John Loftus gets the boot

It was an experiment that obviously failed.

Turns out that former federal prosecutor and CIA attorney John Loftus and upstart liberal talk radio network Nova M Radio were just not a very good match. Loftus' weeknight show has been canceled by Nova M, with the final show airing this past Friday.

Loftus was signed by the network last November, and his show debuted in late February. Since then, Loftus was moved from his 8-9PM ET perch to later in the night, following the Mike Malloy show at Midnight. Listener reaction has been far from overwhelming. In fact, they really hated the guy.

Turns out that, while Loftus is a highly intelligent man who has written books and has a vast knowledge of middle east affairs, he was a bit too hawkish on a potential war with Iran, among other things (I'm walking a fine line here in trying to prevent Israel/Arab flamewars from breaking out in the comments section, so don't even think it!). Many people didn't like Loftus' Liebermanesque approach to world politics. Let's just say that his show mixed with Nova M's Mike Malloy like oil and water. It just didn't work.

Meanwhile, Nova M is still hard at work developing other programming, particularly on the weekends. Pollster John Zogby is on the air Friday evenings at 6PM with Jeff Farias with "Pulse of the Nation." Among other weekend offerings are Ernest Hancock's "Declare Your Independence" and a new show from frequent Malloy caller Herb 'Sarge' Phelps that will concentrate heavily on the aftermath of Hurrican Katrina.

Incidentally, as reported here the other day, Nova M Radio has video highlights of their birthday bash from last week. You can find those on their YouTube group.

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.

Nova M to add another weekday show

Nova M Radio Network founder Sheldon Drobny reports that the upstart liberal talk syndicator will add author and former Justice Department prosecutor John Loftus for a daily talk show.

According to Drobny, Loftus had an impeccable record at the Justice Department and co-wrote "The Secret War Against the Jews" with Mark Aarons. John will be doing a daily show about the intelligence community and other government matters that need to be brought to the public attention. Like the upcoming John Zogby weekend show, the content will be non-partisan.

A little background on Loftus, from his site:

As a former Justice Department prosecutor, John Loftus once held some of the highest security clearances in the world, with special access to NATO Cosmic, CIA codeword, and Top Secret Nuclear files. As a private attorney, he works without charge to help hundreds of intelligence agents obtain lawful permission to declassify and publish the hidden secrets of our times. He is the author of four history books, three of which have been made into films, two were international best sellers, and one was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Here is a link from an interview Drobny did with Norman Mark of KNWZ-AM in Palm Springs about Nova M Radio. Segments 3 and 4 of this FTP link contain his interview with Mark on October 26, where Drobny spells out his philosophy about Nova M's unconservative talk radio.