How Chris Plante Juggles His Newsmax TV Show Alongside His Westwood One Radio Show

To say Chris Plante is busy would be an understatement. In addition to his nationally syndicated radio show with Westwood One, he also hosts a primetime show on conservative cable network Newsmax.

And despite that hectic schedule, he said it’s really not that difficult to juggle.

“You work a lot of hours,” he admitted. “You get up early, and you stay up late. What else are you gonna do while you’re awake? You might as well do something productive. I could just sleep in in the morning, which I don’t do. Or I could go to bed earlier, go out to dinner every night, which I don’t do as much anymore. A lot of people work a lot harder than I do. A lot of things are more difficult than what I do.”

When asked what the biggest difference was between his radio show with Westwood One — which airs live from 9 AM to Noon and originates from 105.9 WMAL in Washington D.C. — and his Newsmax show, Chris Plante had a succinct answer.

“Makeup,” he said with a laugh.

He went on to add that the difference between the two mediums might not be as different as one might think.

“There are a lot of differences, and at the same time, they’re kind of the same animal. Because the organizations that I work for are kind of the same game. But television is a very different beast,” Plante said, noting he spent 17 years working for CNN. “Don’t hold that against me”, he joked.

“You shouldn’t look at radio or television very differently because the similarities are more important than the differences. I do a conservative talk radio show from 9 AM to Noon Eastern Time. And then I do a conservative show, Newsmax, in the evening from 10 to 11 PM. Honestly, they’re pretty much the same beast. My mind is in the same place all day long, no matter how you slice it.

“So it’s not like I really have to change gears. Except there’s one important difference and that is on television, my show is a panel show and on radio it’s really me flying solo every day for three hours. That is probably the biggest difference. On the radio, I can I can go to callers, my listeners. I really don’t do guests, but I can go to callers at any time. My callers are brilliant and wonderful and are very well informed and pay close attention to the news every day. When they want to contribute, it’s usually because they have something valid to say. something important to say.”

Chris Plante is one of the few members of the news industry who has to decide what content goes where. Anytime he sees a story he knows he wants to discuss, he has to decide: does this go on the Westwood One radio show on the Newsmax television show?

He admitted it can be challenging but not impossible. But he prioritizes the medium that the content fits best.

“That’s one of one of the great challenges every day,” said Plante. “The reality is some topics — usually when they’re based on video are better television stories than they are radio stories. But at the same time, if you use the English language well, if you can explain the video well enough, one of the great art forms is radio. Of course, when it comes to using the English language, and if you can explain yourself and use the English language well enough, then you can explain video in ways that sometimes the description of the video can be better than actually watching the video.

“But there is certainly some differences between radio and television. One is that radio is audio and television, audio and video and people are very accustomed to seeing videos. Sometimes, it’s easier to just show the video and let the video speak for itself. But I’ve gotta say, I really enjoy stories that are very visual stories on the radio. I’m happy to explain using the English language videos that people may or may not have seen, but use the English language to describe what’s being seen or what’s being shown in the video … I think it’s part of the fun of doing radio.”

Chris Plante grew up with a family full of media members. Plante’s grandfather began working in the radio industry in 1924 after returning home from World War I. His mother began working at a radio station when she was seven years old. His stepfather, longtime CBS News correspondent Bill Plante, spent more than five decades reporting the nation’s largest stories with his baritone voice.

And the younger Plante joked that broadcasting was the one business he never hoped in which to find himself working. But here he is on the national stage in two separate mediums.

“Everywhere in my life, everybody’s been in broadcasting, all the adults around me. So I think that maybe I got an unfair advantage in that everyone around me spoke clearly and concisely,” he shared. “I didn’t want to go into broadcasting. I didn’t want to go in the news. And look at me now,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m having a great time in my life.”

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