By Nordia Henry, Staff Reporter
WHEN HE is not involved in the world of Sports as he often is, one can find him lyming with close friends, watching comedies or movie classics such as The Godfather or Prince of Tides, to name a few.
If I may borrow the words of Warrior King, "A breath of fresh air" is what he is when he's on 'Smile Jamaica' and 'Man Talk'. Simon Crosskill takes time out to tell Flair what he would grab if his house were on fire.
It seems that there is a consensus that he's one of Jamaica's favourite media personalities. Born in the city of London, England, Crosskill spent his first five years there and then later migrated to Jamaica with his parents. Thirteen years later, he went back to England, where he lived for a while and returned to Jamaica when he was 34 years old. Crosskill attended Mona Primary in St. Andrew and then went on to Jamaica College but never went further than fourth form. He later attended Gaynstead High School at Arthur Wint Drive where he completed his secondary education.
MULTI-TALENTED
The multi-talented Crosskill made it absolutely clear that he is not one-dimensional, "Even though my core function is RJR Communication Group's Sports Editor, I am not one-dimensional. I have other interest in Media, which is reflected in 'Smile Jamaica' and 'Man Talk'. There is a perception in Jamaica that if you are labelled one thing, then you must do that one thing for the rest of your life, that you are not able to spread your wings and show your other interests or your other talents. It is sometimes felt that someone who is a good Sportscaster should not be associated with hard news or a morning time magazine programme, as if sports people have one aspect to their lives, which is sports. Those are some of the reasons why I do some of the other things that I do."
Crosskill, the last of four children for his parents, coincidentally is married and also has four of his own. In addition to being Sports Editor , the 43-year-old media practitioner co-hosts TVJ's 'Smile Jamaica Morning Time' programme with Neville Bell and hosts 'Man Talk'. He also does sports commentaries.
"I've always had an interest in Journalism and I listened and watched my brother, Hugh. We sat down, watched and listened to other people and made comments about how it could have been done or should have been done. So, I've always wanted to get into Journalism but not under his wings because we have too many incidents of nepotism in this country and people think it's who knows you and how many strings you can pull to get something.
JUDGED
"All in all, I didn't want to be judged based on his performance or anyone to think the only reason I got the job was because of my brother. After my brother left (Jamaica), I returned to Jamaica, rang Don Topping and asked if there was a space for someone in sports and I did an audition. The audition was successful because in the space of a day I was on the air reading sports at RJR," said Crosskill.
"I see myself as confident, arrogant and honest. My sole inspiration comes from my brother, the late Hugh Crosskill Jr and I don't doubt that his impact on journalism in Jamaica would have rubbed off on me, in terms of doors opening for me, but I believe that when you don't perform, you could be the brother of Jesus Christ, the public will find out and they will kick you off."
WHAT HE WOULD GRAB
Photographs, video tapes of my family, and probably some sports books. I love sports, which is my core function now, but family is very important and they cannot be replaced.
