{"id":67114,"date":"2025-11-24T02:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T02:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/67114\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T02:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T02:16:11","slug":"camping-solo-across-u-s-is-beautiful-lifestyle-for-retired-videographer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/67114\/","title":{"rendered":"Camping solo across U.S. is ‘beautiful’ lifestyle for retired videographer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Scott<\/a>Scott Hall smiles and gestures at trees changing color in Nova Scotia. (Photo courtesy Rick Griffin\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

In the months following his August 2025 retirement, after 41 years at KFMB-TV CBS 8 working as a news photographer, Scott Hall didn\u2019t know for sure where he would spend Thanksgiving Day.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s exactly the way he wanted it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great career in a beautiful city, but it was also crazy busy and high stress,\u201d Hall, 66, told Times of San Diego. \u201cIt\u2019s been a slower, change of pace the past few months.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his last day at Channel 8, Hall spent a couple of weeks touring Italy and England. Then, he loaded up his 20-year-old Ford Expedition and started driving, sightseeing and camping under the stars in a tent. <\/p>\n

He first headed north through Oregon and Washington, then turned east.<\/p>\n

A couple of months ago, Times of San Diego caught-up with Hall somewhere in Colorado. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet me look on a map to make sure I know which town I\u2019m in,\u201d he said. \u201cIsn\u2019t this great? I\u2019m not even sure what time it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Scott<\/a>Scott Hall with a TV camera on his shoulder at a football game. (Photo courtesy Rick Griffin\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

Not long after that, Hall told Times of San Diego he was camping on Cape Breton Island along the Cabot Trail in northern Nova Scotia in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought San Diego was scenic, but it\u2019s beautiful here,\u201d Hall said. \u201cIt\u2019s now the peak of the fall colors with stunning views along the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Atlantic Ocean. Inspiringly beautiful. And I experienced my first sunrise over the Atlantic. So good.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, Hall said, \u201cSuch beauty every day, and camping in it was beyond words. I\u2019m now on my way to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and then on to Pensacola, Florida, to share Thanksgiving with my sister Lynne and her husband Cliff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m checking out campgrounds all the way down to Key West. I was concerned about bears in the New England forests, but I wonder now if bear spray works on Florida alligators and crocodiles. I hope I don\u2019t have to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Hall retired, Channel 8 called him \u201clegendary.\u201d<\/p>\n

He spent his last six years paired with reporter Jeff Zevely for \u201cZevely Zone\u201d newscast features. <\/p>\n

\u201cI have tears in my eyes,\u201d Zevely posted on social media while discussing Hall\u2019s retirement. \u201cScott leaves a legacy marked by bravery and impactful San Diego journalism. He had an incredible career.\u201d<\/p>\n

A KFMB-TV website story said, \u201cHall joined CBS 8 in 1984, and quickly established himself as a fearless and dedicated journalist. Throughout his career, he covered major events ranging from intense brush fires to presidential campaigns, often putting himself in harm\u2019s way to get the story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall won an Emmy award\u00a0in 2003 for his breaking news coverage of the Cedar Fire that scorched 273,246 acres, destroyed 2,232 homes, and killed 15 people, including 14 civilians and one firefighter. It was the largest wildfire in California history at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found myself in the middle of the night, in the middle of a firestorm on Wildcat Canyon Road,\u201d recalled Hall. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure I would survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another time, he was shoved from behind while covering a street riot. \u201cHall\u2019s coverage in the face of danger became a hallmark of his career,\u201d the station said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"Scott<\/a>Scott Hall grinning from behind a gas mask, with his TV camera on his shoulder. (Photo courtesy Rick Griffin\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good day when you\u2019re covering a story of love and compassion, like featuring a mother who\u2019s caring for her challenged daughter,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s a tougher day when a crime has been committed and my job is to get reactions from devastated family members and crime victims. <\/p>\n

\u201cA news camera is not the first thing people want to see in their time of grief and stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from the University of Oregon with a bachelor\u2019s degree in journalism, Hall worked for a couple of TV stations in the Pacific Northwest, including as a fledging reporter and anchor at KVAL-TV in Eugene, Oregon before relocating to San Diego.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Oregon news director was a nice guy who said to me in a kind way, `You might do better as a cameraman,\u2019\u201d said Hall. \u201cThat day changed my life. I\u2019ve always been thankful for what he said to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Scott<\/a>Scott Hall working as a television anchor in the 1980s. (Photo courtesy Rick Griffin\/MarketInk)<\/p>\n

