WLNE-TV, ABC6, is launching a new Sunday morning public affairs show, In the Arena, hosted by former Providence mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr., RIPR has learned.
The first installment of the show is slated for this weekend, with longtime Democratic fundraiser Mark Weiner joining Paolino as a guest.
Former Chafee staffer Amy Rice; Josh Fenton, co-founder of GoLocalProv.com; former deputy secretary of state Ray Rickman; and former lieutenant governor Thomas DiLuglio are slated to join the show as weekly panelists, according to Beryl Kenyon, a Paolino spokeswoman.
ABC6’s former Sunday Show, ABC6 On the Record, has disappeared since the death of its host, Buddy Cianci, in January. In the Arena is an apparent reference to a famous speech by Theodore Roosevelt.
Cianci and Paolino were once bitter enemies, but became close friends after Cianci’s 2002 conviction on a single count of racketeering conspiracy.
Paolino, a major property owner in Providence and other local communities, could not be immediately reached for comment.
This post has been updated.
