Jesse Ventura gets cable talk show

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ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura made it official: He's now Jesse "The Mouth."

The ex-professional wrestler turned politician will host an hour-long current affairs talk show on MSNBC five nights a week.

"I'm going to educate 'em, entertain 'em and tell them the truth," Ventura told Jay Leno on the "Tonight Show" Wednesday night. Ventura previously hosted a radio talk show before running for governor in 1998 and had a weekly radio show on Minnesota Public Radio while in office.

He left office in January after a single term.

Ventura said his new show would be targeted to a young audience and touch on everything from opinion to pop culture. The Minneapolis Star Tribune said most likely time slot would have "The Jesse Ventura Show" going up against CNN's primetime "NewsNight" and Fox News' "On The Record with Greta Van Susteren."

MSNBC currently is a distant third in the three-way cable news channel ratings race.

MSNBC reportedly is considering a show for veteran ABC News reporter Sam Donaldson after the disappointing ratings of the 6-month-old Phil Donahue talk show. Donaldson currently hosts a show on ABC News Radio.

Ventura indicated his show would premier in March but did not say where it would originate or who his first guest would be. For months, Minnesota media has speculated it might be based at the Mall of America in Bloomington.