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 capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

's first commercial

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...

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 The Hit Network is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 41 radio stations broadcasting a hot adult contemporary music format, as well as 6 digital radio stations. Histo ...

(now known as

Southern Cross Austereo Southern Cross Media Group Limited, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Australia, operating 86 radio station ...

), which he guided as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

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-Australian businessman and mass media heir. He is the executive chairman of Nova Entertainment, co-chairman of News Corp, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation, and the found ...

, the company owns the CHR-formatted radio network

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

(with stations targeting under-40 listeners in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Adelaide and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

), 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 fe ...

network (aimed at older listeners) in Sydney and Melbourne,

Star 104.5 Star 104.5 (Australian Communications & Media Authority, ACMA call sign 2GOS) is a commercial radio station broadcasting to the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast region from Gosford, New South Wales, Australia. It is owned by Nov ...

on the

Central Coast (New South Wales) The Central Coast is a peri-urban region in New South Wales, Australia, lying on the Tasman Sea coast to the north of Sydney and south of Newcastle. The local government area of the Central Coast Council has an estimated population of 333, ...

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