Chris Plante

Chris Plante
Chris Plante Show
Born
Christopher Orteig

1959 (age 64–65)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
EducationSanta Barbara City College (attended)
University of California, Santa Barbara (attended)
OccupationRadio Talk Show Host
Parent(s)Jules Orteig (father)

Bill Plante (stepfather)
[1]

Barbara Barnes Orteig Plante (mother)
Relativesfive brothers[2]
AwardsEdward R. Murrow Award

Christopher Plante (born 1959) is an American talk radio host and journalist currently hosting a syndicated radio program heard on Westwood One[3] and a nightly TV talk show on Newsmax TV.

Early life

Plante was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Jules and Barbara (née Barnes) Orteig.[4] His maternal grandfather Pat Barnes was a Chicago-based radio host and World War I veteran.[5] After his father Jules died in 1960, his mother Barbara re-married in 1965 to journalist Bill Plante.[4] The family later moved to the Chicago area; Chris Plante later lived in Glenview and Winnetka, Illinois and graduated from New Trier West High School. He later attended Santa Barbara City College and the University of California, Santa Barbara but withdrew before graduating in order to work full-time in news.[5]

Career

CNN

Plante worked at CNN from 1988 to 2005, mostly covering The Pentagon and U.S. Military.[6][7] At various times at CNN, he was a Pentagon correspondent, senior producer for national security affairs, military affairs producer, and an assignment editor. Plante traveled to foreign locations, including Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Africa, and the former Soviet Union covering stories for CNN.[8]

Radio

After leaving CNN, Plante joined Washington talk station WMAL as a weekend host in 2005.[8] He sometimes hosted a joint show with liberal host Jerry Klein.

In 2005, Plante moved to weeknights, and in 2008 he moved to the midday time slot. In 2009, Plante's show was briefly replaced by The Joe Scarborough Show, but demand from fans saw his return to the 9 AM – Noon time slot in October 2009.[9] Guest hosts include Mary Walter and Mike Opelka.[10]

Plante has filled in for national hosts including Mark Levin, Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh.

In 2016, Cumulus Media announced Plante would be nationally syndicated by Westwood One, replacing Herman Cain's program, which reverted to a local program.[11] The Herman Cain Show would still air in the Atlanta, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tulsa, and Dayton markets.[12] Westwood One and Plante's home station, WMAL, are both owned by Cumulus Media.

Newsmax

In May 2023, Newsmax announced it would broadcast a new 9 PM panel show titled Chris Plante The Right Squad. The show will film in Washington DC and will feature Plante, Jenn Pellegrino, and other regular panelists.[13]

Awards

Plante received the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTNDA) for his reporting from the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

In 2015, Plante won a Reed Irvine Award for Excellence in Journalism.[14]

References

  1. ^ Farhi, Paul (November 4, 2010). "Conservatively speaking, WMAL radio host Chris Plante is on the rise". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  2. ^ Langer, Emily (September 28, 2022). "Bill Plante, CBS News correspondent for a half-century, dies at 84". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "Conservatively speaking, WMAL radio host Chris Plante is on the rise". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ a b "Barbara Barnes Plante, 73". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Okcershausen, Janice (June 20, 2017). "Chris Plante – Self-acclaimed "Practi-crat" – Syndicated Radio Talk Show Host". Our Town with Andy Ockershausen. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  6. ^ Farhi, Paul (November 4, 2010). "Conservatively speaking, WMAL radio host Chris Plante is on the rise". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  7. ^ "The Chris Plante Show Goes Into National Syndication". WMAL. October 18, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Chris Plante". WMAL. Archived from the original on November 12, 2005. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  9. ^ "NTS MediaOnline". www.ntsmediaonline.com. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  10. ^ "The Chris Plante Show on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  11. ^ "Westwood One To Officially Offer WMAL/D.C.'s Chris Plante In Syndication". All Access. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  12. ^ "The Herman Cain Radio Show will be loud and strong in 2017". Herman Cain. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
  13. ^ Johnson, Ted (May 4, 2023). "Newsmax To Launch Chris Plante Primetime Panel Show". Deadline.
  14. ^ "AIM's 10th Annual Reed Irvine Awards to Judge Jeanine Pirro, Chris Plante, and Rep. Lamar Smith". Accuracy in Media. May 8, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2016.