Thunderbolt Radio and Digital President and General Manager Paul Freeman Tinkle is among the inductees for 2022 for the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame.
Mr. Tinkle was the first inductee announced in a press release Wednesday.
Paul Tinkle has lived for radio almost his entire life, first as a janitor at WCMT when he was 15 years old. By graduation in 1972 he was a nighttime jock and then moved to morning drive while at UT Martin.
He’s since worked at WUTM-FM, WHDM AM, WALR FM, WYMC, WDXR, and WENK.
He has been a DJ, news director, production director, play by play sports announcer, program director, and general manager. In 1983 he became an owner of Thunderbolt Broadcasting.
Mr. Tinkle has very strong local and regional involvement in his community and helps provide coverage of local sports and targeted programs for his specific communities, including the acquisition of several more radio stations in Milan and Trenton, Tennessee.
He continues to host a popular morning show on WCMT and has received numerous broadcasting awards including TAB’s Distinguished Service Award and The Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame award.
Mr. Tinkle, along with the entire Class of 2022, will be honored on Saturday, August 6th at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Convention Center in Murfreesboro.
