» Huckabee Joins ABC Radio Networks: Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has signed on to host a new short form feature for the network. The Huckabee Report, airing weekday mornings and afternoons beginning January 5, will offer Huckabee's take on the day's top news via a medium that's not new to the former presidential candidate. "I started on the radio when I was 14 at KXAR in Hope, AR," Huckabee told NTS Aircheck Today. "I worked my way through high school, college and grad school doing radio, I love it." Noting a few changes since his former radio days Huckabee said, "You don't have any cart machines or Ampex reel-to-reel tape decks anymore, but radio still offers that real sense of urgency." Along with his hands on radio experience, Huckabee says he believes his political experience gives him, "a unique capacity to look from the inside of the asylum, rather than just describing it from the outside. There's a difference between a person who has actually had a jersey on and taken a few hits to the head vs. a person who has always been on the sidelines and can tell you everything about the game."

» Boyce To TRN: Meanwhile, as has been speculated in recent days, former ABC-er Phil Boyce has joined Oregon-based Talk Radio Network Syndications as President where he'll oversee programming for all TRN divisions including the original Talk Radio Network, TRN Enterprises, TRN Entertainment and TRN-FM. Boyce, who recently exited his post as Citadel VP News/Talk and PD for WABC/New York, joins a company with a heavyweight roster of talk hosts including Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Monica Crowley, Jerry Doyle, Rusty Humphries, Mancow, Phil Hendrie, and Tammy Bruce. "We are proud that Phil Boyce has joined our company," said TRN CEO Mark Masters. "There is nobody in the radio industry that has more experience in programming and harvesting new talent than Phil Boyce." Congratulate Phil on his new gig HERE.

» More Reader Feedback: Emails continue to arrive commenting on a recent Boston Globe op-ed piece saying the 2008 election was a sign of what the authors described as the "irrelevance of Talk radio." "Ah, the authors yearn, for the good ol' days when Talk radio was a 'town meeting of the air,'" writes KDKA/Pittsburgh host Dimitri Vassilaros. "And let's not forget all those riveting shows where callers could swap recipes and play trivia, endlessly. If Talk radio truly has become virtually irrelevant, why have so many powerful Democrats in the House and Senate stated -- clearly and emphatically -- that they want to re-institute the 'gag rule' aka the Fairness Doctrine? I guess all those spots purchased on Talk radio by Democratic candidates must have been a waste of time."

Michael Medved Hits The Road: The Salem Radio Network host is kicking of a coast-to-coast tour to promote his latest book, The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Distortions About Our Nation. Among the cities Medved will visit and broadcast live from between now and Christmas are New York, DC, Houston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Phoenix. He'll also host a SoCal book signing event on December 3rd at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, CA. Medved says his new book, "pinpoints the most pernicious pieces of America-bashing disinformation that pollute current debates about the economy, race, religion in politics, the Iraq war, and other contentious issues."

» In Tomorrow's NTS Aircheck Weekly: Say "Mancow" in broadcasting circles and most will instantly recognize the definitive brand name of Erich "Mancow" Muller. Syndicated nationally through Talk Radio Network and heard locally in his hometown of Chicago on WLS-AM, the Mancow of 2008 isn't exactly the same guy who once reveled in shocking his audience and testing the limits of the FCC. In the November 14 issue of NTS Aircheck Weekly we check in with Mancow to talk about his personal and professional evolution, and to get a Chicagoan's perspective on America's brand new President-elect. Look for it in your inbox tomorrow morning!