#MediaMonday – Ted Simons

For starters, the blogosphere should know how happy I am to be the host and managing editor of Horizon. Having the broadcast time to sit down with state and national leaders, along with other interesting folks (from Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to filmmaker Ken Burns) and talk at length about a variety of issues is about as good as it gets for me.
Previous to Horizon, I was in talk-radio, hosting my own show on KTAR. The instant feedback from listeners was refreshing, but over time the gig became disconcerting, what with the increasingly angry nature of public discourse. I still miss discussing the issues of the day with listeners – most of whom were thoughtful and quite knowledgeable – but I don’t miss the name-calling and the forced “outrage” that seems to be encouraged on talk-radio these days. Plus, my wife, the estimable Mrs. Simons, says I’m in a better mood since moving from talk to Horizon. And who can argue with her? (Hint: don’t try it.)
Did I mention that I was a TV sportscaster in San Francisco and experienced the ’89 earthquake from the upper-deck press section at Candlestick Park? Oh, and did I mention that I once had a hole-in-one (9-iron, 142 yards, 8th hole, Mesquite Course at Kierland, 11/5/97)?
As an avid reader, I just finished a run of mid-century novels, some of which were re-reads (Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22”; “The Second Coming,” by Walker Percy), others pleasant discoveries (“Pincher Martin” by William Golding; “The Locusts Have No King,” by Dawn Powell; and Graham Green’s “The Power and the Glory.”) All are highly recommended. Right now I’m going non-fiction, with “Intellectuals,” by agitated historian Paul Johnson, getting the most attention.
As for music, I’m currently exploring more experimental sounds (older Krautrock stuff, mostly), along with austere contemporary classical composers (Max Richter; Johann Johannson – yep, that’s his name). Bluegrass, 1970s punk rock and Americana music take up the most room in my LP/CD collection – and Robyn Hitchock’s “I Often Dream of Trains” is still my favorite album, after all these years.
TMI? OK. But did I mention that I once had a hole-in-one?…