DC Radio: WWOne To Syndicate WMAL Talker Chris Plante

Westwood One Tuesday announced that it will launch The Chris Plante Show, featuring conservative talker Chris Plante, on Monday, January 2, 2017. The program will emanate from its flagship station, Washington, DC’s WMAL 630 AM/105.9 FM, from 9 am – 12 noon ET.

Plante, known for his conservative values, will bring his daily political talk show to radio stations nationwide. The Chris Plante Show – insightful, irreverent, and always entertaining – weaves pop culture references throughout the discussion of the topical news of the day.

Chris Plante

A third-generation media pro, Plante began his radio career at WMAL in 2005 after 17 years inside the Washington bureau at CNN, where he moved up the ranks from researcher and assignment editor to Pentagon correspondent. During his tenure at CNN, he crisscrossed the globe, covering events from Vietnam and Albania to Jakarta. He was the director of the U.S. television network pool operations in Saudi Arabia for three months following Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Plante won the Edward R. Murrow Award from the RTDNA for his live coverage of the terrorist attack on the pentagon on September 11th, 2001.  He was the first to report that the Pentagon had been attacked. He was also recognized by the Television Academy for his September 11th reporting. He makes regular appearances on The Fox News Channel and The Fox Business Network.

Plante follows in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather, Pat Barnes, who was a radio pioneer in New York and Chicago in the 1920’s and 1930’s following his return from Europe after World War One.  His mother, father, and several brothers have also made careers in broadcasting and journalism. His stepfather is esteemed CBS News correspondent Bill Plante.

Plante said, “I can’t wait to engage with new audiences around the country, where I will continue to rattle the cages of the high and mighty and share the unfiltered truth in this incredibly treacherous time. It is a great honor to be invited into your community, where I hope to become a welcome guest in your daily lives.  And remember, just because the wheels are coming off everywhere you look, that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh your face off about it.”

“Chris Plante takes the news of the day and breaks it down in his signature direct, funny, and fearless style,” said Suzanne Grimes, President, Westwood One and EVP, Corporate Marketing, Cumulus. “He engages a legion of devoted fans who tune in every day whether they agree with him or not. He’s a captivating storyteller who makes great radio. It’s the kind of programming we are proud to add to our best-in-class talk lineup.”

Stations interested in The Chris Plante Show can contact Stuart Greenblatt at (212) 419-2946 or sgreenblatt@westwoodone.com.