Salem Media‘s Salem Media Network has officially moved forward with the next era of midday conservative spoken word programming following the assassination of Charlie Kirk by handing the 9am-Noon Pacific/Noon-3pm Eastern time slot to “two prominent voices” in right-wing U.S. politics.
Starting January 5, the three-hour time slot will be taken by Brietbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow — going solo in the Noon Eastern hour — and CNN political commentator and conservative political strategist Scott Jennings taking the 1pm-3pm Eastern slot by himself. For Jennings, his current one-hour Salem Radio Network offering is doubling in length.
It breaks up a three-hour time slot that has become one of the most competitive in commercial Talk radio in the U.S. since the death of Rush Limbaugh, with several syndicators vying for supremacy following the loss of the legendary conservative spoken word audio icon.
Notably, it puts SRN in a different position than Newsmax’s Rob Carson Show or Premiere Networks’ Clay Travis & Buck Sexton, among other offerings in the slot once held by Limbaugh.
As Salem Media SVP of Content Phil Boyce, a veteran of Talk radio, sees it, “This is an important moment for Salem. Salem has earned the trust of conservative audiences for decades, and we don’t take that lightly. Scott Jennings and Alex Marlow each bring a distinct voice, a rare ability to engage audiences, and real seriousness to the conversation. Together, they will carry the Salem legacy forward.”
To be clear, Marlow and Jennings are not co-hosting any portion of the Noon-3pm Eastern weekday time slot. Jennings is already familiar to SRN audiences for hosting the 2pm Eastern slot since July 14, airing on nearly 175 U.S. radio stations. The expansion widens that count to more than 200 radio stations.
Alex Marlow launched “The Alex Marlow Show Presented by Breitbart News” as a podcast in November 2024. The program will remain available in that format, Salem says, with plans to add three additional podcast-only episodes each week. It will also be carried on video via Salem News Channel in partnership with Breitbart News.
Meanwhile, “The Charlie Kirk Show” will continue as a podcast on the Salem Podcast Network, as Salem Media “will maintain its close professional and personal relationship with Turning Point USA.”
Following Kirk’s September 10 murder while at a public speaking event at a Utah university, longtime producer Andrew Kolvet and a team of individuals at youth-focused conservative political action group Turning Point USA have carried the program forward.
Kolvet will continue as co-host of the podcast, and Salem Media Reps will continue to represent the program.
“Salem has been so gracious through this process and even encouraged us to continue broadcasting the show on the Salem Radio Network,” said Kolvet. “While The Charlie Kirk Show team is excited to continue the live show and podcast in other venues, ultimately we agreed that Alex and Scott were the perfect hosts to take over on the radio portion. Both are great friends and extremely talented broadcasters. We are also grateful that Salem Media Reps will continue to represent and sell the time inside the show. While some of the details around how we want to distribute the show will change, our friendship and trust in Salem does not.”
Boyce thanked Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, Kolvet and Turning Point USA team “for the strength and dedication they’ve shown. Charlie was a once-in-a-generation leader, and the way his team has carried forward his mission speaks volumes.”
