Scott Simon has been to 10 war zones. He’s reported on wealth and poverty, hope and hopelessness. He hosts one of NPR’s most listened-to programs.

Simon, host of National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition Saturday,” will bring these experiences to Syracuse University Tuesday when he presents an address as part of the University Lectures series. He will speak in Hendricks Chapel at 7:30 p.m., presenting a lecture about reporting from across the globe, titled “Covering the World.”

“You try and get the (speakers) that give an overall, cross-disciplinary perspective,” said Esther Gray, the special assistant for academic affairs and one of the people involved in booking Simon.

Simon attended the University of Chicago and McGill University in Canada. In his journalism career, Simon has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. He was a correspondent for BBC News and is the author of six books in varied styles, such as poetry, memoirs and novels.

Simon is known for his warmth and sensitivity during his speeches, said Joe Lee, the general manager of the WAER-FM 88.3 radio station, NPR’s affiliate owned by SU.

This sensitivity was awarded in 1989 when Simon won a George Foster Peabody Award “for his sensitivity and literary style in coverage of events including the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador and the San Francisco earthquake,” according to his page on the NPR Web site.

Lee attended a seminar in which Simon was a guest speaker and gave a sentimental speech about the death of a colleague, Lee said. Simon became so stirred by his colleague’s work that he broke down crying while onstage. The moment was incredibly moving, Lee said.

Gray was affected by Simon’s 2008 commencement lecture at Lake Forest College, she said. She listened to the speech in her car and was struck by the warmth of Simon’s words, she said. This comforting and inspirational style of speech is what influenced the university’s decision to extend an invitation to Simon for Tuesday’s lecture, Gray said.

Lee encouraged people to attend the lecture “if you are a fan of storytelling in general.”

Published on March 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm