CAMARILLO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 20, 2025--
Salem Media Group, Inc. (OTCQX: SALM) announced today that Salem Radio Network host Charlie Kirk has agreed to move onto the Dennis Prager affiliate stations, effective Monday, March 31st. Charlie Kirk has been doing his show in the same Noon to 3pm ET daypart as Dennis Prager since October of 2020. Today Charlie is on 195 radio stations, with 500 total affiliates across the country. Since both Charlie and Dennis have aired live in the Noon to 3pm ET daypart, it will be an easy transition for most stations. Dennis suffered a debilitating injury last November when he fell in his home and suffered a spinal cord injury.
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Dennis is going through extensive rehabilitation because of the injury, and Salem wishes him a complete and full recovery. With that in mind, Dennis and Salem have agreed on his return for one hour a day, airing 2-3pm ET, starting Tuesday, June 3rd.
“Dennis may have some physical limitations at the moment, but his wit, wisdom, insights and passion are as strong and as clear as ever and we are delighted at his spirit and resolve to return to his audience,” said Salem Senior VP of Spoken Word, Phil Boyce. “We want Dennis to remain a part of the Salem family and want his millions of loyal fans to continue to hear his voice. Affiliates of Charlie will continue to get the Kirk show with no interruption, and affiliates of Dennis will soon get Charlie Kirk as a strong and able replacement.”
From now until June 3rd, Salem will continue to use Jack Posobiec as the substitute host in the third hour for Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager affiliates. Posobiec is a podcast sensation, with over 3.1 million followers on X. Dennis will take over that hour and return to his seat as a national radio talk show host. He will continue with his insight and wisdom on the day’s top issues, as well as his passion for “The Happiness Hour” and “The Male Female Hour.”
Dennis joined the Salem Radio Network 25 years ago, after launching his radio show on KABC in Los Angeles. He has authored over 10 books, including his current series “The Rational Bible” explaining the first 5 books of the Bible. He and his producer Allen Estrin founded PragerU in 2009, which today records over one billion downloads per year, teaching our young people what is not taught in most schools.
Salem hosts Dennis’ subscription site PragerTopia, where all of his archived materials can be found. As Dennis continues his recovery, Salem will continue to maintain this site and use it to host new unique material as Dennis is able to create it.
Charlie Kirk has over 26 million social media followers and is well known for creating his youth based non-profit, “Turning Point USA.” He started the organization when he was 18, in his parents’ garage in a suburb of Chicago. Today, TPUSA has 2 million members, with presence on over 4,000 college and high school campuses. He is credited with a massive get out the vote effort that helped Donald Trump win a second term in the White House. His podcast, “The Charlie Kirk Show,” is one of the top-rated conservative podcasts in the USA. While his podcast and national radio show are enjoyed by listeners of all ages, according to TikTok, Charlie is the most trusted voice for voters under 30, and his account was the third most engaged handle behind only Donald Trump, the Trump campaign, and ahead of Kamala Harris.
In January of 2025 the New York Times gave credit to Charlie for helping Trump win the presidency, referring to him as “the youth whisperer of the American right.” Salem will continue to syndicate Charlie’s radio show, as well as Charlie’s podcast, on the Salem Podcast Network. His show will continue to be seen on Salem News Channel, 1pm to 3pm ET weekdays, as well as 8pm ET in primetime.
About Salem Media Group, Inc.:
Salem Media Group is America’s leading multimedia company specializing in Christian and conservative content, with media properties comprising radio, digital media and book and newsletter publishing. Each day Salem serves a loyal and dedicated audience of listeners, readers and viewers numbering in the millions nationally. With its unique content focus, Salem provides compelling audio and video programming, text content, fresh commentary and relevant information from some of the most respected figures across the Christian and conservative media landscape. Learn more about Salem Media Group, Inc. at www.salemmedia.com.
Dennis Prager
Charlie Kirk
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — In a city that often seems to be staggering from one crisis to the next, the sudden resignation of police Chief Brian O’Hara after a finding he likely interfered in a misconduct investigation has left Minneapolis searching again for a way forward.
O’Hara was an outsider brought in with a mandate to reform the police department after the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to federal and state investigative findings of excessive force and racist policing practices. O’Hara had spent most of his career in Newark, New Jersey, where he instituted changes after that department was put under a federal consent decree for patterns of excessive force and unconstitutional stops and searches.
