My First Byline: Scott Simon
Senior Host, NPR
What is your current job?
Senior Host, NPR; host, “Weekend Edition Saturday” and “Saturday Up First” podcast; author, most recently of “Swingtime for Hitler”; special contributor, “CBS Sunday Morning.”
What was your first byline?
I put out our grade school newspaper. I remember seeing my name in (mimeographed) purple print, and thinking, “Not exactly Hemingway, is it?"
What was your first real job in journalism?
Writer, publisher, editor, advertising department, Offset Magazine, an underground newspaper in Chicago.
How did you get it?
I created it. Later went on to be a reporter for WTTW, Chicago, then on to NPR as first person employed between the coasts.
What advice do you have for people looking to break into journalism?
Make your own opportunities. Keep trying. Be distinctive, not imitative. Talk to real people for stories, not just experts. Talk to victims of crime, people with addiction problems, people who run small businesses, students, cops. Go to city council meetings, trials, zoning hearings, just don’t read the results. Report.
Find Scott on X.