Press release from Arizona Public Media, www.azpm.org (KUAT Channel 6):

Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable
Premieres with New Host Jim Nintzel
New format on PBS-HD Channel 6
Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. starting September 16th

Tucson, Ariz. – September 9, 2011 – Jim Nintzel, senior writer for the Tucson Weekly and a longtime contributor to Arizona Public Media, will host a new political roundtable on the Friday evening edition of Arizona Illustrated premiering Friday, September 16th at 6:30 p.m. The program will feature a mix of political strategists and reporters who will bring insider perspective to the events of each week.

Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable will be part of PBS-HD Channel 6’s Friday night news block airing at 6:30 p.m. before PBS NewsHour, Washington Week, Arizona Week and Need to Know. The program repeats at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday morning in addition to video-on-demand at www.azpm.org.

“I’ve missed doing the Friday Roundtable and am thrilled to be part of the team that’s bringing a new version to Arizona Illustrated,” Nintzel said. “As the host, I hope to bring fresh insights and perspectives from both the left and the right to our viewers. It’s great to be back in the AZPM studios providing in-depth political news for the community.”

Jack Gibson, Director and General Manager of AZPM states “This new restructuring of the Friday Roundable supports Arizona Public Media’s strategic focus on news and current affairs. Jim, with his respected standing in the community and long experience in the political arena, is a welcome addition to our broadcast team.”

New Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable format:
• The format for Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable will include Nintzel, political strategists and insiders from both the left and the right sides of the political aisle, reporters from Arizona Public Media and other special guests who will provide analysis of the week’s events in local, state and national politics, as well as forecasts of future political trends.

The premiere program on September 16th will include the following guests:
Jonathan Paton, former Arizona state lawmaker and congressional candidate,
Rodd McLeod, Political Strategist (Congressional campaigns of Congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords and the 2010 gubernatorial campaign of Terry Goddard),
Andrea Kelly, political reporter, Arizona Public Media.

About Jim Nintzel:
Having covered politics in Southern Arizona for two decades at the Tucson Weekly, Jim Nintzel has won more than 30 statewide and national journalism awards for reporting, commentary and feature writing and was named a Journalist of the Year by the Arizona Newspaper Association in 2010. He was part of PBS-HD Channel 6’s Friday Roundtable for 15 years and has aided Arizona Public Media with political debates and other segments. He is an adjunct faculty member who has taught government reporting at the University of Arizona School of Journalism since 2001.

Bill Buckmaster, talk show host on KUAT Channel 6, had his final two shows on Friday, December 17. Back on October 4 I reported that Buckmaster had decided to leave Arizona Public Media & KUAT Channel 6, after 23 years there as a talk show host.

Joining him on the final Friday Roundtable were Tucson Weekly’s Investigative reporter Jim Nintzel, Arizona Daily Star’s Opinion Writer Sarah Garrecht Gassen, and Dan Shearer, Editor of the Green Valley News and Sahuarita Sun. Click here for their final episode together discussing the top political and community issues of 2010.

the final Friday Roundtable on KUAT (L to R: Shearer, Gassen, Nintzel, & host Buckmaster)

Prior to the Friday Roundtable this group of journalists interviewed District 4 Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll, who has served in that position since 1997. Carroll answered questions about Pima County finances, Tucson Padres baseball, the 2010 Census & redistricting, the town of Vail, the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan, Rosemont Mine, a new sewer plant, Hell’s Angels, and Raytheon. Watch it here.

Buckmaster has joined KJLL “The Jolt” 1330 AM Radio, and will still be concentrating on political issues and interviews of politicians/community leaders. His new one-hour M to F radio show begins 9 a.m. on January 3, 2011, with a re-broadcast at 7 to 8 p.m.

Tucsoncitizen.com Editor Mark Evans also wrote on October 4 about Buckmaster taking his dulcet voice to radio (click here). Evans appeared several times on the Friday Roundtable as well.

It seems that there are a lot of former politicians on the radio in Tucson (especially KJLL The Jolt, 1330 AM):

Mondays: former Ward 6 Councilmember Nina Trasoff, “Pima Community College Perspective”, 6 p.m.

Tuesdays: former District 1 Pima County Supervisor Ron Asta, “Ron Asta’s Tucson”, 12 noon

Tuesdays: former Ward 6 Councilmember Fred Ronstadt, “The Fred & Jeff Show” (with his younger brother Jeff), 5 p.m.

Thursdays: former Ward 5 Councilmember Steve Leal, “All Things Political“, 12 noon

Daily: former State Senator John C. Scott, “The John C. Scott Show“, 3 to 5 pm. M to Th, 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.

Incidentally Scott is also the General Manager of KJLL.

Host John C. Scott sometimes appears on Arizona Public Media‘s KUAT Channel 6 TV’s “Friday Roundtable” political discussion at 6:30 p.m., with reporters/editors from the Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Weekly, Arizona Republic, Green Valley News & Sun, and even sometimes our Editor Mark Evans of Tucsoncitizen.com.

J.D. Hayworth in Phoenix was also a radio talk show host (KFYI 550 AM) after he lost his job as CD5 Congressman, and before he resigned to run for U.S. Senate in Arizona this year against incumbent John McCain.

So stay tuned, for more former politicians evolving into radio talk show hosts & hostesses. Anyone else I missed?