Paul Linnman
{{Short description|American former television and radio personality}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Paul Linnman
| image =
| caption =
| birthname =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|1|25}}
| birth_place = Portland, Oregon{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}
| occupation = Media consultant; former television journalist and presenter; talk radio host
| spouse =
| credits = {{ublist|KATU-TV|KGW-TV|KEX (AM)}}
}}
Paul Linnman (born January 25, 1947){{cite web|title=Linnman, Paul, 1947–|url=http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n99018958.html|work=Library of Congress Name Authority File|publisher=Library of Congress|accessdate=2017-03-07|date=March 8, 1999}} is an American former television news reporter and anchor in Portland, Oregon, and radio personality in the same city. He is perhaps best known for his 1970 KATU report on the attempt by the Oregon Highway Division to dispose of a dead, beached whale by exploding it (beaches open to motor vehicles are considered state highways in Oregon). He worked for more than 30 years as a television news reporter, host and anchor, from 1967–1972 and 1978–2004. He had a talk radio show on KEX 1190 AM from 2003 to 2014, and subsequently has worked as a media consultant.
Education
Born in 1947,{{cite news|author=|title=Linnman to join Channel 2|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=December 20, 1983|page=C6}} Linnman grew up in Portland and attended Wilson High School.{{cite news|author=|title=Commissioner names aides|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=January 4, 1973|at=Section 2, p. 13}} He graduated from Portland State University, studying journalism.{{cite news|last=Murphy|first=Francis|title=Behind the Mike: 'Evening' show get new host|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=January 18, 1978|page=C23}}
Career
He began his broadcast career in 1967, when he was hired by Portland's ABC affiliate, KATU. His initial stint working at KATU lasted through 1972 and included various jobs, among them news assignment editor, sports director and investigative reporter. He left the station in January 1973, to join the staff of then-new City Commissioner Mildred Schwab, as an executive assistant. At the time, he had not intended to return to broadcast journalism, he told The Oregonian in a 1978 interview.
In January 1978, he was hired by KGW, Portland's NBC affiliate station, to replace departing co-host Dick Klinger on KGW's local magazine program Evening, which had been broadcast every weeknight since 1975.{{cite news|last=Murphy|first=Francis|title=Behind the Mike: Linnman takes 'Evening' role|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=January 10, 1978|page=C3}}{{cite news|last=Schulberg|first=Pete|title=KGW's durable 'Good Evening' a rare breed|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=June 28, 1994|page=C5}} The Evening program was replaced in September 1979 by PM Magazine, a nationally syndicated program with a similar format and local hosts with each affiliate station; Linnman also served as one of its regular co-hosts while at KGW.
Linnman left KGW in late 1983 to return to KATU, as host of a new daily one-hour afternoon local news and features program, Two at Four, scheduled to debut in January 1984. He remained with KATU for the next 20 years.{{cite news|last=Carlin|first=Peter Ames|title=Station breaks: KOIN's Emry calls it quits after all|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=August 4, 2004|page=B1}} In September 1987, Linnman returned to news broadcasting, when KATU made him the anchor of its 6:30 p.m. weekday newscast.{{cite news|last=Farrell|first=Peter|title=Boule announces move to The Oregonian|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=September 5, 1987|page=C9}}
In 2003, Linnman began hosting a morning talk show on Portland radio station KEX.{{cite news|last=Schulberg|first=Pete|title=Winds of change blow in TV, radio; Linnman going to KEX|newspaper=Portland Tribune|date=July 10, 2003|url=http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/120046-winds-of-change-blow-in-tv-radio-linnman-going-to-kex|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301111237/http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/120046-winds-of-change-blow-in-tv-radio-linnman-going-to-kex|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 1, 2017|accessdate=2017-02-28}} In August 2004, he left KATU in order to focus exclusively on his KEX radio show, which continued until 2014.{{cite news|last=Eggers|first=Kerry|title=What happened to the halfcourt shot maker? (and other NBA-related items)|newspaper=Portland Tribune|date=April 6, 2015|url=http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/255940-126432-what-happened-to-the-halfcourt-shot-maker-and-other-nba-related-items?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411022454/http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/255940-126432-what-happened-to-the-halfcourt-shot-maker-and-other-nba-related-items|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 11, 2015|accessdate=2017-03-07}}
Since 2014, he has worked as a media consultant.
Published works
- Oregon Golf: The Oregon Coast, Southern Oregon, Portland & Environs, Central Oregon. Portland, Oregon: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, 1999. {{ISBN|1-55868-474-3}}
- The Exploding Whale: And Other Remarkable Stories from the Evening News (with Doug Brazil). Portland, Oregon: Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company, 2003. {{ISBN|1-55868-743-2}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{YouTube|xBgThvB_IDQ|Paul Linnman reporting}} from an ODOT-maintained beach in the above-mentioned exploding whale incident.
- {{YouTube|V6CLumsir34|Exploding Whale 50th Anniversary, Remastered!}} 4K transfer of the original footage, from the Oregon Historical Society's archive, reedited by KATU (TV).
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linnman, Paul}}
Category:Radio personalities from Portland, Oregon
Category:Television anchors from Portland, Oregon
Category:Portland State University alumni