Life After News
What happens when the newsroom lights go out—and life begins again? Life After News explores the raw, funny, and deeply human stories of journalists who’ve walked away from the adrenaline of breaking news to reinvent themselves in surprising ways. Hosted by former TV news director Jason Ball, the podcast goes behind the headlines to talk with anchors, reporters, producers, and executives about identity, resilience, and what it takes to start over. From career pivots to personal awakenings, these conversations reveal how the skills learned under deadline pressure translate into entirely new chapters of life. It’s not just about leaving the news—it’s about discovering what comes after. Whether you’re in media, on the edge of a career change, or just fascinated by reinvention, Life After News is your invitation to listen in, learn, and maybe imagine your own next chapter.
Episodes
Guest: Lisa Guerrero (investigative journalist, author of Warrior)
Host: Jason Ball
Link: 👉 lisaguerrero.com
Episode vibe: Courage, accountability, and what it really takes to speak truth to power.
Content note: This episode includes discussion of pregnancy loss and workplace trauma.
What we cover
- Why Lisa chose to leave Inside Edition after 18 years and what that says about a crisis in establishment media ...
What happens when a millennial “big J” journalist who helped build TV news on the internet trades breaking news for neighborhood impact? In this episode, Olsen Ebright (KTLA/KNBC/CBS) joins Jason to unpack the birth of digital news, the social-media rollercoaster, sane push-alert strategy, and why hyper-local politics might be your most powerful lever for change.
👉 Listen & subscribe now to hear practical, no-nons...
This week, Jason sits down with Simone Boyce, former KTLA reporter, MTV News & Access Hollywood host, and the very first anchor of NBC News Signal (now NBC News Now). From those early experimental days of streaming news to hosting The Bright Side for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Simone has lived many chapters of life in and after news. And now? She’s eyeing a future in political comedy. 🎭✨
Simone opens up a...
Christina McLarty Arquette walked away from on-air entertainment reporting to build a prolific producing career across documentaries and scripted features. In this episode, we dig into how she finished her first doc Survivor’s Guide to Prison, produced the cult-favorite You Cannot Kill David Arquette, brought film productions to Arkansas (including Jason's hometown), and why she and David Arquette are reimagining...
In this episode of Life After News, Jason Ball sits down with international journalist May Lee. May is a former CNN and ABC News correspondent, anchor, talk show host, professor, and now co-host of the hit podcast Shoes Off Inside.
✨ May shares her remarkable journey:
- From small-market local news to becoming CNN’s “disaster queen” covering global crises 🌍
- Breaking into Japanese media as one of the first Asian Ameri...
🎙️ This episode doubles as your playbook. You’ve told stories on deadline; now you’re thinking about owning the story for an organization. Here’s how to make the jump from newsroom to PR on purpose, not in panic.
What you’ll learn 🧭
- How to plan your pivot years before you need it
- The real difference between reporting news and making news
- How to operate inside big orgs where buy-in beats speed
- Crisis rules: why the st...
Feeling stuck in a career rut or ready for a new chapter? This bonus episode of Life After News is for you! 🎙️✨This week I’m sharing a special bonus conversation with my friend Rich DeMuro—tech reporter, host of Rich on Tech, and all-around gadget guy. ⚡
We dive into how off-the-shelf tech like AI, Canva, and Riverside.fm makes it possible for anyone to create their own podcast 🎧 and newsletter 📰 without a big newsr...
Author/playwright/former TV newsie Byron Lane talks origin stories, on-air anxiety, assisting Carrie Fisher, chasing the Northern Lights, indie films, best-selling novels, big love, and bigger reinventions. This one’s honest, funny, and full of heart. 💛
What you’ll hear
- 🚨 “I’m still just telling stories.” Why the news muscle never leaves
- 🏕️ Boy Scout tour → WWL legend. Byron’s “pharmacist moment”
- ⏰ Overnights + 8am...
In this special bonus episode of Life After News, Jason Ball sits down with Emily Barr, longtime media executive and former president of Graham Media Group. With decades of leadership at WLS in Chicago and Graham’s TV stations, Emily has seen firsthand how local journalism has changed and why its survival depends on innovation, collaboration, and nonprofit support. 🤝
Now retired from daily station management but deepl...
