Biography of Paul Finebaum

Paul Finebaum has been the leading authority in Southern sports for over 20 years, writing and commentating on regional and national sports issues. Beginning in 1980 with The Birmingham Post-Herald, Paul's satirical wit and merciless humor quickly earned him national acclaim as he has been awarded over 250 national, regional and area sports-writing awards. In 2001, Paul joined the Mobile Register where his columns appear on Tuesday and Saturday as well as on finebaum.com and al.com. Finebaum's articles have appeared in a number of national publications, including the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News. In November, 2004, Sports Illustrated listed Finebaum as one of nation's top 12 sports talk show hosts. The Tennessean in August, 2002 named Finebaum as the fourth most influential powerbroker in the Southeastern Conference. Recently, The New York Times, in an article on Alabama football, quoted Finebaum and described him as ``the state's most influential sports columnist and talk show host."

Finebaum's radio career in Birmingham began in the 1980's and his popular radio program arrived at WERC in 1993. Along with being the state of Alabama's most listened to show for over nine years, his radio program has won numerous broadcast honors including five consecutive Associated Press Awards for "Best Sports Show" and four straight awards for "Best Sports Anchor". In 2003, Finebaum was selected for the third consecutive year as the Alabama "Sportscaster of the Year" by the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters. In the Spring of 2001, The Paul Finebaum Radio Network debuted with affiliates throughout Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

Finebaum's investigating style of journalism has carried over to radio, as he has broken numerous stories on his program including the Antonio Langham case, Terry Bowden's firing at Auburn, and Bob Gilbert's accusations of academic fraud at Tennessee. His insight and commentary on Southeastern sports issues has gained national exposure as he has appeared on ESPN, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC and HBO. In 2001, Finebaum was interviewed live on CNN concerning the Albert Means' recruiting scandal and he was also featured on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. He was also showcased in 2001 on the CBS documentary on the late Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. In September 2003, Finebaum was interviewed by Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes about the corporate scandals at HealthSouth.

Recently, Finebaum has also appeared as a guest on Larry King Live show on CNN. He also appeared several times recently on Nancy Grace, the Rita Cosby show on MSNBC and Fox News.

Along with his writing and radio duties, Finebaum served as Sports Director at WIAT (CBS) TV in Birmingham for five years ('98-'02). His three-hour pre-game shows for the 2000 and 2001 Iron Bowl were two of the highest rated programs in CBS-42's history. Before joining WIAT, Finebaum co-hosted Six Sports Live on WBRC-TV for five years. Recently, Finebaum returned to Fox 6 where he cohosts a Saturday Night program and appears on the station's evening newscasts three times a week.

Finebaum has also been a successful writer, writing over 50 joke books. His compilation of columns titled, "The Worst of Paul Finebaum" was released in 1994. His most recent book, "Finebaum Said", was published in November 2001. He is currently working on a sports novel, which will focus on college athletics in the South. He is also in much demand as an after-dinner speaker outside the Birmingham area and in the past year spoke in Memphis, Orlando, San Antonio and recently lectured at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. In October, Finebaum also gave the keynote at the 2004 Ingram Lectures Series at AUM.

Finebaum, a Memphis native, is a 1978 graduate of the University of Tennessee. He has been married to Dr. Linda Hudson, an internist at St. Vincent's Hospital, since 1990. The couple resides in Birmingham.