979. His father, wanting a hobby for each of his sons bought Germain a ham radio. Taking the amateur radio test twice, he was unable to pass the algebra content of the test due to his age (although he did pass the Morse codeMorse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
portion "which was very easy"). He was only able to use the radio to receive and not to transmit. However this was also the time of the citizens' band radio
Citizens' band radio
Citizens' Band radio is, in many countries, a system of short-distance radio communications between individuals on a selection of 40 channels within the 27-MHz band. Citizens' Band is distinct from the FRS, GMRS, MURS and amateur radio...
boom, so he obtained a citizens' band radio, and was able to acquire a license for that. As stated by Germain, he was mostly active on channel 19 and went by the handle of “King Cobra”.
While completing his degree at UCSB, Germain felt drawn to the business of talk radio
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...
. He told interviewer Matthew Gilbert: "it reached out of the radio and grabbed me by the shirt collar." Germain called local radio station KTMS
KTMS
KTMS is a right-wing news/talk formatted radio station based in Santa Barbara, California, and is owned by Rincon Broadcasting. It airs talk shows such as Dennis Miller, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity.-History:...
and offered to do anything to get his foot in the door. At first he was rebuffed. He then discovered that there was an intern position available. On his third day of internship, he was offered a job "running the board." Within a year and a half, he was the assistant program director.
Germain returned to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and landed a job at radio station 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...
. He was a weekend board operator at first, then worked his way up to screener and then producer (for Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Catherine Miller is an American comedienne and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles and syndicated nationally by Dial Global. Talkers magazine ranked her as the 24th most important radio talk show host in America for 2010.-Early...
, Bill Press
Bill Press
William "Bill" Press is a US talk radio host, political commentator and author.-Career:Press has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Niagara University and Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the University of Fribourg. He started his broadcasting career in Los Angeles for TV stations KABC-TV and...
, former police chief Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates
Daryl Gates was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1978 to 1992.-Early life:...
, among others). Then, as detailed in the section Genesis of His Signature Show, he started hosting his own show — Ask Mr. KFI. He was briefly appointed Interim Program Director, when David Hall left briefly to take the helm at KIRO Seattle. When KFI moved The Phil Hendrie Show
Phil Hendrie
Philip Stephen Hendrie is an American radio personality. He is best known as the host of The Phil Hendrie Show, a comedy talk radio program that is syndicated throughout North America on Talk Radio Network...
into Germain's evening time slot in 1996, it offered him the overnight slot. He said no, and he left KFI.
In January 1997, after a 3-month, contractually mandated, non-competition period, he brought his show to 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...
radio as Ask Mr. KABC. The show struggled the first few years: sports programming sometime cut his show to an hour, and often preempted it entirely. For several months in 1999, he co-hosted a morning show with Brian Whitman. According to a newspaper article by Sandy Wells, Germain could not wait to get back to an evening time slot.
Germain's show blossomed in March 2000 when KABC management expanded it to three hours, with the withdrawal of Stephanie Miller’s
Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Catherine Miller is an American comedienne and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles and syndicated nationally by Dial Global. Talkers magazine ranked her as the 24th most important radio talk show host in America for 2010.-Early...
syndicated show from the lineup. Germain steadily built a following, and by 2006, each of his broadcasts was earning the 1st or 2nd highest rating in his time slot. Midway through 2006, KABC pushed the start of his show back an hour (to 10 pm) to make room for a syndicated show from New York, Mark Levin
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...
. In January 2007, KABC wanted to usurp yet another hour for Levin’s
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin is a lawyer, author and the host of American syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show. Levin served in the cabinet of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese...
show. Germain balked at that proposal, described it as detrimental to his family, and parted company with 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...
. Three weeks later, (March 5, 2007), he returned to the air on radio station KTLK.
In late December 2007, his show was removed from KTLK's lineup.
From Jan 2008 to June 2008, he did a series of 17 podcasts with comedian April Winchell
April Winchell
April Terri Winchell is an American actress, writer, voice actor, talk radio host, and commentator. She is the daughter of the late Paul Winchell.-Acting:...
.
On July 7, 2008 Germain launched Talk Radio One, an internet only "radio" show, using the moniker “Entertaining / Informative / Irreverent Talk Radio”. At first the shows were Skype-cast and he mainly talked to others around the world via Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
. When Skype
Skype
Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice and video calls and chat over the Internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phones can be made for a fee using a debit-based user account system...
ended that aspect of service on September 1, 2008, Germain switched to a model of co-hosts and provided a "land-line" for callers to interact. His shows usually are about 60-90 minutes long and include as contributors: Dina Losito – Commentary; Sharon "The Gossip Mom" Reardon – Celebrity News, Regan Burns – Movie Reviews; Danny Otten (goes by "Gay Danny" on the show) with "gay news"; Justin Levine - regular news; and usually on Tuesdays, quadriplegic Dan Crews with TV reviews.
