American journalist
Mark Thompson
is an American newscaster and a two-time Emmy award winner for writing,
hosting
and producing specials for the
Fox Broadcasting Company
stations.
[1]
Television news
[
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]
Thompson reported on science and environmental issues for
KRON-TV
, then an
NBC
affiliate in
San Francisco
, before getting upped to the nightly weather anchor on the 5, 6 and 11:00 p.m. editions of
NewsCenter 4
, in addition to those duties.
Mark Thompson pioneered
Neighborhood Weather
, where he would read letters from viewers who’d requested a live remote broadcast from their neighborhood in the Bay Area.
This was known as “Neighborhood Weather”, a popular and enduring franchise.
Thompson was the on-air nightly weather anchor, science, and even occasional lifestyle reporter for
KTTV
's
Fox 11 News
Los Angeles
. When he started appearing on
KCOP-TV
Channel 13 (the Fox-owned sister station of KTTV), Thompson became known for dancing during the weather reports on KCOP-TV's 11 PM newscasts, which he originally did on a whim. However, when email reaction was so enormously positive, he kept it going, quickly gaining not only a local following but nationwide attention as well. He was featured on
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
on October 5, 2006, and on
Brit Hume
's program on
Fox News Channel
, among others. He left both stations as of June 3, 2011. He made no on-air announcements of his future plans as a weather anchor.
Thompson previously served as an on-air weather anchor and science/environmental reporter at
KMGH-TV
in
Denver, Colorado
, and also worked at
WKBW-TV
in
Buffalo, New York
.
Radio news and talk
[
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]
Thompson hosted a daily 10 AM-to-noon radio show on
San Francisco
talk station
KGO
until October 6, 2022; his show ended on that station due to a sudden change in format, and he, in fact, was the final host on the format, being notified immediately before his show of the change and being notified mid- monologue to end the broadcast at approximately 10:16 AM that day. He would promptly give a final
station identification
before abruptly ending his show. It was later moved to
YouTube
and thru
podcast
.
[2]
The show concentrated on politics and pop culture and featured calls from listeners across the Bay Area and California. Thompson had originally done fill-in talk show hosting on KGO when he first worked in San Francisco as a news person. Thompson also regularly appears on
The Tim Conway Jr. Show
on
KFI
in Los Angeles.
Thompson and CNN Latino anchor Elizabeth Espinosa hosted an early afternoon weekday talk program from early 2014 to late 2015.
[3]
[4]
Television hosting and announcing
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]
Thompson was a regular hosting live television shows of high drama and even life and death. He has hosted high-profile "event" shows like Celebrity Daredevils Live (FOX) with Dennis Rodman and Angie Everhart, all the Robbie Knievel jumps since 1990 (building to building in Las Vegas, over a portion of the Grand Canyon, and over an oncoming train).
Mark Thompson hosted a live Knievel jump during which the weather prevented the jump and Thompson was asked by the network to "fill" for the entire hour. Building drama about the dangerous weather conditions but without saying that Knievel would jump or would not jump, the show still registered a 25 share.
Thompson has been a regular New Year's Eve host for FOX Television as well. In these shows, he has presided over everything from building implosions to musical acts.
Thompson hosted the red carpet arrival show for the Emmy Awards on Fox Television (Sept. 2011). It was his second time hosting an Emmy red carpet show.
Thompson also hosted
Hole in the Wall
along with
Brooke Burns
for Fremantle Television. The show aired on
Fox
during 2008-2009.
For three successful seasons, Thompson hosted
Guinness World Records Primetime
on the Fox network, and those familiar with the genre will remember him as the host of
When Good Pets Go Bad
and the voice of many of the edgy Fox primetime reality shows at the time.
Thompson was the host of the weekly entertainment program
That's So Hollywood,
and was one of the primary fill-in hosts on
Good Day L.A.
, Fox's highest rated Los Angeles morning show.
Career as a producer
[
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]
Thompson was formerly a creative partner in NEXT entertainment with
Mike Fleiss
. Together they were responsible for a number of successful specials for Fox, and Thompson was the first person to pitch
The Bachelor
to ABC, though he credits Fleiss with the idea itself.
Other work
[
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]
Thompson is a frequent panelist on political and cultural issues on
The Young Turks
network, and fills in for host, Cenk Uygur.
[5]
His regular weekly podcast, The Edge with Mark Thompson, featured conversations on politics, show business, and popular culture.
[6]
Thompson does a daily YouTube show, The Mark Thompson Show, which is a radio show come to life on YouTube.
Thompson has been seen as a reporter, an anchorman, and even a moderator of presidential debates in feature films such as
Set It Off
,
The Day After Tomorrow
and
The American President
, and television shows such as
24
and
Ghost Whisperer
.
Thompson has been one of the leading voices in reality television, as his voiceovers were heard in the earliest days of reality TV and are still heard on shows such as
American Idol
,
Paradise Hotel
,
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
,
The Simple Life
and
Don't Forget the Lyrics
. He was also the announcer on former Fox game shows
Greed
and
It's Your Chance of a Lifetime
. Thompson is the vocalist for the
So You Think You Can Dance
television show theme song for all versions of the show worldwide, and he is also the announcer for the
US version
of the show.
Radio Host:
The Mark Thompson radio show was heard Monday- Friday from 10a-noon PT on KGO810 radio in SF.
While the station was in SF, the show enjoyed input from listeners across the country and even in other countries. The show was streamed across multiple platforms as well as being broadcast on radio.
Thompson has won multiple Golden Mic awards for his work in both radio and television.
Thompson sits in with Tim Conway Jr on KFIAM640 on Tuesdays in Los Angeles and has been an ubiquitous fill-in host on KFI since 2013.
Personal
[
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]
A native of
Washington, D.C.
, Thompson graduated from
Colgate University
. He also studied at
Oxford University
in the
United Kingdom
.
A regular on the charity and fundraising circuit, Thompson is an active supporter of many philanthropic enterprises with a concentration in the areas of veganism and advocacy for animals, education, and environmental charities.
[7]
[8]
References
[
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]
- ^
Roderick, Kevin (February 17, 2016).
"Mark Thompson returns to Fox 11 weather desk"
.
LA Observed
. Retrieved
January 30,
2019
.
- ^
"Mark Thompson moves his radio show to YouTube"
.
KTLA
. January 3, 2023
. Retrieved
April 14,
2023
.
- ^
"KFI/Los Angeles Changes: Thompson And Espinosa Exit Middays, Shannon Farren And Gary Hoffmann Take Over 1-3p"
.
All Access
. October 12, 2015
. Retrieved
January 30,
2019
.
- ^
"KGO Adds Three New Shows to Weekday Lineup"
.
- ^
"Mark Thompson"
.
IMDb
. Retrieved
January 18,
2020
.
- ^
"The Edge with Mark Thompson"
.
www.stitcher.com
. Retrieved
January 18,
2020
.
- ^
Archived at
Ghostarchive
and the
Wayback Machine
:
Dr. Neal Barnard - Keynote Speaker at VegFest Los Angeles 2017
.
YouTube
.
- ^
Golden, Lori.
"Mark Thompson"
.
The Pet Press
. Retrieved
January 30,
2019
.
External links
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