MURFREESBORO – The Tar Heel Traveler, Scott Mason, of WRAL TV will be visiting Cultivator Bookstore in Murfreesboro from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 16.

Mason will be showing some Tar Heel Traveler stories and discussing his new book, Faith and Air: The Miracle List, which was released last month.

A longtime journalist grounded in gathering facts now confronts stories that demand faith. Mason keeps interviewing people who unexpectedly offer up miracle stories. Such as the legendary golf broadcaster who makes for a wonderful personality profile — and then says, “Oh, and by the way, I died and came back to life.” Or the sole survivor of a plane crash who describes his harrowing ordeal — and tells of a radiant vision he says he witnessed while catapulting through the fuselage.

​One after another the miracle stories keep coming, but the television reporter suspects these stories will never find their way onto the air. So he begins to make a miracle list and dig deeper into these intriguing accounts on his own.

​Faith and Air: The Miracle List offers an intriguing mix of fact, faith and humor, even as the author struggles with his own faith.

Mason has spent more than 30 years on the air. And now his miracle stories, together with his essays on faith, make Faith and Air: The Miracle List a book that is both compelling and inspiring.

Mason is a broadcast journalist with 35 years of television experience. He has won dozens of awards for documentaries, writing, and feature reporting, including three National Edward R. Murrow awards and 20 regional Emmys. The Electronic News Association of the Carolinas has twice named him as the North Carolina Television Reporter of the Year.

Mason has worked as a reporter and bureau chief for network affiliates in Chattanooga, Tennessee; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Dayton, Ohio.

In 1991, Scott joined the PBS affiliate in Richmond, Virginia, where he created, wrote, produced, and hosted a weekly news magazine. Virginia Currents won more than 100 awards for journalistic excellence during Mason’s tenure. The United States Information Agency distributed the program to embassies worldwide.

Mason’s success caught the attention of WRAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Raleigh. In April 1997, Mason became the station’s Documentary Producer. He researched, wrote, and produced 10 documentaries before adding his talents to the nightly news team as a reporter specializing in features.

Today, Mason is known as the Tar Heel Traveler. His Monday-Thursday series on WRAL takes viewers along the back roads of North Carolina where he meets memorable characters, finds out-of-the-way places, and unearths fascinating historical footnotes. The series has become so popular it has led to Tar Heel Traveler half-hour specials, which Mason produces each quarter.

He has also published two books about his television adventures: Tar Heel Traveler: Journeys Across North Carolina (2010) and Tar Heel Traveler Eats: Food Journeys Across North Carolina (2014), both published by Rowman & Littlefield Press.

Mason’s third book is Faith and Air: The Miracle List (2017, Light Messages Publishing), a creative nonfiction account of people he has profiled during his career who say they have experienced miracles.

Mason graduated in 1984 from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he majored in Journalism and Communications. In 2015, he earned his MFA degree in creative writing at Queens University of Charlotte.

Mason lives in Raleigh with his wife Nina, daughters Lane and Genie, and son Scout.

Cultivator Bookstore is located at 301 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. For more info about this event, please call 252-395-2327.