Life After News
🎙️ Life After News is the podcast that dives deep into what happens after the headlines fade. Hosted by former broadcast journalist Jason Ball, this series explores the personal journeys, surprising reinventions, and powerful lessons from those who’ve stepped away from the newsroom. Through candid conversations and behind-the-scenes stories, Jason and his guests share what it really takes to find purpose and identity beyond a career in news. If you’ve ever wondered what comes next after chasing the story—this podcast is for you.
Life After News
🎙️ David Begnaud Interviews Jason: Flipping the Mic on Life After News
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 6th insurrection was the breaking point
- 😰 The stress he didn’t even know he was carrying (until the heartburn disappeared)
- 🧠 Reclaiming purpose through storytelling on his own terms—with a podcast, a newsletter, and a hotel
- 🌈 Coming out, being private in a public career, and what he hopes to share about long-term love
- 🛠️ Running a bar, fixing toilets, and using breaking news skills in small business
- 🤖 Why he talks to AI every day—and what newsrooms should be doing about it now
With honesty, reflection, and a dose of unexpected vulnerability, Jason shows that Life After News isn’t just a concept—it’s a lived experience. This is an episode about identity, reinvention, and what it means to finally put yourself in the story.
“If I’m not the news director at KTLA, who am I?”
“Turns out, I’m still me. Maybe even more me.”
🔗 Episode Links
- Follow David Begnaud on Instagram: @davidbegnaud
- Related episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rewriting-the-script-michaela-pereira-on-news-grief/id1814231257?i=1000712265260
🔗 Stay Connected to Life After News
· 👨💻 Website: https://lifeafternews.com/
· 🎧 Subscribe: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows
· 📺 Watch: YouTube.com/@LifeAfterNews
· 📱 Follow: @MrJasonBall & @LifeAfterNewsPod
· 💼 LinkedIn: Jason Ball
· 🗞️ Read: Desert Dispatch — the newsletter on storytelling & reinvention
· 🏨 Stay: Old Ranch Inn
· 📅 New Episodes: Every Tuesday
· 💌 Love the show? Share it with a friend!
Let Life After News inspire your next chapter. Because leaving the news doesn’t mean the story’s over—it means a new one’s just beginning.