On today’s show, we’re hearing from Scott Simon — a longtime practitioner of the Chicago school of journalism, whose guiding philosophy is to comfort the afflicted — and to afflict the comfortable.
Since 1985, Simon has been most recognizable as the voice of NPR’s Weekend Edition, in addition to his work as an essayist and author of both fiction and nonfiction books. He’s distinguished himself as a war correspondent, and an unflagging fan of sports, specifically the Chicago Cubs and Bulls — as well as an empathetic and insightful essayist.
Last month, Simon spoke to a capacity crowd at WHQR’s annual luncheon and, on today's show, we’ll hear his opening remarks, as he takes stock of where journalism is today. You can also hear his full appearance, complete with his answers to audience questions (as asked by WHQR board member and County Commissioner Rob Zapple), below:
Also on today's show, we’ll hear our own interview with Simon, where we pushed a little deeper into the conversation about the state of news and — to use a metaphor we think would he would appreciate Simon — talked a little inside baseball.
Music:
- "The Giving Tree" — If These Treese Could Talk
- "In Passage" — Blue Dot Sessions