The challenges in Minneapolis were clear before O'Hara arrived in late 2022. For a time, it had seemed the department itself might not survive. In 2021, more than 43% of voters supported disbanding the department as the city reeled from Floyd’s killing and the massive protests and widespread rioting that followed.
Policing experts had noted the monumental task that faced the city’s next police chief, who would have to rebuild community trust and a department whose morale had dipped so low that it was hemorrhaging officers.
“I don’t think there was a bigger challenge to any American city than what Minneapolis faced when he arrived,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of a Washington think tank, the Police Executive Research Forum. “They had gone from 850 to 500 officers, violent crime was significantly up, trust with the community was broken, a police station had burned down and a federal consent decree would face the next chief. Then you had the politics of Minneapolis.”
Coming in as an outsider to lead a large department is daunting, even without being asked to reform and rebuild, said Renée Hall, president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives who moved from Detroit to lead the Dallas Police Department from 2017 to 2020.
“It’s extremely challenging to walk into an organization, where you don’t even know where the light switches are, where the bathrooms are. And that’s just the basics,” Hall said. “You have to learn the officers, the community, the politics of that particular city, and try to learn and navigate the existing relationships, like unions or officer associations and who is tied to whom and who is fighting for whom.”
Hall said outside hires can face resentment from those within an organization who supported internal candidates. They also have to earn the trust of the community, which she said takes time.
After the police disbandment measure failed, O'Hara joined the bureaucracy of a deeply progressive city that is regularly buffeted by political battles between the mayor and the City Council, and among council members.
Those battles were on full display Wednesday, when a City Council news conference about O'Hara's resignation quickly turned into an opportunity for the council's resolute progressives to attack Mayor Jacob Frey, who has long portrayed himself as a “pragmatic progressive.”
The resignation “is a symptom of a much larger problem, which is simply that Mayor Frey continues to be unable to effectively manage the Minneapolis Police Department,” said Council member Robin Wonsley, a cornerstone of the council's progressive bloc.
Frey, who just weeks ago pushed to have O'Hara reappointed as chief, fired back at criticism that he didn’t move aggressively enough when allegations of the chief's potential misconduct emerged.
“I don’t make decisions based on rumors and anonymous complaints,” he said in a statement, adding that he would work with the council to find a replacement. “I took action promptly after receiving the investigative report. … Decisions this serious have to be grounded in facts, evidence and completed investigations. Anything less would be irresponsible.”
O'Hara did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday. His attorney, Doug Kelley, released a statement touting successes during O'Hara's tenure, including diversifying and increasing the department's ranks, the decreasing violent crime rate and mitigating violent clashes during the immigration crackdown.
“The circumstances of Chief O’Hara’s departure should not define his service," Kelley wrote. "He was proud to serve Minneapolis, remains grateful to the officers and community partners who did difficult work under extraordinary pressure, and hopes the city continues moving forward. He understandably looks forward to returning to his young family in New Jersey.”
The resignation came just months after Minneapolis was plunged into the national spotlight amid a federal immigration surge that left three civilians shot, two fatally. O'Hara faced criticism he hadn't done enough to stop the crackdown.
Violence plagued the city in 2025, including deadly attacks on state politicians in the Minneapolis suburbs; gunfire that erupted at a popular city picnic spot; and a shooting during Mass at the Church of the Annunciation that left two children dead and more than a dozen people injured. O’Hara called the church attack a “ truly unthinkable tragedy. ”
Critics say dozens of complaints were filed against O'Hara, from accusations that he was rude to the public to the recent investigation into an ultimately unproven allegation he had a sexual relationship with a city employee. Most of the complaints have not been made public, and 17 complaints are still being investigated. Investigators closed 17 more without any disciplinary actions.
An independent investigator did not find evidence to substantiate the alleged sexual relationship with a city employee, but a second report released this week said O'Hara likely deleted the employee's contact from his phone during the investigation and that he talked to another employee about the probe despite being told it was not to be discussed.
That recent report led to a written reprimand; Frey told O'Hara he would be disciplined and that he could be terminated. Frey said O'Hara chose to resign instead.
Lauer reported from Philadelphia.
Minneapolis City Council Members, from left, Jason Chavez, Robin Wonsley and Council President Elliot Payne speak to reporters about the resignation of Police Chief Brian O'Hara on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at City Hall in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
FILE - Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara speaks during a news conference, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck, File)
