Westwood One Brings Fred Thompson to Radio in March 2009

Westwood One Brings Fred Thompson to Radio in March 2009

- The Fred Thompson Show, hosted by the former U.S. Senator will replace The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly on radio stations nationwide -

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Westwood One is pleased to announce the debut of The Fred Thompson Show on March 2, 2009. The show will replace The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly when the program ends its successful six-year run on February 27, 2009. Former U.S. senator and 2008 presidential candidate, Fred Thompson will share his views on politics, topical issues, pop culture and water cooler stories, as well as welcome guest interviews and take listener calls. The Fred Thompson Show will be a two-hour daily talk show and will air live Noon-2pm, Monday - Friday from the Westwood One studios in Washington DC.

"There is no prerequisite for a great talk show host, but if I were going to make one up, senator, presidential candidate, federal prosecutor, radio commentator, film and TV star would be a pretty good start," said Bart Tessler, EVP Westwood One News & Talk Programming.

"When folks listen to a radio show, they make an appointment with it. It is the ideal way for me to continue my dialog with America about the issues we all face each day," said Thompson.

"Senator Thompson is a perfect fit for radio," said Gary Schonfeld, President of Westwood One Networks. "His unique set of qualifications will make him a huge hit with both listeners and advertisers."

About Senator Fred Thompson

Fred Thompson is one of the most respected and visible figures in politics today. Thompson served eight years as a Senator from Tennessee and in 2008 sought the Republican nomination for President of the United States. First elected to the United States Senate in 1994, just two years later the people of Tennessee returned him to office with more votes than any candidate for any office in the state's history at that time. Serving as Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and as a member of the Finance Committee and Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Thompson focused on lowering taxes, strengthening national security, and cutting wasteful government spending. He walked away from an easy reelection victory in 2002.

In March 2002, Senator Thompson announced that he would not seek re-election to the Senate. He has three sons, one daughter and 5 grandchildren.

Prior to his election, Thompson maintained law offices in Nashville and Washington. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Tennessee. In 1973, he was appointed by Senator Howard Baker to serve as Minority Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee where Thompson first gained national attention for leading the line of inquiry that revealed the audio-taping system in the White House Oval Office. He detailed his Watergate experience in his Watergate memoir, At That Point in Time. In 1974, after the Watergate hearings concluded, Thompson returned to the practice of law.

Senator Thompson first appeared on screen in the film Marie in 1985, portraying himself in the fact-based story of a high-profile public corruption case he handled in Tennessee. Since then, he has appeared in numerous movies and television programs, including No Way Out, In the Line of Fire, Die Hard II, Days of Thunder and The Hunt for Red October and the television series China Beach, Wiseguy, and Matlock. Recently, he has become known for his portrayal of New York District Attorney Arthur Branch on the Emmy Award-winning NBC drama, Law & Order.

In 2005, Senator Thompson was named by President Bush as an advisor to Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee John Roberts, helping to move his nomination through the Senate confirmation process. Thompson continued his public service as Chairman of the State Department's International Security Advisory Board.

In all this, Thompson has been a man of the times, adapting his unique abilities and leveraging today's communications technologies to speak to the American people about issues he feels are important to the nation. Whether it's on the radio, filling in for Paul Harvey on the ABC Network with news and commentaries, on his own "Fred Thompson Reports" commentaries and broadcasts, online blog posts or TV appearances, Senator Thompson has focused on the issues of the day viewed through the "first principles" he's stressed throughout his career. For more info on Senator Fred Thompson please visit fredpac.com.

About Westwood One

Westwood One is the largest independent provider of network radio programming and the largest provider of traffic information in the U.S. Westwood One serves more than 5,000 radio and TV stations in the U.S. The Company provides over 150 news, sports, music, talk and entertainment programs, features and live events to numerous media partners. Through its Metro Networks division, Westwood provides traffic reporting and local news, sports and weather to over 2,200 radio and TV stations. The Company also provides digital and other cross platform delivery of its network and Metro content.

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Source: Westwood One

CONTACT: Peter Sessa of Westwood One, +1-212-641-2053,
peter_sessa@westwoodone.com

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Profile: International Entertainment