Ken Hamblin

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Ken Hamblin, the self-titled Black Avenger, was host of the Ken Hamblin Show which was syndicated nationally on Entertainment Radio Networks. His show peaked in the 1990s, but he left the air, without warning, in July of 2003 due to a contractual dispute with his syndicator, the American Views Radio Network.

Hamblin, based in Denver, Colorado, is also the author of the book Pick a Better Country.

Hamblin was a photographer for the Detroit Free Press before starting his radio career in the 1970s. In his book, he states that he was sympathetic to the radical left, including groups such as the Black Panthers, and gave them favorable coverage. However, as time went on, he felt that the left had failed to make good on its promise to bring about the type of America it spoke of, and he began to move to the conservative side of the spectrum. This puts him in company with those like David Horowitz, Tammy Bruce, and others who have made a left-to-right switch. Ken Hamblin is a licensed fixed-wing pilot and a motorcycle owner. He is the husband of "Mrs. Black Avenger", a father and grandfather.

Hamblin had a long-running local talk program on the powerful KOA radio in Denver, a station heard across the western and central United States. Hamblin hosted the early evening shift, which he worked the evening of June 18, 1984, when Alan Berg, one of the station's biggest and controversial hosts, was gunned down. KOA that evening sounded like a funeral when word hit that Berg had been murdered. -[1]

Hamblin gained national attention when his show, then carried on another Denver radio station, was broadcast on CSPAN during the early 1990s. His show was heard on KNUS and KXKL radio in Denver, as well as across the U.S. After his show was syndicated, it was heard across the U.S. on up to 200 radio stations.

In 1999, Hamblin was named one of Colorado's Top 100 most influential media personalities -[2]

Ken Hamblin's show had several unique features, including:

The playing of various versions of the Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of the show
Playing taps for fallen law enforcement officers
Announcing the execution of convicts on death row, often with a clip from the movie Unforgiven, claiming "It's a hell of a thing killin' a man; you take away everything he's got, and everything he's gonna have." This segment is notable for having the song, "Another One Bites the Dust" by the group, Queen.
Occasional playings of a skit called "Shirley Q Liquor" as a bumper, or for those callers held over at the top of the hour.