Paul Thompson is an Australian broadcasting executive.

Career

He has launched, acquired, developed and managed broadcasting stations and networks throughout Australia in a career which started in 1965. He is credited with building two distinct national radio broadcasting networks from inception. Having established

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

's first commercial

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

station "Double S A FM" in the 1980s (later known as

SAFM SAFM (official callsign: 5SSA) is a commercial FM radio station owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo as part of the Hit Network. The station is broadcast to Adelaide, South Australia from studios in Franklin Street. History The stati ...

), he was responsible for setting up the Austereo Radio Network (now known as

Southern Cross Austereo Southern Cross Media Group Limited, Trade name, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and Terrestrial television, television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Au ...

), which he guided as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

for 15 years. In 1996, dmg Radio Australia was launched with Thompson as CEO. Now known as

NOVA Entertainment NOVA Entertainment is an Australian entertainment company that operates commercial radio networks (and associated digital brands) in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia. NOVA Entertainment is owned by Lachlan Murdoch's Illyria Pty Lt ...

and owned by

Lachlan Murdoch Lachlan Keith Murdoch (; born 8 September 1971) is a British and Australian businessman and mass media heir. He is the son of the media Business magnate, tycoon Rupert Murdoch. He is the executive chairman of Nova Entertainment, chairman of N ...

, the company owns the CHR-formatted radio network

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

(with stations targeting under-40 listeners in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Adelaide and

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

), along with the

smoothfm smoothfm is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Nova Entertainment. From original launch in 2012, The format was focused on providing 'more music and less talk' along with an eclectic easy-listening playlist, usually f ...

network (aimed at older listeners) in Sydney and Melbourne, Star 104.5 on the

Central Coast (New South Wales) The Central Coast is a peri-urbanisation, peri-urban region lying on the Pacific Ocean in eastern New South Wales, Australia. The region is situated north of Sydney, and is filled with subtropical national parks, forests and also encompasses th ...

and Adelaide’s only commercial talk station

FIVEaa FIVEAA (pronounced ''Five Double A'') is Adelaide's only commercial talkback radio station. The station has a range of programs including news, sports, current affairs, social issues, football calls, gardening, lifestyle, cars, travel and healt ...

. Thompson was one of two inaugural inductees in the

Commercial Radio Australia Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) is the peak body for the commercial radio broadcasting industry in Australia. CRA was formed in 1930 as the Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters. It provides representation and advocacy on common statuto ...

"Hall of Fame" in 2002 and is regarded as the 'father' of FM broadcasting in particular in Australia. In 2008 he stepped down as Executive Chairman of dmg Radio Australia, telling radioinfo: "It is far too easy for a founding CEO to stay too long. It is healthier for an organisation for the founder to leave too early than stay too late. The transition from radio broadcasting to multi-platform delivery and the launch of digital radio combine to create a natural watershed. And Cath is ready to go as CEO."

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Paul Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Australian radio executives Nova Entertainment Australian radio company founders