Jim Mason is launching a weekly radio show this week, and I expect he’ll get a rise out of some people.
"Jim Mason's Inconvenient Truth" is set to air from 9:10 to 9:40 a.m. Thursday on WLBK-AM 1360 and FM 98.9. Yes, it is strikingly similar to the global warming documentary about Al Gore. No, Gore and Mason don't agree on the subject.
Mason’s suited to radio. Rarely at a loss for words, he’s got opinions about city government, local schools, national politics. Mason came to DeKalb in 1964 and has been in business here since 1967. His rental property business, Mason Properties, is the sixth-largest property taxpayer in DeKalb.
One of the things I like about Mason is that he gets excited about the things he does, whether it's building a new laundromat or preparing to launch a radio show.
He also expresses his opinions point-blank, and he doesn’t apologize if you don’t like them. He’s a Donald Trump fan, and his style is somewhat reminiscent of Trump.
“The truth will set you free, and if you can’t prove that I’m wrong, then shut up,” Mason said. “I’m going to be tough.”
What will he talk about? A few of his positions he shared with me during our 22-minute conversation Tuesday:
• The “drive-by news media” is aligned with the Democratic Party. They are part of the problem.
• The Clintons invented the concept of political correctness to stifle debate by making people afraid to offend others.
• You can’t prove global warming exists.
Mason says he’ll be perfectly happy to talk to people who disagree with him, and I suspect he will find a few people who do.
Mason – whose company is paying for the airtime – says he expects the show to become a viral phenomenon.
I don’t know how it will turn out, but I’m sure it won’t be boring.
• Eric Olson is editor of the Daily Chronicle. Reach him at 815-756-4841, ext. 2257, email eolson@shawmedia.com, or follow him on Twitter @DC_Editor.