The NYT said it was happening, and so it is.

Westwood One is pleased to announce the debut of The Fred Thompson Show on March 2, 2009. The show will replace The Radio Factor with Bill O’Reilly when the program ends its successful six-year run on February 27, 2009. Former U.S. senator and 2008 presidential candidate, Fred Thompson will share his views on politics, topical issues, pop culture and water cooler stories, as well as welcome guest interviews and take listener calls. The Fred Thompson Show will be a two-hour daily talk show and will air live Noon-2pm, Monday – Friday from the Westwood One studios in Washington DC…

“When folks listen to a radio show, they make an appointment with it. It is the ideal way for me to continue my dialog with America about the issues we all face each day,” said Thompson.

Kudos to the Westwood One copywriter for somehow resisting the phrase “cracker-barrel.” Teh Fred’s two-minute commentaries while subbing for Paul Harvey were hugely popular with our readers, yet the reaction to today’s news in Headlines is relatively tepid. What happened? Two hours a day of Thompson is too much but three hours of Hannity isn’t? Or is it just that Fred’s shtick, which made him the righty blogosphere’s runaway favorite for the nomination last year, has worn out its welcome? I don’t get it. It’s down-home, rock-ribbed, southern conservatism. Who else is giving you that on radio?

Free advice for Westwood, though: Make each and every show freely downloadable online, because he’s not going to build an audience easily head to head with Rush. Exit question: Isn’t he going back to acting too? I wonder if this show won’t end up like the “Tonight Show” at the close of the Carson era, where there’s a guest host four days a week.