Unfortunate news from the world of local talk radio as John C. Scott will be off KVOI after his show Friday, with no plan to return to local airwaves.
From our neighboring publication, Inside Tucson Business:
Scott said KVOI president and manager Doug Martin told him Tuesday his show was incompatible with the conservative vision of the station.
“He said he was pressured by his board to remove the show and I can only take him at this word. They said we were incompatible with the rest of the station,” Scott said….
Martin said his board did not like the show and that he kept hearing from listeners that they were turning the show off at 3 p.m. because it seemed to them like an infomercial.
Scott sells sponsorships to his show and does remotes, lately on Tuesdays at the HabiStore and Fridays at the Tobacco Barn, where he spends a few minutes and the top and bottom of every hour interviewing the owners about their stores and specials.
“I like John, a lot. But we thought this was the best for the station and our listeners,” Martin said.
While yes, Scott’s weekday time slot on what’s ostensibly a Christian conservative talk station was a little strange, but a media landscape with plenty of conservative talkers, including a bunch of local ones who range in their understanding of local issues from entertainers with occasional flashes of intelligent thought to barely comprehensible, this is not just KVOI’s loss, but Tucson’s as a whole.
Despite the fact that John let me spend ten minutes or so on his show every week, he otherwise consistently had great guests, the policymakers of this city, this county and the state and he asked them tough questions, demanding that they take stands on the issues. Sure, his takes were more liberal than the Michael Medved and Hugh Hewiit shows that came on before and after Scott’s show (and who will enjoy expanded time here in Tucson next week when Scott’s gone), but in essence, John always attempted to be a voice for pragmatism and governments that work.
There’s no argument that can be made that this decision was made in the public interest, but instead, KVOI’s board, made up (as far as I can tell) of very conservative Christian types, seemingly tired of having to explain to their church friends why Scott’s show got to be on air. I’ll miss being on John’s show and I’ll miss it being on air. Surely, there are shows with better ratings (although in Tucson talk radio, the difference between “success” and “failure” can be the difference of a few hundred listeners), but I’m not sure there’s a local show with more influence, that has a more accomplished and important listenership.
Ray Carroll upon hearing the news told Jim Nintzel “John is a legend who stretches back decades. He and [his wife] Amy and Mark [his son, who produces the show] have been so involved in the community…To do this right before Christmas is less than good timing.”
Supervisor Carroll is right. It’s definitely poor timing, but more importantly, it’s a poor decision made shortsightedly by KVOI.
This article appears in Dec 19-25, 2013.
Thank God that smut will no longer fill our airwaves. Anyone who did even the minimal fact checking would know he distorted the truth in a way that was gross and irresponsible. Happy day!
So you are upset that conservative KVOI has removed their more liberal talk show host. Isn’t this a bit hypocritical, given that your publication, The Tucson Weekly, wouldn’t dream of allowing a conservative writer to regularly post conservative articles and opinion? It seems to me that KVOI is simply following your journalism model.
How very GOD-LOVING CHRISTIAN to FIRE A MAN the Friday before Christmas.
That IS the problem with SUNDAY CHRISTIANS which is what these old has-beens are all about. Drive slow on Sunday. Pretend to follow the Good Lord’s teachings. Act like a sanctimonious saint on Sunday morning. Then be an abomination on this earth at all other times.
So sad there is no value placed on someone who knows Tucson and Arizona. Other than KXCI, the radio landscape in Southern Arizona is bleak. Not sure anyone under the age of 60 even listens to it anymore.
Look at the positive side: John C can now stay at home with his family for the holidays. AND not have to deal with the traffic around Winterhaven during his commute time.
The future of radio in Tucson: “All ‘Cool Church,’ all the time.”
Conservatives prefer “talk” radio. The guys who brought us Rush Limbaugh in the mid-80’s tested that theory (and, well…as they say…) Liberals have NEVER generated much of an audience for “talkradio.” Liberals used to get their “needs met” via FM rock radio. Not sure where they go, now. Al Franken couldn’t save AirAmerica. KXCI audience is no doubt mostly “liberal,” by virtue of its “programming.” Perhaps John can catch on there. But then, he’d have to be a “volunteer.” And his info-mercials would have to help support KXCI.
I thought nobody gets fired right before xmas. They must hate the guy.
And remember kids, add “scare quotes” to every other “word” or so in your “post.” It lends an air of “cynicsm” that comes only from a “deep understanding” of “stuff.”
John,John,John. Run for the House.
Dartman: We have included conservative voices (Jonathan Hoffman) and the majority of our stories don’t fall under any ideological line. I’ve actually reached out to several conservatives to have them write for us, but they’ve never followed through. So there’s that.
Although it was hard to find John at the current time period, I have spent 30 years listening to him on the radio and occasionally calling in. John’s attraction was that despite his politics, he interviewed everybody in office and the want-to-bes as well. If you were interested in Southern AZ politics and government, John was the go-to show. I remember when he served in the state legislature in the 70s and when he was on KTKT and Ch. 11. He will find another slot. There must be another voice in Tucson radio other than hard line conservative crazies.
John C. Scott does have another gig. He is the Operations Manager and Track Announcer at Tucson Greyhound Park – http://tucsongreyhound.com/about-the-track…
Good riddance to John C. Scott! Nasty man and bombastic. That’s journalism? I guess Dan Gibson is all over that one. (A conservative voice himself.)
Regina: Seriously, what did I do to you? You have three posts on our site and they’re all attacking me. Why?