During this time, he also occasionally fills in for other radio hosts on terrestrial radio stations around the country. For example, in Nov 2008, he filled in on Radio Station 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...
as Mr. KGO.
In February 2010 Germain became a weekly guest host on Red Eye Radio on Saturday night / Sunday morning. It is heard nationally on 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...
in Los Angeles, WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
in New York, as well as on other stations through Cumulus Media Networks. The rest of the week Red Eye Radio is hosted by Doug McIntyre
Doug McIntyre
Doug McIntyre is the host of "Talking the News" on 77 WABC New York City , the lead-in morning drive show before "Imus in the Morning." He also hosts the four-hour radio talk show "Doug McIntyre's Red Eye Radio", syndicated across the United States on Cumulus Media Networks, and is the page one...
.
Summary:
- 1987–1989 KTMSKTMSKTMS is a right-wing news/talk formatted radio station based in Santa Barbara, California, and is owned by Rincon Broadcasting. It airs talk shows such as Dennis Miller, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity.-History:...
, Santa Barbara: intern, board operator, assistant program director.
- 1989–1996 KFIKFIKFI 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...
, Los Angeles: producer, call-screener, on-air talk show host.
- 1997–2007 KABCKABCKABC may refer to:* KABC , a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States* KABC-TV, a television station licensed to Los Angeles, California...
, Los Angeles: on-air talk show host.
- 2007 - 2007 KTLKKTLKKTLK is a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Clear Channel Communications through Citicasters Licenses, the station brands itself as K-Talk AM 1150, broadcasting a progressive talk format....
, Los Angeles: on-air talk show host.
- 2008 - 2011 Founded Talk Radio One: talk show host. Also guest host weekly on "Red Eye Radio" and other shows.
Genesis of his signature show
Germain explained to the KABC audience his origination of his concept, in the following exchange, at 10:41 pm on November 28, 2006:
Caller: “Getting into the radio field, when did you decide not to have a screener?”
Mr. K: “Well, here’s the thing, before I was an on-air personality, I was a behind-the-scenes guy, and one of the things I did as a behind-the-scenes guy was screen calls, and people used to come and watch me screen ‘cause they thought it was pretty entertaining, so my idea was to host a show where I basically screen the calls live on the air.”
Caller: “Did they deter you from that?”
Mr. K: “Who?”
Caller: “Like you know, management, when you . . . ?”
Mr. K: “No, I pitched my boss at the time on the idea, and he said, all right, lets give it a shot, and he put me on at 2 in the morning on a Sunday, and figuring that if it blew up on the launch pad, no one would be the wiser for it – under the cover of darkness.”
Caller: “Any reason why more hosts don’t do that?”
Mr. K: “Because they can’t.”
Caller: “Meaning . . . a little deeper?”
Mr. K: “No, I don’t think they have the skills to do it, I think that most hosts have a lot of skeletons in their closets or issues that they don’t want to talk about. Most talk radioTalk radioTalk 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...
is issue-oriented, specific issue, here's the topic, we are going to talk about gays in the military for the next hour and if people were to call up and be off-topic, it would be distracting from their show, so if I did that kind of a show, and occasionally I do that kind of a show, ah, most hosts would need the crutch of a screener.”
The "Historical" version (1992 - 2007)
Germain’s signature format — from his very beginning as an on-air personality in 1992 — is Ask Mr. K***, where each caller asks a question of the host. Mr. K's slogan is "no guests, no topics, no screeners," to distinguish his program from the standard talk radioTalk 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...
format. His trademark response to "how are you?" is "better than most, not as good as some."
He answers no sports-related questions, explaining that he was "born without the sports gene." Three other questions Mr. K won't accept, ostensibly because they've been asked so often that Mr. K fears his audience feels as weary of the three as he himself has grown to be: (1) "what is a Sig Alert
Sig Alert
A Sig Alert is defined by the California Highway Patrol as "any unplanned event that causes the closing of one lane of traffic for 30 minutes or more." Sig Alerts are issued by the CHP and are posted on their website, broadcast on radio and television stations throughout California, and signalled...
?"; (2) "what is the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan?"; (3) "what are your views on the legalization of drugs?".
Beyond current events and everyday questions — just about anything is fair game — he professes a marked interest in cars, motorcycles, and computer technology.
