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SENATOR TO TELL REST OF STORIES
By JOHN MAINELLI
NY POST February 10, 2006 -- EXCLUSIVE
FORMER U.S. senator and "Law & Order" star Fred
Thompson is the leading contender to succeed legendary radio commentator Paul
Harvey, The Post has learned.
Thompson met with ABC Radio execs late last year,
and several insiders say he's at the top of a short list to take over the
top-rated 87-year-old broadcaster's three daily "news and comment"
programs.
Harvey, who attracts 17 million listeners a week
and is heard locally on WABC (770 AM), appeared frail last November when he
accepted the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
His trademark pause-for-effect style retains its
crispness and color, but his vocal delivery doesn't have the vigour and vinegar
it once did - indeed, a throat virus kept him off the air for three months in
2001.
Harvey, who's in the middle of a 10-year, $100
million-dollar
contract, is extremely valuable to ABC Radio and its owned stations, all of which were just sold by Disney to smaller-market broadcaster Citadel Communications. "We believe that . . . Harvey is responsible for
generating nearly all of the network's $25 million in estimated annual
[earning]," said Banc of America Securities analyst Jonathan
Jacoby.
Some wonder whether Thompson - the actor and former
U.S. senator from Tennessee - can have advertisers waiting in line to get on the
air like Harvey does.
"What makes Harvey special is he can get Farmer
John with two worn-out Ray Conniff LPs to buy a Bose music system," an ABC
insider told The Post.
A spokeswoman for Thompson referred calls to ABC
Radio, whose spokesman said, "We have spoken to Sen. Thompson, but we talk to
talent all the
time about many different roles. There's no replacing Paul Harvey." PAUL DAVID,
Wembley Park, United Kingdom |
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