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Paul Finebaum is an American columnist, author, television and radio personality based in Birmingham, Alabama. His primary focus is sports, particularly those in the Southeast. His penchant for harsh criticism of sports figures makes him a controversial personality, especially among the fanatically-faithful supporters of the South's college football teams.

Finebaum was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended the University of Tennessee, where he received a liberal arts degree.

News Reporter

Paul Finebaum arrived in Birmingham in 1980 and became a columnist and investigative reporter for the now-defunct Birmingham Post-Herald. As a reporter, Finebaum broke the story of Antonio Langham, a University of Alabama football player who signed a contract with a sports agent while still playing for the school, a direct violation of National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. As a result of his reporting and his caustic commentary in the Post-Herald. He continues as a newspaper columnist, now writing for the Press-Register twice each week, with syndication to other newspapers throughout the state.

Radio and Television

Finebaum began to appear regularly on radio and television in the Birmingham area. In 1993, he began his afternoon sports-talk show on WERC-AM Radio, which quickly became the top-rated show in the market. The four-hour show is now syndicated to stations throughout Alabama, Finebaum has appeared as a personality on nearly every television station in the Birmingham market at one time or another, including a five-year stint as sports director for WIAT-TV, which was unusual in that many of his televised reports were done from his WERC radio studio (fitted with extra lighting for this purpose) during breaks in the radio program. He left WIAT in 2002. In January 2007, at the end of his contract with WERC, he moved the show to new FM sports/talk station WJOX-FM. The Paul Finebaum Radio Network, comprised of Finebaum with producers Pat Smith and Dave Sibley, was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 12 sports radio shows in the United States.

Publications

Finebaum's books include his popular I Hate... series, including I Hate Notre Dame: 303 Reasons Why You Should, Too, and several dozen similarly-titled works which humorously attack most major college athletic programs. As a spoof, his friend and colleague Tommy Charles published I Hate Paul Finebaum: 303 Reasons Why You Should, Too (ISBN 157587041X) in 1996. Finebaum's other books include The Worst of Paul Finebaum (ISBN 1881548120), a 1994 compilation of every newspaper column he has ever written; and Finebaum Said (ISBN 1931656037), a 2001 collection of columns and interviews.

References

Barnes, Susan. (Summer 2005) "The Devil We Know". Tennessee Alumnus Magazine. Vol. 85, No. 3 - accessed April 16, 2006
Paul Finebaum article at BhamWiki.com

External links

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 ==News Reporter==
-Paul Finebaum arrived in Birmingham in [[1980]] and became a columnist and investigative reporter for the now-defunct ''[[Birmingham Post-Herald]].'' As a reporter, Finebaum broke the story of [[Antonio Langham]], a [[University of Alabama]] football player who signed a contract with a [[sports agent]] while still playing for the school, a direct violation of [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] rules. Finebaum also broke the story of the firing of [[Auburn University]] coach [[Terry Bowden]]. As a result of his reporting and his caustic commentary in the ''Post-Herald.'' He continues as a newspaper columnist, now writing for the ''[[Press-Register]]'' twice each week, with syndication to other newspapers throughout the state.
+Paul Finebaum arrived in Birmingham in [[1980]] and became a columnist and investigative reporter for the now-defunct ''[[Birmingham Post-Herald]].'' As a reporter, Finebaum broke the story of [[Antonio Langham]], a [[University of Alabama]] football player who signed a contract with a [[sports agent]] while still playing for the school, a direct violation of [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] rules. As a result of his reporting and his caustic commentary in the ''Post-Herald.'' He continues as a newspaper columnist, now writing for the ''[[Press-Register]]'' twice each week, with syndication to other newspapers throughout the state.
 ==Radio and Television==