John Wilson’s True Beat: A First Amendment And Conservation Legacy
My earliest memory of John Wilson comes from 400 East 11th St., the longtime home of the Chattanooga News Free Press.
It was the heyday of the mid ‘90s, when two different daily papers hit the streets and driveways.
There in the house that Roy McDonald built, John and I ran in different circles. John covered courts and courthouses, one of the most respected beats, and I was the low man on the sports department, which meant middle school track meets and softball games.
The newsroom was a hive of activity, one of the city’s civic epicenters, with dozens of reporters in various stages of work: telephoning, click-clack-typing, discussing, arguing, laughing, deadline-writing.
There was the smell of ink mixed with the scent of First Amendment democracy. For many of us, it was heaven.
In 1999, Chattanooga’s two daily newspapers merged together, forming the Times Free Press. Journalistically, we knew things were changing, but had no idea what was coming down the road.
Author’s summary: John Wilson leaves a legacy in journalism and conservation.