As KTAR News 92.3 FM’s afternoon drive program reaches its two-year anniversary this week, the milestone offers more than a convenient marker on a calendar. It provides a chance to step back and examine how Larry Gaydos and Bruce St. James have shaped their show into something that feels deeply connected to the Phoenix community it serves.
In a landscape, the duo has carved out a role that goes beyond conversation, positioning their program as a megaphone for listeners and a platform for issues that matter across the Valley.
When the pairing was announced, familiarity existed, but certainty did not. Gaydos and St. James had spent time together working in the same building, but never side by side for three hours each afternoon. Chemistry, always the unpredictable variable in partnered radio, was the biggest question mark.
“When we got together, we certainly knew each other,” St. James admitted. “We worked together in the same building for decades, but never did a show together. One of the things anybody who’s done a show with a partner knows is the importance of chemistry.”
That chemistry, as it turns out, came together faster than expected. St. James describes a balance that feels natural rather than forced.
“Gaydos and I have genuine chemistry,” Bruce St. James said. “I’d like to think I have some skills in things where they’re not his strong points, and vice versa,” he said. “It took a little bit of time to figure out what’s in each person’s wheelhouse, but it’s not a matter of stepping on anybody’s toes. It’s much easier than I thought it was going to be.”
Because the two already understood each other’s personalities, the show avoided the awkward, feeling-out phase that can stall new partnerships.
“There was a lot less apprehension than walking cold into a room with somebody you don’t know,” St. James explained. “We started with a base of understanding each other, and that really helps. We didn’t have to start from zero. And we hit the ground running.”
From the beginning, the focus wasn’t on chasing hot takes or leaning into non-stop political combat. Instead, Larry Gaydos and Bruce St. James made a deliberate choice to sound different.
“The challenge for us, and for talk radio in general, is that you want to sound unique,” St. James said. “You want to do something that other people aren’t doing.”
That philosophy led them to steer away from being political all the time and toward topics that resonate on a more personal, local level.
“We know the audience has interests and things they like outside of that,” he added. “We got a lot better at choosing topics and developing those topics and really finding things that touch the audience, that the audience cares about.”
Over time, that approach helped the show evolve from a discussion forum into something closer to a community hub.
One phrase, repeated often on the program, encapsulates that evolution: “not on our watch.” For St. James, it represents a responsibility that comes with the microphone.
“When there are injustices, when there are things that are going wrong in the community, we like to think we’re standing up for the little people,” he said. “We’re standing up for people that can’t stand up for themselves and trying to hold politicians, organizations, or individuals accountable. That makes me feel like more than a radio show.”
The most powerful example of that mission came from a case that landed in the show’s lap about a year and a half ago. A teenage boy had been beaten to death at a high school party, and many in the community believed law enforcement was dragging its feet.
“We had parents, students, and members of the community coming to us saying there’s video of this, and nobody seems to be doing anything about it,” St. James recalled. “We took a lot of that and ran with it.”
The show pressed city officials and police, asking why the community seemed to know more than those tasked with investigating the crime. “If everybody else knows who did this, how is it a surprise to you guys?” St. James said of the KTAR News 92.3 FM afternoon show’s questions to law enforcement and city officials. “It was an injustice, and no one seemed to care.”
As coverage expanded, other local media and television partners joined in, amplifying the pressure. What followed was accountability.
“This year, we had seven people charged with murder, and they’re going to be facing justice,” St. James said. “That’s all we ask. There are eyewitnesses, video, and all kinds of things pointing to who did this, and we think it will be a good thing when they’re held to account.”
For St. James, the significance wasn’t about credit. It was about impact.
“That’s the best part of it,” he said. “We interviewed community members, family members, eyewitnesses, and city officials. We even had the governor trying to explain how this happens in our backyard. It gets back to that idea of ‘not on our watch.’”
The deeper investigation revealed an unofficial group of teenagers involved in numerous assaults and robberies, behavior that had gone unchecked for years. “Sadly, because nobody ever held them accountable, it ended up killing a teenage kid,” St. James said. “Just horrible.”
“I don’t want to sound self-serving, but I think we made a difference in our community,” Bruce St. James later added, reflecting on the impact the show and station have had. “It mattered that people weren’t just going to look the other way. Preston Lord’s life mattered, and we weren’t going to let it become a back-page story.”
Two years into working together, that sense of purpose defines the Gaydos and St. James show as much as ratings or routine.
“I like speaking up for the community,” St. James said. “I want to make sure we stand for something. We stand for a better Arizona and a better community.”
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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.
