KPHX rises

Well, it seems the rumors are indeed true. Liberal talk on KPHX (1480AM) in Phoenix is back.

The station, which had aired the format for over two years, brought it back to the local airwaves today.

Here's a statement from their website

Welcome back! The Progressive Talk format has returned to the airwaves in Phoenix, Arizona! I want to thank all our sponsors, advertisers, listeners, hosts and everyone in the community who made this dream a reality. We look forward to bringing you the most compelling, provocative and entertaining programming there is to offer locally and nationally. Over the next several days we will be adding new features to our website, http://www.1480kphx.com/. At times the website will be temporarily down as we make these upgrades. We encourage you to participate in whatever ways you can to make our mutual endeavors a success. Please feel free to send me any suggestions or ideas you might have regarding 1480 KPHX to docmike@1480kphx.com. Peace!

There are some differences between the new KPHX and the former incarnation run by the now-defunct Nova M Radio. Most notably, Nova M is out of the picture. This new one appears to be run by former Nova M personality Mike Newcomb, who is hosting a weekday afternoon show on the station.

Much of the on-air lineup is similar. Mike Malloy, Thom Hartmann, Stephanie Miller Bill Press and Randi Rhodes can still be heard here. One interesting addition is Ed Schultz, who had not aired on the Nova M incarnation but will air evenings on delay.

Currently, it doesn't appear as if the station has a live streaming link (unlike the old KPHX). And unlike the old KPHX, this is being put forward as merely a local radio station, rather than the flagship for an upstart radio network.

Nova M Radio shuffles the deck: Farias and Loftus in, Newcomb out

Up-and-coming liberal talk network Nova M Radio has made a few moves to help bolster their lineup and flagship station, announcing plans to add shows from talk show hosts Jeff Farias and John Loftus to the late afternoon/early evening drive time slot. In other moves, Mike Newcomb's show has been dropped from Nova M.

Anita Drobny, the current CEO of Nova M Radio, commented, "We are very pleased to welcome Jeff Farias to the Nova M afternoon broadcast schedule. Jeff will be one of the few progressive liberal talk show hosts in this time slot nationally to be focused on the listener call-in format airing from 6-8PM ET. Jeff Farias' show will provide a great lead-in for the Mike Malloy program from 9PM to Midnight ET."

"These programming changes will provide Nova M Radio with a more cohesive programming schedule, and allow the founding management team more time to work closely with the investment community to help launch our new progressive talk show network to a national level," claimed Drobny.

Farias is well-known to listeners of the Mike Malloy show, as he is a frequent guest host of the show. He has also filled in for Newcomb. His show will debut on March 5, displacing Peter B. Collins to a delayed nighttime slot on Nova M's flagship station, KPHX in Phoenix. Collins was initially linked with Nova M when the network started, but is no longer connected with the company, aside from a clearance for his show on KPHX.

Author and former Justice Department prosecutor John Loftus' new weekday show will air from 8-9PM, according to Nova M's new schedule. Loftus was signed by the network last fall. Malloy's show will follow, giving the fledgeling network a straight six hour evening feed of original programming.

With the additions of Farias and Loftus, KPHX morning host Newcomb is now off the air, and likely gone from Nova M, as his morning drive time slot will be given to Stephanie Miller's syndicated show. There are a few rumors out there regarding Newcomb's departure, with the conventional wisdom being conflicts between him and the Drobnys. Newcomb has also been serving as CEO of Nova M Radio. The company has been very tight-lipped about his status with the company, but he is no longer listed as a Nova M executive.

In other Nova M news, earlier this week, the company announced an agreement with XM Radio that will see the Mike Malloy program being carried by the satellite radio provider sometime in March, on channel 167, a.k.a. the "Air America Radio" channel.

