She was a longtime co-star of the morning news run at KIRO Newsradio, then lost that gig and has recently (since 2010) been a PM drive anchor at KOMO AM 1000. We were saddened to hear of her sudden passing this week.
This was her personal profile on the KOMO AM website.
I’ll admit it: I’m a radio fanatic and news junkie! That’s what makes it so much fun to work in such a great news environment with terrific and dedicated people.
My first paid radio job was at KITI in Centralia, where I was Anchor and News Director. Then, I jumped to KTNT/KNBQ in Tacoma, as morning drive anchor and beat reporter. After that, I headed for TV at ABC affiliate KRGV-TV in Texas. I realized I enjoyed ‘not’ having to worry about wearing make-up for TV, so I moved back to radio—to KXXO-FM in Olympia; KING AM in Seattle and Morning News co-host at KIRO, before I settled in at KOMO.
My northwest roots are deep. I hail from Ashland, Oregon I’m a Master Gardener with a weedy yard. I love my two sons, my two dachshunds and my 21-year-old cat named Stan. Oh, and I’m not a bad cook!
KOMO morning news anchor Gregg Hersholt a few minutes ago posted this tribute on his Facebook page.
I lost a great friend and radio buddy today. Jane Shannon passed away suddenly. Too soon. We shared so many things together in our decade of hosting the morning news on KIRO NewsRadio. I’ll always remember the morning of 9/11. And there was this image of her drawn by P-I cartoonist David Horsey from our trip to Super Bowl XL in Detroit.
We were like brother and sister, and became much closer friends in recent years. My heart goes out to her two sons.
KOMO Family Mourns the Loss of a Dear Friend
SEATTLE — Veteran afternoon news anchor Jane Shannon passed away unexpectedly this week.
Shannon was not only an award-winning broadcast journalist, but a mother, a master gardener, and someone who loved making just the right gourmet dish for dinner guests.
An Oregon native, Shannon started her radio career at KITI in Centralia, where she was an anchor and the news director. Before coming to KOMO News Radio in 2010, Shannon worked at KXXO-FM in Olympia, KING AM in Seattle, and was a Morning News co-host at KIRO.
Former KOMO News Radio program director Paul Duckworth called Shannon an outstanding talent and a dear friend.
“When I met her the first time in the radio station, she was everything I thought she would be. She was smart. She was always looking for stories that made people feel think,” Duckworth said.
Listeners around the Northwest knew Shannon as a passionate journalist, whose mission was always to find out why the story mattered to you. Her friends and co-workers knew her not only for her consummate professionalism, but as a friend who will leave a large hole in the KOMO family.
“Working with Jane, there was never a bad day at work.” said Bill Yeend, a former KOMO broadcaster who worked with Shannon for years. “There was never a bad day, because even when things were going not quite as planned, she would figure out something to say or something to do to make you realize that the world doesn’t depend on it, that everyone’s going to be okay in the end and life is going to go on.”
Shannon leaves behind two sons and too many friends to count.
It’s too bad that she left too soon.