Mahaffey returns to local airwaves

Column

After trying to find a new radio home in Tampa, longtime personality Skip Mahaffey is finally back on the air here with a self-produced talk show that will run weekdays on WTAN (1340 AM).

An award-winning radio star who had a loyal following here for nearly a dozen years, Mahaffey is buying the time and lining up sponsors.

It's a one-man operation that he hopes will expand to include an FM station by the fall.

"It's not traditional radio; and it's not my first choice, but the media has changed so much that you have to find new ways to adapt," says Mahaffey, who was one of the highest-paid radio personalities when he was laid off from Clear Channel's WFUS (103.5 FM) in 2009.

He joined the ranks of numerous Tampa-area media personalities who have lost their jobs in recent years as advertising revenues and audiences have declined.

His new "SkipShow" also will be carried at 4 p.m. on WDCF (1350 AM) in Tampa and KLRG (880 AM) in Little Rock, Ark. It will be simulcast on WTAN's website, TanTalk1340.com, and SkipShow.com.

He will be on Monday through Thursday with former TV sports anchor Al Keck filling in on Fridays. Keck was let go from WFTS, Channel 28, in 2009.

He calls it a "talk show with a country accent." He plans to talk about local issues, local events, news and country music interests. "I haven't given up on my country roots," says Mahaffey, who is featured on Dial Global, a nationally syndicated radio programming service, as part of the announcing team on the "True Country" format.

"I've spent more than 12 years here and I understand the audience and know what's important to the people here," he says. "The 'SkipShow' will bring back that platform for the community."

He says he will not be talking partisan politics. "I have no desire to be the 405th Rush Limbaugh knock-off, so two words you won't hear are 'conservative' and 'liberal'," he says.

He says that he has "been blessed with a number of advertisers who believe in me."

"But check back in 90 days. If I'm wearing an orange smock with 'Welcome to Home Depot' written on it, you'll know I failed," he adds.

MODEL BEHAVIOR: An open casting call for The CW network's "America's Next Top Model" is set for Friday in The Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds.

Producers are looking for females, ages 18 to 27, of diverse backgrounds, shapes, sizes and with a minimum height requirement of 5 feet, 7 inches.

The casting call begins at 10 a.m. The event is co-sponsored by CW affiliate WTOG, Channel 44. See www.cw44.com for applications and requirements.

VIRGIN MARY: A new ABC "Nightline" special at 10 tonight, "Miracle Mysteries" explores numerous so-called "visions" of the Virgin Mary throughout the world, including a tree stump in Passaic, N.J., that has been turned into a roadside shrine.

ABC correspondent Bill Weir travels to similar sites in Nazareth, Rwanda, Spain, Bosnia and the United States where people believe a likeness of Mary has materialized. For eight years, the Tampa area had its own Virgin Mary likeness. A large stain on the side of a glass building on U.S. 19 drew thousands of believers to Clearwater before it was destroyed by vandalism in 2004.