Taj Simmons is a reporter in Spectrum News' Central North Carolina newsroom. Taj joined the Spectrum team in November of 2016.

Prior to coming to Spectrum News, Taj worked for two years at KTTC-TV in Rochester, Minnesota. While at KTTC, Taj was one of the main journalists in their Rochester newsroom and filled in as an anchor. Taj covered presidential candidates before the Iowa Caucus, the Philando Castile shooting and various city government stories while at KTTC.

A native of Oakland, California, Taj graduated from DePaul University in 2014 with a double major in journalism and media cinema studies. Outside of work, Taj enjoys watching all types of sports and is a fan of the Oakland Raiders, Oakland A's and Golden State Warriors. Even though Taj had never been to the Carolinas before coming to Spectrum News, he is excited to cover all that the Triangle has to offer.

Here are five other things you might not know about Taj:

  1. I once lived in Melbourne, Australia. I studied abroad my junior year of college at Monash University in Melbourne. Yes, I've tried vegemite, and yes it is as nasty as you think it is.
  2. I was once in a music video. I am a huge fan of A Tribe Called Quest, and when I was in college, I heard about an open call for a video Phife Dawg was doing. I was able to make it, and you can see me as an extra in Phife's "Dear Dilla" video.
  3. I'm an avid baseball fan, and I have a goal to see a game in all of North Carolina's minor league ballparks. My hometown team is the Oakland A's, but I have been to 14 of the 30 major league ballparks. However, I haven't been to many minor league games, so I'm hoping to get the full experience now that I'm in North Carolina.
  4. I went to middle school with Portland Trail Blazers player Damian Lillard. To be fair, we didn't really know each other that well and I was two grades below him, but Damian Lillard is still my favorite player in the NBA and this connection is pretty random.
  5. Before being a reporter, I thought about a future in radio . When I was in college, I used to call DePaul basketball and softball games for our on-campus radio station and also hosted a music show on that station. After graduation, I called high school football games that were streamed online before I got my first reporting job.

Email: Taj.Simmons@charter.com

Twitter: @TajBSimmons

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