____ ______ to be new Sirius Left night host

The rumor was hinted at a few weeks ago. Alex Bennett took a call on his late morning show regarding Sirius Left's replay of Bill Press in the 6-9PM slot (which belonged to The Young Turks prior to their signing with Air America this past September. Seems that an increasing number of listeners were a bit miffed hearing the same Bill Press show on the way home that they had listened to that morning. Bennett sympathized, and promised that a replacement for the evening replay was forthcoming, but he couldn't go into detail. All he said was that people would really be happy when they found out. Will weekend host Mike Feder take the timeslot? No, said Alex.

It was a rumor that slipped my mind after that. I really don't like jumping on every little piddly rumor like some other people. And I figured this would get a bit more hot n' heavy in the coming weeks. But the folks over at Sirius Backstage have been buzzing about it. And thanks to Aaron, who emailed me, jogged my memory and prodded my ass to actually make some sort of mention of this here. Remember, this is only a rumor. But as far as rumors go, this isn't bad. The truthseekers out there that visit this site will be happy to know that ____ ______ will take over nights at Sirius Left. Uhh, sorry. Can't say it yet.

Next week will involve some schedule alignments over at Sirius Left. The Press replay from 6-9PM will be bumped for Stephanie Miller. Yesterday, Lynn Samuels announced her show will being replayed around 03:00am EDT starting that day.

So, that leaves the 9-Midnight shift. And likely, it won't be a replay of Bill Press. Most likely, it will be a live show. So, who's on at that hour? It likely won't be Bennett's friend Lionel, since his syndicated show doesn't start until 10PM. And it certainly won't be Jon Elliott, since Air America Radio is exclusive to XM. So... who else is left? Who's gonna rage a radio battle against the 'flying monkey right'?

Well, there is this guy in Atlanta who's upstart Phoenix-based network is close to getting satellite access (they've been negotiating with Westwood One). One who had a petition started to get him back on the radio, complete with roughly 18,000 signatures. Who could it possibly be?

Nobody's saying names at this point, but the most obvious guess is Mike Malloy. Oooops, did I say that?

Now, nothing is official yet, so don't take this as anything close to being 'the gospel'. I'm just passing on the vague rumors I've heard. And KPHX/Phoenix morning host Mike Newcomb lends credibility to the rumors, saying that Malloy will be on Sirius very soon. (mp3 link, 6 min. in)

Malloy's budding syndicator, Nova M Radio, has been in a bit of a holding pattern as of late. Without satellite access, the only way they were able to transmit programming was through land lines, or ISDN. This process is a real pain in the ass, and KQKE in San Francisco deserves credit for going to the trouble of carrying him live from the beginning. Reportedly, the satellite uplink is now working. WINZ in Miami has said they will carry the show, and KPTK in Seattle will air it on delay starting next week, from 11PM-2AM.

Nova M has been negotiating to get Malloy's show on a satellite service. Judging from the obvious number of emails that Sirius in particular have received, I'd be shocked if, given the opportunity to run Malloy, they'd pass on it. After all, Malloy obviously comes at a cheaper price tag than Howard Stern or NASCAR. I'd be surprised if carrying Malloy cost Sirius anything, for that matter, since Malloy, like most other syndicated talk shows, is available to radio affiliates on a barter basis. And Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin needs more subscribers to contribute to the bottom line, as the Stern well has likely been tapped dry by now. Adding Malloy certainly would not be a bad way to do it. Ironically, adding someone with the rabid following that he brings could actually make Wall Street happy. Who'da thunk?

And this would not be the first time Malloy's been on Sirius. He was one of the original voices on Sirius Left, prior to Air America, when the channel carried programming from the defunct I.E. America Network. And Sirius briefly carried Air America, until the network signed an exclusive deal with XM.

Again, this is all a vague rumor, albeit one that's growing longer and longer legs. For all we know, they could opt to air three hours of something else in that slot. But my money's on ____ ______. Again, this is strictly hush-hush, and you didn't read this here. Unless, of course, this is all legit.