TERRE HAUTE —
If you’ve been around Terre Haute for a while, the name “Ronn Mott” is sure to be familiar. Small of stature with a big personality, he is primarily known for his radio voice on the airwaves around the Wabash Valley. He has diverse interests and lots of opinions.
At age 75, Ronn has been out of the everyday grind of the radio workplace for a while, but he’s not one to retire completely. I’m happy to report today that his musings, wit and wisdom have become part of the Tribune-Star’s commentary offerings beginning last week.
Ronn became known for his brief radio commentaries — called Ronn Mott’s Minute — in recent years as his full-time career wound down. It’s those commentaries that he’s reviving for the Tribune-Star, and we’ll publish three of those per week. One will be published online at www.tribstar.com on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And one will be published in both the print and online editions on Saturdays. The print column will appear on the Opinion page, as it did for the first time last Saturday.
A native of the Vermillion County town of Hillsdale, Ronn started his career after high school with a radio station in Paris, Ill. He then joined the Air Force and expanded his media skills with various Air Force media outlets.
Upon completing his service, he worked for newspapers and radio stations in the U.S. and Canada before arriving in Terre Haute, where he worked for a local radio station and attended Indiana State University.
Eventually, Ronn became station manager at WBOW and WZZQ. He later purchased his own station, WJSH, then spent 10 years as morning host for WAXI. It has been a long and distinguished career.
Although the majority of his career has been spent as an on-air radio personality and manager, he says he always considered himself a writer at heart. Now he can devote his time to just that.
Ronn’s commentaries will range in topic from pop culture to current events. There will be some politics sprinkled in, and that is sure to provoke plenty of feedback from readers. In a style that is colorful and concise, Ronn doesn’t mince words.
We’re pleased to offer his writings to our readers. As always, I welcome your feedback.
Max Jones can be reached at (812) 231-4336, or by e-mail at max.jones@tribstar.com. Twitter: @TribStarMax.
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Max Jones, Tribune-Star editor
Discussion
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