Hall got his dream job in the spring of 1984 when he was hired by Jim Holtzman, who served as KFMB-TV news director in the 1970s and 1980s. Under his leadership, KFMB\u2019s \u201cNews 8\u201d became a dominant force in San Diego local news, known for its strong anchors and distinctive style.<\/p>\n

In July 1984, after only a few months on the job, Hall was sent to San Ysidro to a McDonald\u2019s restaurant where gunman James Huberty opened fire for 77 minutes, killing 21 people, including children as young as 8 months old, and injuring 19 other before being shot by police.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all these years, that story still hauntingly lives with me,\u201d said Hall. \u201cHe was still shooting when I arrived on the scene. It was quite a way to start my career in San Diego.\u201d<\/p>\n

Six years ago, Hall\u2019s\u00a030-year marriage ended in divorce. \u201cThe news business takes a toll on family time,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn hindsight, I could have done a lot more for Nancy and my son Monty\u2026 Journalism is rich in both personal and community reward, but it rarely pads the bank account. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re considering getting into the news business, you should think seriously about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowadays, as a solo road-tripping traveler, Scott says friends and family members stay in touch with him along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new experience of retirement is really enjoyable,\u201d said Hall. \u201cI\u2019ve driven over 10,000 miles now through 25 states and Canada. I feel like I\u2019m just getting started. The more I see, the bigger and more beautiful this country gets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall said this Thanksgiving will be special because of his recent visit to Plymouth Rock.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing Plymouth Rock for the first time, right before Thanksgiving, has been a very humbling experience,\u201d he said. \u201cThe pilgrims\u2019 impossible challenges make mine seem trivial, and make me grateful for the comfort of my own family today.\u201d<\/p>\n

C3 Communications marks 25th anniversary with new website\u00a0<\/p>\n

San Diego public relations firm c3 Communications, Inc. is celebrating its 25th anniversary with the launch of a redesigned, multimedia-driven website that reflects the agency\u2019s evolution and long-standing role in public relations, media relations and event promotions, said Joice Truban Curry, c3 president and chief executive officer.<\/p>\n

\"Joice<\/a>Joice Truban Curry of c3 Communications. Courtesy Rick Griffin<\/p>\n

Created by Monkey Works Creative, the website,\u00a0www.c3publicrelations.com<\/a>, features a clean, modern layout with intuitive navigation, vibrant visuals, video segments and real campaign highlights drawn from more than two decades of award-winning work, said Curry.<\/p>\n

Built with a fully mobile-friendly structure, the site allows visitors to easily explore c3\u2019s services, case studies, community partnerships, and media coverage and showcases c3\u2019s commitment to strong storytelling and meaningful results, a statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fun to put together the montage of great PR moments throughout our 25- year history,\u201d said Curry. \u201cThere were many great projects, shows and people and it was a joy and a blessing to recount and see them. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow, we are onto the next decade of fun PR adventures.\u201d<\/p>\n

3.6 million podcasts, but how many are \u2018active\u2019?<\/p>\n

Plenty of people believe there are too many podcasts. But, how many podcasts are actually active and producing new content?<\/p>\n

According to Listen Notes<\/a>, a San Francisco-based consulting firm that specializes in podcast data and a podcast search engine, there were 605,122 active podcasts as of September 2025. <\/p>\n

The term \u201cactive\u201d means the podcasts have released at least one new episode since the beginning of 2025.<\/p>\n

September\u2019s total of active podcasts surpasses the previous record of 595,514 active programs, which was set in 2020. Also, September\u2019s number represents an episode increase of 15,000 compared to the prior month, as reported by Barrett Media, a consulting firm for media outlets and trade publication covering music, news and sports media industries.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Listen Notes said it has reclassified more than 18,000 shows to the \u201cdead\u201d category, which is a dramatic decrease compared to previous years. In comparison, between 2020 and 2021, 157,000 podcasts were considered \u201cdead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, Listen Notes said 3.6 million podcasts have been created worldwide, representing a combined 185 million episodes. <\/p>\n

Of the 3.6 million shows created since around 2004, when the word \u201cpodcast\u201d was coined and the technology first took off, 67% have been launched from the U.S., while Brazil has been the next largest podcast creator, with just over 200,000 shows launched from that country.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Hall smiles and gestures at trees changing color in Nova Scotia. (Photo courtesy Rick Griffin\/Times of San…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[39937,39938,39939,39940,2406,1813,74,76,75,39941],"class_list":{"0":"post-67114","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-c3-communications","9":"tag-joice-truban-curry","10":"tag-kfmb","11":"tag-listen-notes","12":"tag-marketink","13":"tag-podcasts","14":"tag-san-diego","15":"tag-san-diego-headlines","16":"tag-san-diego-news","17":"tag-scott-hall"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}