Notwithstanding his primary format, Mr. K will sometimes present a guest. He initially justified such a guest as merely "hanging with Mr. K" (to preserve the format); later he regarded such sessions as brief hiatus from "Ask Mr. K": if in such a session he were to accept any questions or comments from callers at all, each would have to pertain to the subject under discussion with the guest. Among his more notable: in 1995 Mr. KFI hosted the very last interview of Wolfman Jack
Wolfman Jack
Robert Weston Smith, known commonly as Wolfman Jack was a gravelly voiced US disc jockey who became famous in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early career:...
, and one of the last interviews with Milton Berle
Milton Berle
Milton Berlinger , better known as Milton Berle, was an American comedian and actor. As the manic host of NBC's Texaco Star Theater , in 1948 he was the first major star of U.S. television and as such became known as Uncle Miltie and Mr...
.
Dissolution of his relationship with KABC (February 2007)
Despite Germain's on-the-air observation that his show delivered the very highest ratings in the Greater Los Angeles radio demographics for the Midnight to 1:00 am period, as well as the 2nd highest ratings for the 10:00 pm to 12:00 am period, the radio station transmitted the following statement shortly after 10:00 pm Monday, February 12, 2007:
The following is a message from KABC Radio. The Mr. KABC program normally heard at this time will no longer be broadcast on Talk Radio 790, KABC. KABC Radio and Mr. KABC were unable to come to terms on a new contract, despite ongoing efforts on both sides to do so. KABC radio is grateful to Mr. KABC for his years of service and to his listeners for their support. Changes like this are never easy. KABC thanks Mr. KABC and we wish him well.
LA Observed reported that the difficulty was that KABC management wanted to add a second hour of the ABC-syndicated Mark Levin show, which would have pushed the highly rated Mr. KABC show to an 11 PM - 2 AM time slot, a situation which Mr. Germain found unacceptable.
"I came to the difficult decision to leave because of family considerations," Germain told LA Radio. "With two youngsters, the new proposed hours just didn’t work for our family. I am not yet 40 years old and I have a long career ahead of me. I have been a ratings and revenue winner working evenings at KABC and I have nothing but warm thoughts about the station and hopes for their continued success."
The Marc Germain Show on KTLK (March - December 2007)
In 2007, KTLK AM 1150 in Los Angeles announced that Germain would join its line up in the 3 pm - 7 pm timeslot, starting March 5, 2007.The KTLK rendition of Germain's show incorporated aspects of the traditional talk radio
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...
format. These included: "News You Can't Use" — unusual news stories told with light-hearted banter between Germain and Lisa Goich, the wife of harmonica artist Teddy Andreadis
Teddy Andreadis
Teddy 'Zig Zag' Andreadis is an American piano/harmonica player who has worked with many popular musicians, including Carole King, Guns N’ Roses, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Alice Cooper, Bruce Willis, and the Boxing Gandhis. In 1999 he was voted “Outstanding Keyboardist of the Year” by the L.A. Music...
, (introducing her as Germain's producer, sidekick, call screener and "woman about town"); what many might consider more frivolous topics — such as the Tuesday, March 6, 2007, hour-long topic, “Does Jesus love Osama Bin Laden”; more traditional interviews about topical, news-related events — as he did on the day of the Scooter Libby conviction; and finally, for the last hour of each show, his signature setting — Ask Mr. K, with its traditional motto of "no guests, no topics, no screeners," providing his audience an insider's seat at the side of the screener to the host, with "Mr. K" wearing both of those hats himself.
The KTLK show was canceled in December, 2007. The last show aired on December 21, 2007, with Germain saying he'll be back in January. However, KTLK has updated its web site to indicate that the show has been canceled. http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/01/germain_running_out_of_le.php http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2008/01/message_from_marc_germain.php on his Web site, Germain has said that he is seeking a new home for his show.
Marc Germain's Reported Return to the Airwaves of KABC
In an article in the Orange County (California) Register, Gary Lycan reported that "(KABC) Program Director Jack Silver is also making room in the line-up for familiar personalities Al Rantel, Marc Germain (formerly Mr. KABC), and Bob Brinker." The article was dated Published: Sept. 23, 2010, Updated: Sept. 24, 2010 1:42 p.m. Germain currently hosts a weekly overnight show, Red Eye Radio, on Saturday evenings, syndicated by Cumulus Media Networks.External links
- Talk Radio One website
- Marc Germain on Facebook
- Video in Memorium (search "mr kabc")
- http://www.anotheramerica.org/Marc_Germain_Returns.htm
- http://www.aprilwinchell.com
- Germain on YouTube