Replacing a show in a news/talk radio station’s lineup is never easy. But in the case of The Charlie Kirk Show, it’s especially difficult after the tragic assassination of the host last month.
The program from Charlie Kirk had consistently been featured in the top podcasts in the country before his untimely death. Those rankings — whether it be from Edison Research, Podtrac, or Triton Digital — have only increased following the tragedy.
Furthermore, the radio show had featured an expanded audience in the months preceding his death, with Kirk assuming all of the affiliates of The Dennis Prager Show after Salem Radio Network announced that Prager wouldn’t return to the lineup after his fall last November, which has left him paralyzed from the neck down.
To be clear, neither Salem Media Group nor Salem Radio Network has announced or suggested that the network was considering replacing The Charlie Kirk Show in the immediate future.
In late September, just over three weeks after her husband had been assassinated, Erika Kirk shared that the program would not be ending in spite of the tragedy. At the time, she shared, “My husband’s voice will live on. The show will go on. We will have rotating hosts, rotating cast, rotating people coming on … Nothing is changing. But I want to preface: we’re not awkward, we’re not like weird, we’re not going to be tweeting as if it’s him. That’s tone deaf and really disturbing, and anyone who does, that’s morbidly off. That’s not what’s happening.”
The Charlie Kirk Show currently occupies the 12-2 PM ET timeslot in the Salem Radio Network, with The Scott Jennings Show rounding out the early afternoon/late midday timeslot that news/talk radio leaders have prioritized in the past.
We spoke with three current and former Program Directors who either aired the show live or on a tape-delay basis. Individually, they all agreed that the slate of guest hosts in the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s death, featuring the likes of Glenn Beck, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly, was a fantastic way to honor Kirk’s memory and to help the audience grieve after the loss.
However, they all also, individually, agreed that the way the show is currently formatted isn’t likely sustainable and alternative programming would need to be sought eventually.
Each of the three program directors was granted anonymity to share their unbridled opinions and to not interfere with potential negotiations in the future.
Program Director A
Program Director A is the leader of a news/talk station that carried The Charlie Kirk Show live, and continues to feature the program in its lineup.
The station leader said that they are willing to see how things operate with the current setup of the show, but believe it is likely that they’ll be looking for a replacement in the somewhat near future.
“Because of the success of Rush (Limbaugh), Noon to 3 PM is important. It’s the most important window in the format,” the PD said. “We have to be great there. I don’t say that to discredit Andrew (Kolvet) or anyone else with Charlie’s team, but they aren’t Clay and Buck, Vince (Coglianese), or even Dana (Loesch). Bluntly, I don’t think a show of former producers learning to be hosts, who are relying on clips of Charlie to help shape their arguments, is going to do well for us.”
That program director added that they believed the remedy to the problem was already a part of the Salem Radio Network lineup.
“The best option would be for Chris (Stigall) to extend his show one hour (until 10 AM ET), have Mike (Gallagher) keep his show where it is, and then have Scott Jennings from Noon to 3,” they said.
When asked if Scott Jennings — who only joined the network’s lineup in July, and features a robust slate of analyst and contributor work with CNN — wasn’t able to add a three-hour daily radio show to his schedule, Program Director A said there’s another option in the network to consider.
“Larry Elder,” they said. “I understand why Larry’s show is where it is in the lineup right now. He’s West Coast, so 6-9 PM means afternoon drive out there. And he also competes against Mark Levin, so I get it. But having Larry (in early afternoons) would be the next best thing.”
Program Director B
Like Program Director A, Scott Jennings was also the preferred choice for Program Director B, which aired The Charlie Kirk Show on a tape-delay basis on their station.
“Scott (Jennings) is the hot new thing,” they said. “When you turn on TV, he’s there. When you open social media, he’s there. He’s making an impact. Our listeners have already decided that they like him, they like his show, (and) I think they’d like to have more of him.”
Program Director B added that while Jennings would be the biggest interest to them, they believed that The Dana Show — hosted by Dana Loesch — might be their best option if Jennings didn’t want to increase his radio workload.
“We don’t have any women on our station,” they said. “I think our listeners would see that as a positive, not a negative. Someone like Dana, fiery and sarcastic, could do well for us, I think.”
Program Director C
Program Director C previously operated a news/talk radio brand that carried The Charlie Kirk Show. They shared that they had never really considered what replacing Kirk’s show would look like because they assumed Kirk would have a long career ahead.
“It was devastating to hear the news, see the videos all over social media,” they shared, adding that “thinking about what I was going to do for my station in those moments never crossed my mind.”
But in the weeks that followed, they said they had to consider what they would do if forced with the idea that they’d need to replace their 12-3 PM ET host.
“I’d have to know what was available from Premiere and Westwood (One), before I could tell you what I’d decide,” they shared.
In a somewhat similar thought process to Program Director A, this former brand leader shared that they would think the successor to Kirk would already be inside the Salem Media Group family.
“Mark Davis in Dallas would be a great addition nationally,” they argued. “He’s funny and a great conservative. Salem likes Salem guys. Chris (Stigall) got bumped up to mornings when (Dr. Sebastian Gorka) left and Hugh Hewitt went to afternoons. Mark’s been around the block in his career. He has relationships in cities you wouldn’t believe. And he’s been a loyal guy to the company. He deserves the chance to go national again.”
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
I like the idea of Chris Stigall’s show getting an extra hour. In the Denver market, we only get hours one and two at the ungodly – but for some reason I’m often awake – hours of 0400-0600, where it’s followed by two horrible local hosts with a four-hour slot from 0600-1000. Any relieve from them would be welcome. Beyond that, the “Mark Davis as a national host” idea is appealing. I haven’t completely gotten used to Jennings on radio (yet) and am not convinced the “aw shucks” charm and wit he exhibits on TV translates as well in audio-only.