Chris Plante

Christopher Plante (born 1959) is an American talk radio host and journalist currently hosting a syndicated radio program heard on Westwood One and a nightly TV talk show on Newsmax TV.

Early life
Plante was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Jules and Barbara (née Barnes) Orteig. His maternal grandfather Pat Barnes was a Chicago-based radio host and World War I veteran. After his father Jules died in 1960, his mother Barbara re-married in 1965 to journalist Bill Plante. The family later moved to the Chicago area; Chris Plante later lived in Glenview and Winnetka, Illinois and graduated from New Trier West High School. He later attended Santa Barbara City College and the University of California, Santa Barbara but withdrew before graduating in order to work full-time in news.

CNN
Plante worked at CNN from 1988 to 2005, mostly covering The Pentagon and U.S. Military. At various times at CNN, he was a Pentagon correspondent, senior producer for national security affairs, military affairs producer, and an assignment editor. Plante traveled to foreign locations, including Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Africa, and the former Soviet Union covering stories for CNN.

Radio
After leaving CNN, Plante joined Washington talk station WMAL as a weekend host in 2005. He sometimes hosted a joint show with liberal host Jerry Klein.

In 2005, Plante moved to weeknights, and in 2008 he moved to the midday time slot. In 2009, Plante's show was briefly replaced by The Joe Scarborough Show, but demand from fans saw his return to the 9 AM – Noon time slot in October 2009. Guest hosts include Mary Walter and Mike Opelka.

Plante has filled in for national hosts including Mark Levin, Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh.

In 2016, Cumulus Media announced Plante would be nationally syndicated by Westwood One, replacing Herman Cain's program, which reverted to a local program. The Herman Cain Show would still air in the Atlanta, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tulsa, and Dayton markets. Westwood One and Plante's home station, WMAL, are both owned by Cumulus Media.

Newsmax
In May 2023, Newsmax announced it would broadcast a new 9PM panel show titled Chris Plante The Right Squad. The show will film in Washington DC and will feature Plante, Jenn Pellegrino, and other regular panelists.

Awards
Plante received the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTNDA) for his reporting from the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

In 2015, Plante won a Reed Irvine Award for Excellence in Journalism.