#MediaMonday – Ted Houston
Each Monday, we are posting a blog to help our readers get to know the media just a little bit better.
With a TWIST!
No, we aren’t posting story pitch tips or media lists, but instead great stories from the media themselves about their lives, their work and other little known facts! Think of it as your first “networking” opportunity of the week!
Today’s #MediaMonday comes to us from Ted Houston, reporter/anchor for NewsTalk 550 KFYI.
So, Ted, time to share!
What do you want to tell the blogosphere about yourself today?
I grew up in suburban Chicago and developed an interest in radio when I was about 10. I used to read articles from the daily newspaper to my parents or relatives – anyone who would listen. I also started a pretend radio station in my bedroom and spent countless hours playing DJ or reading the news.
Fortunately, the high school I attended had a radio station. Not an in-house station but an actual 10-watt FM station that covered the school district. I was involved with that from Day One.
I worked in radio off and on through college and graduated from Northwestern University. While I wanted more than anything to work in Chicago radio, I wanted that to be my goal, not my start. So instead of using my Northwestern connections to get a job in Chicago, I got my first post-college job in a small market in Missouri where I did everything except sell advertising. I was a news reporter & anchor, then later the afternoon-drive DJ and eventually music director.
I moved up to the medium market of Madison, Wis., where I got married and made a life. During 20-plus years in Madison, I worked as a Top 40 DJ, radio news reporter and anchor, TV news reporter and anchor, and eventually a radio station news director.
Once I got the chance to move to a larger market, there was nothing available in Chicago. My job hunt took me to Phoenix in early 2001, and I’ve been here ever since as a reporter/anchor for KFYI-AM. The thing I love about my job is that no two days are the same. I never know what stories I’ll be covering and which newsmakers I’ll be rubbing shoulders with.
While I’m a general assignment reporter and cover whatever comes along, I enjoy stories that help people – human interest stories, consumer and environmental issues, the education system, and weather.
When I’m not working I love to bike, mountain hike, and power walk. I’m a weather geek so I’m constantly studying the weather maps, radar, and other weather info available online. My sister now lives three blocks from me in north Phoenix, so we hang out from time to time as well.
And I’ll admit I don’t miss those Midwestern winters!
