Flash: Former KRON Commentator Wayne Shannon Dead at 62

Wayne Shannon, a commentator for KRON-TV in the late 1980's known for his acerbic wit and biting essays, has died. Shannon was 62.

 His death was confirmed to me by his son, Chris Schetzle. Cause of death is unknown, pending an autopsy. Shannon had been living in rural Washington State. A public service is planned for the weekend of May 19 in Eugene, Oregon.

Shannon's "Just for You" commentaries were an integral part of KRON's newscasts in the late 1980's. After six years in San Francisco, Shannon left KRON and began working for CNBC. There, he also did political and news commentary before moving back to Washington State.

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Where's Wayne Shannon? Ex-KRON commentator in the media wilderness

Wayne Shannon, hard to believe, was at one point one of the biggest and well-known SF TV news personalities in the Bay Area.

The former KRON commentator in the mid-to-late 80's was a sort of curious, but always compelling local fixture who had a habit of irritating many viewers and colleagues alike with his brash, snippy sarcastic little 90-sec bits and pieces on everything from Oakland city life to the burgers at Bill's place.

He was best known for his "Bible Belt Unbuckled"spoofs of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, his cracks about Milpitas and a feud with an East Bay columnist whom he called "pond scum"-- (I believe that was HuffPost blogger Bill Mann)

Shannon left KRON in 1988 embroiled in a contract dispute with news director Herb Dudnick, (in those days, the money was pretty good--ask Van Amburg, late of KGO-TV and KFRC)

Shannon briefly toiled at CNBC in 1999-2000 before heading back to the Seattle area where he now lives and according to my spies, has retired.