The rumors are true: I’ll be hosting a new Political Roundtable on Arizona Illustrated starting next Friday, Sept. 16.

I’m thrilled to be back on Friday nights at KUAT. I love talking politics and jumped at the chance to be part of a Friday Roundtable when Peter Michaels of Arizona Public Media told me they wanted to try something new. I’ve missed being part of the old Friday Roundtable, which has a long and distinguished legacy that I’ll do my best to live up to.

We’re mixing up the format a bit. Along with reporters from Arizona Public Media, we’re bringing in political strategists from the left and the right to tussle over the events of the week. In our debut next week, we’ll have former state lawmaker and congressional candidate Jonathan Paton, who is working as a political consultant, along with Rodd McLeod, a veteran of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords’ campaigns. We’ll be joined by Arizona Public Media political reporter Andrea Kelly.

The goal is to look back on the week in local, state and national politics and how those politics affect Arizona. We’ve got plenty to talk about—just look at the last week. We had a city manager fired. A mayor’s race is just getting underway. A redistricting commission has been dragged into court by the Arizona attorney general. On the horizon, we’ve got the Arizona presidential primary in Arizona, an upcoming legislative session, and then the 2012 election.

I’m looking forward to talking about it. Hope you tune in.

The official AZPM press release after the jump:

Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable

Premieres with New Host Jim Nintzel

New format on PBS-HD Channel 6

Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. starting September 16th

Tucson, Ariz. — September 9, 2011 - Jim Nintzel, senior writer for the Tucson Weekly and a longtime contributor to Arizona Public Media, will host a new political roundtable on the Friday evening edition of Arizona Illustrated premiering Friday, September 16th at 6:30 p.m. The program will feature a mix of political strategists and reporters who will bring insider perspective to the events of each week.

Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable will be part of PBS-HD Channel 6’s Friday night news block airing at 6:30 p.m. before PBS NewsHour, Washington Week, Arizona Week and Need to Know. The program repeats at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday morning in addition to video-on-demand at www.azpm.org.

“I’ve missed doing the Friday Roundtable and am thrilled to be part of the team that’s bringing a new version to Arizona Illustrated,” Nintzel said. “As the host, I hope to bring fresh insights and perspectives from both the left and the right to our viewers. It’s great to be back in the AZPM studios providing in-depth political news for the community.”

Jack Gibson, Director and General Manager of AZPM, states: “This new restructuring of the Friday Roundable supports Arizona Public Media’s strategic focus on news and current affairs. Jim, with his respected standing in the community and long experience in the political arena, is a welcome addition to our broadcast team.”

New Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable format:

The format for Arizona Illustrated Political Roundtable will include Nintzel, political strategists and insiders from both the left and the right sides of the political aisle, reporters from Arizona Public Media and other special guests who will provide analysis of the week’s events in local, state and national politics, as well as forecasts of future political trends.

The premiere program on September 16th will include the following guests:

Jonathan Paton, former Arizona state lawmaker and congressional candidate

Rodd McLeod, Political Strategist (Congressional campaigns of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the 2010 gubernatorial campaign of Terry Goddard)

Andrea Kelly, political reporter, Arizona Public Media

About Jim Nintzel:

Having covered politics in Southern Arizona for two decades at the Tucson Weekly, Jim Nintzel has won more than 30 statewide and national journalism awards for reporting, commentary and feature writing and was named a Journalist of the Year by the Arizona Newspaper Association in 2010. He was part of PBS-HD Channel 6’s Friday Roundtable for 15 years and has aided Arizona Public Media with political debates and other segments. He is an adjunct faculty member who has taught government reporting at the University of Arizona School of Journalism since 2001.

About AZPM

Arizona Public Media (AZPM) is a member-supported non-profit media organization based at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and is the trusted source of information that promotes thoughtful conversation and community collaboration. The organization offers six channels of television content, three channels of radio content, a robust lineup of online offerings, and community and educational outreach to residents in Southern Arizona and beyond. AZPM produces award-winning original television, radio and online content from its digital studios on the campus of the University of Arizona and is provided as a community service and educational resource More information about AZPM, including program schedules and Video-on-Demand offerings, can be found online at www.azpm.org.