James noted that his 40-day disappearance from the airwaves following his sudden departure from News Talk 105.9 represents “the longest time I’ve been out of work since I was a teenager.

“I did the election results on Nov. 6, came back on to do my morning show on Nov. 7, and then disappeared,” James said. “People have been asking: Where is Scott James? Well, he is coming downtown. I can’t wait to get back on the air and serve the community again. I miss it.”

It was a long and winding road that James has navigated through his 20 years in local radio.

He started with Rock 108 FM from the ground up in 1993 with the help of Al Brooks. Black Crow Media bought Brooks’ interest in the station in 2001. James soon started News Talk radio on the 1450 AM band. The popularity grew to an extent that the News Talk format was switched to the 105.9 FM band eight months later.

James said he hooked Coggins and Greneker on radio in previous attempts to get their support for his local radio endeavors.

“We approached Trent several years ago about helping us buy a radio station. He didn’t buy the station, but he got the radio bug,” James said. “We invited Sam to sit down on Tuesday nights at News Talk 105.9 to do a law show from 6 to 7 p.m. He realized the power of radio after people stopped him everywhere he went to ask him about the show.”

Greneker will fill in for James “when I have a cold or a day off,” and Coggins may also find time on the air. But for James, the approaching launch date of his own radio station has him brimming.

“It’s a simple dream,” James said. “I just wanted to do it for myself.”

Now James is in charge of programming, with input from his partners. He’s arranged a solid lineup for Talk 92.1 broadcasts. On weekdays, listeners can tune into:

• First Light, 5-6 a.m., a news capsule.

• The Scott James Show, 6-9 a.m.

• Laura Ingraham, 9 a.m.-noon. Ingraham is a nationally known attorney, based in Washington, D.C., and is a conservative who is a regular contributor to Fox News.

• Bill O’Reilly, 12-2 p.m. “We wanted someone without any controversy,” joked Greneker.

• Morning Rewind, 2-3 p.m., a one-hour segment highlighting the best of the Scott James Show from the morning broadcast. “Some people don’t get up that early,” James joked. (His show starts at 6 a.m.)

• Jerry Doyle, 3-6 p.m. Doyle is a nationally syndicated radio talker who is the former star of “Babylon Five,” a science-fiction show on cable TV.