John C. Scott's voice first hit Tucson's airwaves more than 40 years ago. He's hosted his own show for about the last 20.
Today, Tucson's longest-running local radio talk show host - at least by his account - is the general manager at Tucson's Jolt (1330-AM), where he also hosts an afternoon show.
Airing from 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays, "The John C. Scott Show" is the only local Jolt show that airs for more than one hour and on multiple days.
"If our commentary from my show is geared to anything, it's geared to the far-left of the ultra right-wing politics of the state," the 67-year-old former state lawmaker said. "On the other hand, we are pretty pro-business locally and have been extremely critical of the City Council."
Now he's heading into an election and giving airtime to all levels of candidates.
People are also reading…
And these aren't interviews where candidates can get by with the usual sound bites.
"If you sit down with me for a half-hour, you can't fool this audience. You'll eventually reveal who you are no matter how skilled you are," he said.
Scott interviews up to eight people a day on his show - politicians, candidates running for office and Tucson newsmakers.
He also takes calls from listeners. Calls that aren't screened.
"If they call, they get on the air," he said.
Scott figures he has interviewed every major political figure in the state.
His show went to Washington, D.C., for a week in January, where he interviewed more than 20 leaders, including U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl. The station covered expenses, but the show had 15 sponsors.
He's also broadcast from Vietnam, China and Israel.
"The audience learns something from every trip we take," he said.
Back in March, he introduced McCain- at the senator's request - at a rally featuring Sarah Palin.
Scott, who doesn't use his last name, Ulm, on the air, started in radio as a teenager in Independence, Kan.
He worked as a disc jockey while he attended the University of Kansas and landed in Tucson in 1967 to work as a newsman at KTKT, then one of the city's top-rated stations.
TV anchorman duties were next at Channels 4 and 13.
By 1972, he was elected to the state Senate, where he served just two years.
He was back on TV in 1980 and worked at several radio stations before starting his own talk radio show in 1989.
"I've done radio since I was 15 years old. I'm comfortable with it. It's something I have always done. It's not hard for me," he said.
And it's a family affair. His son, Mark Ulm, is his producer, and his wife, Amy Ulm, sells ads for his show.
"Radio is something I can keep doing," he said. "I'll probably have to because you get no retirement in radio."