Apparently, the reason people were turning off John C Scott at 3PM, was to listen to JT Harris. More entertaining…
This show is a paid spot- which means the station charges him to be on the air, and doesn’t pay him. The insider whose call to glory is that he’s “the most talked about, listened-talk show” also “heard in Israel” is the exageration.
The simple fact is, even the miracle kitchen swab and miracle diet vitam
Maybe John C Scott, Alan Michaels, BILL BUCKMASTER, and the other former Tucson radio exiles should buy 1330 The Jolt and create a station for themselves?
I miss 1330 when it had the likes of John C and Bill Buckmaster along with the national’s like Alan Colmes; Thom Hartman; Ed Schultz; Stephanie Miller; Randi Rhodes. I find it hard to believe that Progressive Tucson can not find a station with Progressive Ownership!!!
Well, aren’t the KVOI board a bunch of Right-wing snobs… I have listened to John for years and thanks to him I’ve learned about the State and local issues. He will be missed terribly. Ask the KVOI board what they think about his annual bicycle drive for poor kids that was able to raise a record $30,000 in 4 hours of programming. Doesn’t that prove to you there are listeners and he’s relevant??? You going to snub charitable giving too?
JCS chose to make his show more infomercial and less news to appease the advertisers paying for his show to air. This is unfortunate because it lost the focus of his ability to interview the newsmakers of the day in Southern Arizona. I would listen daily to the interview and tune out when it went back to the infomercial sections. This dilution of the talk programming format is at epidemic proportions with all the pay to play programs out there.
The other talk stations will probably not ramp up their local coverage either. That is something that should be submitted when it is time to have the FCC license renewal comment periods to document in the process the lack of locality these licensees are choosing to do.
Radio? you mean that funny thingy with the knobs? My Grandfather has one! Try the internet. You can get any music you want, in any language you want. Talk radio only talks to the choir! If you have made up your mind about a subject, drop it and go with your favorite tunes!
Doug Martin (owner of KVOI) is an acknowledged and open Teapublican who has repeatedly stood on the position that local government should take its marching orders from big business and NOT the voter. If Doug and his bagger board want to get rid of John C. Scott then I for one will no longer be supporting ANY who advertise on KVOI except for those who support Bill Buckmaster.
Dan, Jonathon Hoffman has contributed 4 guest opinion pieces this year, down from 7 in 2008. On your Opinion Link he is not mentioned in your Columnist Archives. He is listed as an author at the bottom of your Opinion Main page along with 19 other authors. The last piece of his you published was written on October 10th. You publish approximately 75-80 opinion pieces per quarter. So, he represents less than 2% of your total opinion pieces. I think you are stretching it more than a bit to draw the correlation. With regard to the ideology of your publication, please don’t defend the indefensible. That one made me chuckle. As a conservative, free market loving, small business owner I salute you for the amazing print and online media device you have built. You “own” the local liberal print media audience. Is it possible that you might create more “buzz” and increase circulation by more frequently and prominently featuring pieces that represent opinion in polar opposite to your own ideology? Jim Nitzel seems to find a 75/25 balance in this fashion. I know he attracts conservative viewers to his show as a result. We certainly talk about his shows at our “tea parties” when he allows a conservative guest to counter point his two more liberal guests.
I’ve run every single item Jonathan has sent me. Whether he submits items or not, I can’t really control. On the other hand, yes, the opinion pieces are generally more liberal in nature, but I don’t think most of the cover features, reviews or other content skews one way or the other.
Obviously, the Weekly reflects the makeup of the community it serves, more liberal and moderate than conservative, but honestly, my biggest concern is in running smart, thoughtful work by people invested in our community. Each time I’ve reached out closely identified with the local conservative movement, they’ve turned me down. I think there’s probably more value sometimes in staying out of our liberal cesspool than trying to sway our audience sometimes. I’m still plugging away, however, and at some point, I’ll find the perfect conservative columnist (I hope). If you have any suggestions, let me know.
This is not a good thing.
Yes, JSC is a liberal … but not a flaming one.
He sometimes let politicos slide when interviewing them … meaning when he will talk negatively about them at other times, then schmooze up to them while he has them on the air.
But, he did have the guts to deplore the re-election of that liberal nazi Karen Ulrich and has gone on record against other liberal politicians and policies.
Although KVOI has the right to sell airtime to whomever they wish, JSC program was the most comprehensive local issue talk show in town … bar none.
He has gone a bit overboard lately with the infomercial side of his program content (which probably was a mistake), but you have to appreciate the dialogue he brought to the issues which affect Tucsonans.
But don’t worry … the guy is a survivor, he has been on the air for 40 years and will no doubt pop up again somehow, somewhere.
JCS..no one did a better job of covering the politics of Tucson and southern Arizona!
it never ceases to amaze me that some people out there can make such mean comments about public people and their livelihoods.
As for uber-Christian run KVOI….no tolerance for another viewpoint. Hypocritical and judgemental about anyone who apparently is not as holy they pretend to be.
Hey Jessica!
You are all heart…probably a good Christian…in your dreams. in real life you very mean spirited. What exactly is “smut?”
Now, if we can just get Bill Buckmaster off the air, we’ll have removed all interesting local news talk and interviews.
This was an unbelievable loss for Tucson. John was my best source of local discussion. I enjoy the Daily Star, but John was a running commentary on the town and the state. Every leader local and state was on the show at one time or another. Removing John C Scott proves something I have always surmised. Right wing devotees do not want to hear any facts. I have taken KVOI off the auto select in my car. I would suggest that other educated people do the same, the station is now a venemous right wing hate station.