Tuesday, May 9th 2006
"Wake Up with Whoopi" will be syndicated nationally through Premiere Radio Networks
Contact:
Sanda Coyle
Clear Channel Radio
(210) 822-2828
SandraCoyle@ClearChannel.com
Kim Holt/Michele Clarke
Brainerd Communicators, Inc.
(212) 986-6667
holt@braincomm.com
clarke@braincomm.com
Amir Forester
Premiere Radio Networks
(818) 461-5404
AForester@premiereradio.com
On July 31st, Whoopi Goldberg Will Conquer Her Next Entertainment Frontier: Radio
Oscar®, Emmy®, Grammy®, Tony®, Golden Globe® Winner and Noted Humanitarian to Debut Morning Radio Show This Summer
Welcoming Women Back to Morning Drive, "Wake Up with Whoopi" Brings Another Dimension to AC Radio
SAN ANTONIO - May 9, 2006 - Clear Channel Radio today announced that the incomparable Whoopi Goldberg will lead a morning-drive radio program beginning July 31, 2006. Airing live, weekday mornings from 5am to 9am nationwide, the show is expected to especially appeal to adult contemporary stations.
"Radio is an area I have always wanted to play in," said Goldberg. "There aren't many women helming their own show. I'm thrilled to add my name to that small list because I believe that we have something to add to the morning groove."
A blend of daily topics, comedy, listener call-ins, guests and locally programmed music, "Wake Up with Whoopi" will be syndicated nationally through Premiere Radio Networks.
"Whoopi is one of those rare artists whose appeal crosses all demographics - and she’s a natural on radio," said John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio. "It should be no surprise that her demos have been outstanding - she's an incredibly accomplished actor, writer, producer and humanitarian. Whoopi makes you laugh, think, question and celebrate all at the same time. She's exactly what adult contemporary radio needs for the morning drive - and we're incredibly fortunate to welcome her."
Goldberg joins a growing list of talented, multi-media personalities choosing Clear Channel Radio, including Ryan Seacrest, Ty Pennington, Donald Trump, Steve Harvey, Jesse Jackson and more. The deal was spearheaded by William Morris Agency's new radio division and attorney Bill Sobel.
- Welcoming women back to morning drive
The morning day part has struggled in recent years to attract female listeners, including on adult contemporary stations.
"Women have been waking up to morning television for the past 15 years because radio hasn't always given them a reason to tune in," added Hogan. "This is a new chapter. 'Wake Up with Whoopi' will go down as the first program in the next generation of entertaining morning radio because of the extraordinary talents of Whoopi Goldberg."
About Whoopi Goldberg
The fact that Whoopi Goldberg has not only conquered, but excelled in virtually every area of entertainment throughout her uniquely diverse career is evidenced by her enormous popularity and global recognition. She is also one of a very elite group of artists to win the Grammy ("Whoopi Goldberg," 1985), the Academy Award ("Ghost," 1991), the Golden Globe ("The Color Purple," 1985 and "Ghost," 1991), the Emmy (as host of AMC's "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel," 2002) and the Tony (as producer of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," 2002). She has also earned multiple People's Choice Awards, Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and NAACP Image Awards, among many other awards and honors.
Whoopi began her career on stage and her film debut in "The Color Purple" captivated critics and audiences alike. Since then she has appeared in dozens of feature films, from comedy to drama, documentaries and she has lent her voice to numerous animated features, amassing hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office worldwide. Next, Whoopi's voice will be heard in the animated feature, "Everyone's Hero," to be released in September and she will be seen in the upcoming feature films "Homie Spumonie" and "If I Had Known I Was a Genius."
On television, she produced and hosted her own talk show, has starred in two sitcoms and was part of the ensemble of Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek: The Next Generation," before producing and appearing in the center square on the Emmy Award-winning "Hollywood Squares." She has appeared in her own and countless other network and cable television specials and has hosted such televised events as the Academy Awards and the famous "Comic Relief" specials, which have raised millions of dollars for the homeless over the years. She has starred in and produced television movies and has made countless guest appearances on series, including, most recently, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
Since first appearing on Broadway in her own one-woman show, Whoopi has since trod the boards in the revivals of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." Last year, she commemorated her original show by returning to Broadway once again in "Whoopi: The 20th Anniversary Show," which, like it's predecessor, was also broadcast on HBO and subsequently released on CD and DVD.
As she has in her prolific performing career, Whoopi has also made her mark a producer. She and her production company, One Ho Productions, have produced a wide range of television movies, specials and series, including "Strong Medicine," which became the longest-running series on basic cable and "Just For Kicks," a live action series set in the world of girls soccer, which premiered on Nickelodeon in April. She and her producing partner, Tom Leonardis, President of Whoop, Inc., are currently getting back into the game show arena with a new show she has developed, "Shop/Shop," which features a scavenger hunt set in a shopping mall.
In addition to acting and producing, Whoopi has also established herself as an author, with the children's fairy tale, "Alice," and the New York Times Bestseller, "Book." Her next book, the first in a series of three new children's stories called "Whoopi's Big Book of Manners," will be published by Hyperion Books in October.
Whoopi is equally well-known for her humanitarian and charitable contributions to causes and organizations ranging from education and literacy to substance abuse, women's and children's health and welfare and the battle against HIV and AIDS. She has also been immortalized with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has placed her hand, feet and braid prints in the forecourt of Mann's Chinese Theatre.
About Clear Channel Radio
Clear Channel Radio is a leading radio company focused on serving local communities across the U.S. with more than 110 million listeners choosing Clear Channel Radio programming each week. The company's content can be heard on AM/FM stations, HD digital radio channels, on the Internet, via iPods, through Motorola's iRadio cell-phone service, and via mobile-navigation devices from Cobra, Garmin, Kenwood and others. The company's operations include radio broadcasting, syndication and independent media representation. Clear Channel Radio is a division of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE:CCU), a leading global media and entertainment company. More information on the company can be found at
www.clearchannel.com
-End-
Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