An anchor from KCBS, KCAL, KTLA, and MSNBC, Sharon, gets candid about the shocking call from HR at Trader Joe's 🛒, the darker side of TV news, and her thriving career selling luxury real estate with the Altman Brothers. This is a conversation you won't want to miss.
The Shocking Layoff at Trader Joe's 🤯
🎧Sharon opens up about the moment her 13-year career at KCBS ended unexpectedly during the 2020 pand...
📺 What’s next for local TV? Consolidation, new technology, and the fight to stay relevant in a streaming-first world.
In this bonus episode of Life After News, Jason Ball sits down with Adam Jacobson, Editor-in-Chief of the Radio and Television Business Report, to break down the big changes shaking up the television station business.
🔑 What You’ll Hear:
- 📉 Consolidation Nation – What it means when just three groups...
In this episode of Life After News, Jason Ball sits down with Tony Morrison—a media pro whose career path took him from CNN📰 and Good Morning America ☀️ to advocacy work at GLAAD 🏳️🌈, and now to launching his own media company, the Morrison Media Group 🚀.
Tony’s journey is anything but traditional. He started as a business major who couldn’t pass finance 📉, discovered photography 📸, and wound up behind the camer...
🎙 Bonus Episode: Is Warren Buffett Right?
When Warren Buffett says the network TV affiliation model doesn’t work anymore, people pay attention. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, just dropped ABC after 69 years at WPLG Miami—the only TV station Buffett owns.
In this bonus episode of Life After News, Jason talks with Adam R. Jacobson, editor-in-chief of the Radio + Television Business Report, about:
• The histo...
Former KCAL 9 anchor Leyna Nguyen spent 25 years in TV news—Los Angeles, Sacramento, Augusta. What came next? A bold new life filled with reinvention:
✨ A not-so-safe-for-work podcast (“Consenting Adults”)
✨ A YouTube channel teaching English to Vietnamese speakers (100K+ subs!)
✨ And now, her true calling: building Van May Financial and helping people plan smarter for retirement 💼💰
In this episode, Leyna op...
Beloved for turning complex forecasts into must-watch TV, Tom has traded daily broadcasts for a new mission: protecting the research, truth, and science that keep us safe.
For 45 years, Tom Skilling was Chicago’s go-to source for weather — trusted, beloved, and known for making complicated science easy to understand. Now, a year and a half into retirement, Tom is proving life after news can be just as full of passion, ...
Tracy McMillan on Reinvention, Unprisoned & Writing What Hurts
What do TV news deadlines, Paris heartbreaks, and Oprah have in common? Tracy McMillan.
In this deeply honest, wildly inspiring conversation, bestselling author, TV host, and Unprisoned creator Tracy McMillan sits down with Jason Ball to talk about her journey from local news writer to viral sensation to Hollywood showrunner.
From writing copy for Tom Bro...
In this episode, Life After News host Jason Ball switches seats and lets his longtime friend and former KTLA colleague David Begnaud—Emmy-winning CBS News correspondent—take over the mic. David turns the tables to ask Jason the questions: Why did you really leave news? What were you chasing—or escaping? Who are you without the title?
Jason opens up about:
- 📺 Leaving KTLA at the top of his game—and why the January 6t...
💄 What happens when a former CNN entertainment producer trades celebrity interviews for contour palettes and a tour buse? Meet JD Cargill — or as Palm Springs now knows her, Anita Doll.
In this wildly fun, deeply moving, and at times jaw-droppingly honest conversation, Jason Ball interviews JD during his full transformation into Anita Doll — lashes, foundation, and all. Together they unpack how JD went from chasi...
🎙️ Bonus Episode: Barbara Walters – Legacy, Lessons & That Lewinsky Interview
📺 In this special bonus episode of Life After News, Jason reflects on the powerful new documentary Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything (🎬 stream it on Hulu), Barbara’s 2008 memoir Audition, and her complex, groundbreaking legacy in the news business.
🔍 Topics covered in this episode:
· 🛫 Barbara’s rise from “Today Girl” ...
🎙️ God, Gossip, and Getting Real: Dorothy Lucey on Life After Morning TV
🎧 Episode Summary
In this wide-ranging conversation, Jason Ball sits down with Good Day LA alum Dorothy Lucey to talk about fame, faith, fire—and finding purpose after live TV. Best known for her role in the iconic morning trio with Steve Edwards and Jillian Barberie, Dorothy gets candid about the real dynamics behind the scenes, how it all came ...
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