Thomas K. Arnold is a veteran journalist who has been published in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the San Diego Union-Tribune, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, San Diego Magazine, Billboard, Ad Age, the San Diego Reader and various other local, national and regional publications. He is publisher and editorial director of Media Play News, one of the five Hollywood trades and the only one to focus on home distribution. Arnold is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, summits and other events, including CES, Digital Hollywood and events produced by trade groups OTT.X and DEG. He has appeared on television to talk about home entertainment issues on CNN’s “Showbiz Tonight,” “Entertainment Tonight,” and the G4 network’s “Attack of the Show.” Arnold lives in Carlsbad, Calif., and locally writes cover stories for the San Diego Reader.
About Thomas K. Arnold
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
I’ve been married to Diana for 32 years. She is a flight attendant for American Airlines. My oldest son, Justin, is 28, married, and works as an analyst for a consumer loan company. He and his wife, Keila, have a 5-year-old daughter, Sofia Rose-Marie Arnold, who currently attends TK at Jefferson Elementary in Carlsbad. Our second son, Conner, is 25 and an English graduate of California State University at Channel Islands. He is currently studying for his real estate license. Third, son, Hunter, 21, is a senior at California State University at Fullerton and plays drums in local punk band the Renters, who frequently gig at venues such as the Pour House and the House of Blues.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
What I like most about being a journalist is the ability to experience various slices of life, often in a single day. My role at Media Play News allows me to attend conferences about streaming, movie premieres, and lots of Hollywood lunches and parties. My freelancing for the San Diego Reader allows me to dig deep into my community, with stories ranging from a guide to local record stores and the resurgence of vinyl to an in-depth feature on the e-bike craze.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Go to the concert! If you have an opportunity to do something fun and different, jump on it. The biggest regrets in life are things we didn’t do.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Most likely the same as I am now!
Thomas K. Arnold & Our Community
Q: What are a few of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Le Papagayo, Blue Ocean, Compass, Gonzo Ramen, Garcia’s, Tortilla Mia.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I moved to Carlsbad in 1994. I was born and raised in San Diego and spent virtually my entire life in Point Loma.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Probably the late Buddy Lewis, a former mayor of Carlsbad. A fascinating man who truly put the community first.
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
The old Twin Inns building, a glamorous Victorian that is now home to a surf shop. What I wouldn’t give to go back in time and sample the famous chicken dinner!
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
A wonderful walkway along the beach from Oak to Tamarack – actually two – one on top of the bluff and another down below. I’m there virtually every day.
Q: If you could choose anyone alive today and not a relative, with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would you meet for this lunch?
Dick Van Dyke. One of my all-time favorite entertainers, still going strong in his 90s. I’d opt for a picnic lunch, on some secluded bench, overlooking the ocean. Restaurants are too noisy for what I would anticipate as being an intense and long conversation.
For Fun
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
The original The Alamo, with John Wayne. The Outer Limits.
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I have been the designated babysitter for both the Ramones and Hunter S. Thompson (twice) – although I just wrote about my second adventure with the Gonzo journalist in a Reader cover story
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
The Carlsbad Flower Fields. What a wonderful attraction!
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My granddaughter.
Q: What community organizations and/or local nonprofits do you admire/support?
I have been a member of the Rotary Club of Carlsbad for 15 years. I am a big fan of both Solutions for Change and North County Lifeline.
Q: What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Always say yes.
Q: What Neighborhood do you live in?
Olde Carlsbad
What I love about my Neighborhood:
Being able to see the ocean from wherever I walk.
Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend:
Drive south from my home in Carlsbad along the coast highway, stopping for breakfast and coffee at the Pannikin in Leucadia. Pull into the beach parking lot at Torrey Pines and then walk along the beach before hiking up the bluff and enjoying all the short little hiking trails in the state park. Head into Point Loma for lunch (squid sandwich) at Point Loma Seafoods. Swing south into Cabrillo National Monument for the views and maybe another short hike along the Bayside Trail. Then do a little record shopping at Folk Arts before dinner somewhere in Little Italy and a rock show at the Casbah. The next day, eat a bowl of oatmeal and a protein shake and then pack up my bike for the drive south to Crown Point and a 9-mile cruise along the bay- and ocean-front to Palisades Park, just north of historic Crystal Pier. On the way back I’ll stop at Woody’s for an acai bowl (with peanut butter, of course!). Next on the agenda is Balboa Park for a museum tour or zoo visit, followed by a sunset hike up Cowles Mountain. Then it’s off to dinner at some restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter or East Village recommended by my friend and downtown expert Ron Donoho, publisher of the San Diego Sun. If I still have any energy left, I’ll stop on the way home at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach to check out the action.
Q: Finally, what three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Carlsbad.
