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October 25, 2009
Descriptive writing is always the aim, even on squirrel hunting
Is it possible that a newspaper article can be too well written? In a profession devoted to storytelling, such a question normally would be heretical. But a reader raised the issue last week after we published an A5 story Monday on a squirrel hunter
Citizens should ask themselves a series of civic questions
Examples of good leadership serve to remind us that courage to lead whether popular or not and for the right reasons according to principled convictions are for the betterment of all.
October 18, 2009
Never wrestle in the mud with a pig; he likes it
There’s an expression down South. Goes something like this. Never wrestle in the mud with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it. Fox News is President Barack Obama’s pig. (In the interest of fairness, MSNBC was George W. Bush’s.)
A teacher reflects on important happenings
Teacher appreciates his students and offers them many good wishes
October 11, 2009
Other Views: BVU board member makes a case for splitting
What began as a local venture soon received an overwhelmingly positive response from regional legislators, economic development experts and business leaders who requested that BVU expand its network another 850 miles in eight neighboring counties. Overlooked and often forgotten, Southwest Virginia, where broadband was not very prevalent, was not awakened.
October 04, 2009
J. TODD FOSTER: Our Health Care Problem An Insurance And Greed Problem
I went to the doctor the other day, and he handed me an article he had printed from the online site WebMD. America does not have a health care problem, he told me, but an insurance company problem.
September 27, 2009
Novelist pal strikes literary gold with ‘Border Songs’
I’ve had the privilege of working with some talented reporters who have remained dear friends over the ages. Two of them – Jess Walter and Jim Lynch, ex-mates from the early to mid-1990s at The Spokesman Review in Spokane, Wash. – have become literary-acclaimed novelists.
SUZANNE TATE COLUMN: Famous illustrator’s work on display in Abingdon
Joseph Christian Leyendecker is sometimes billed as “America’s Other Illustrator,” behind the iconic and wildly famous Norman Rockwell.
September 13, 2009
Congratulations – again – to a terrific newsroom
This column is an ode to this newsroom, which produced 20 winners in the Mountain Empire Journalism Contest, sponsored by the Greater Tri-Cities Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
September 01, 2009
SUZANNE TATE COLUMN: Must See Ourselves Honestly To Work On Wellness
We’ve all heard the funny axiom about how well we deal with reality – that denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.
For many of us, it’s our home address. I found clearer focus on this following the health care forum U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher hosted Aug. 20 in Abingdon.
August 30, 2009
J. TODD FOSTER: School Buses, Being A ‘Republican’ Paper and Expletives
For my 4-year-old, the coolest thing about riding the school bus for the very first time was not the excitement of his first day of school. And it was not traveling in the same big yellow machine that has carried his brother to school for two years.
SUZANNE TATE: Must See Ourselves Honestly To Work On Health, Wellness
We’ve all heard the funny axiom about how well we deal with reality – that denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.
August 23, 2009
J. TODD FOSTER: Bear With Us Through Obituary Format Changes
What’s the most important part of any newspaper?
SUZANNE TATE: Intriguing, Urgent Stories Promising Cash? Run Away
I don’t know exactly what I would do with $22.25 million, which would be “50 percent as (my) share” of the business project offered to me last week.
August 16, 2009
J. Todd Foster Column: Sequins Or Rhinestones, Tie Has A New Home
For me, one of the keys to managing a newsroom is creating an environment where everyone is willing to tell you the truth at any time. A real boss wants to be stopped before he or she kills again.
Retired Marine urges strict adherence to Constitution
Have we honored those Founding Fathers and colonials who gave up their families, their fortunes and, in many cases, their lives to give us liberty? I don’t think so.
J. Todd Foster Column: Sequins Or Rhinestones, Tie Has A New Home
For me, one of the keys to managing a newsroom is creating an environment where everyone is willing to tell you the truth at any time. A real boss wants to be stopped before he or she kills again.
August 09, 2009
J. TODD FOSTER: Directive Against Attorney-Client Sex Necessary
The Virginia State Bar blew it. Or came close to blowing it.
August 02, 2009
Bro-mance with Barack or not, he must govern
Eventually it comes down not to Barack Obama’s personality and winning smile but to his ability to govern
Gubernatorial bench forgotten in wake of Obama visit
The bench is a bit rickety and rusty now, but it is a spot where several Virginia governors sat to be interviewed.
July 26, 2009
J. TODD FOSTER COLUMN: My Battle with a Marine for Air Supremacy
In the eight years since 9/11, I avoided flying until last Sunday. That experience on Delta Airlines validated my choice to stay grounded.
July 20, 2009
SUZANNE TATE COLUMN: E-cigarettes Just Another Nicotine Delivery Method
You may have noticed a newer product for sale in malls and online designed to “help” smokers; at first glance you might even think they are cigarettes.
July 12, 2009
J. Todd Foster Column: Boucher’s Next Election Might Be Decided By Energy BIll
With his recent support of a cap-and-trade energy bill, the National Republican Congressional Committee has taken aim at U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va.
July 03, 2009
Many Citizens Urge Income Tax Repeal
Deficit spending has ballooned from $22 billion in 1933 to $10 trillion today. We have a Congress that, like King George, is dictating to us rather than representing us.
June 14, 2009
J. Todd Foster Column: Can’t We All Just Get Along? Or At Least Be Civil?
Newspaper editors and reporters get used to reader abuse, but if you want to incur my wrath, knowingly lie by accusing me of a journalistic death-penalty ethics violation – all because my politics don’t mirror yours.
May 10, 2009
J. Todd Foster Column: They Are Women; Let Them Roar From High Court
There’s a way for President Barack Obama to use merit and gender equality to find a successor to retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter and give Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg a female peer.
May 05, 2009
One Nurse’s View on Patient Care
Do you want an 18-year-old with only a year of experience and less than two weeks of education administering medication to you in a nursing home or assisted care living facility?
May 03, 2009
Rock Star of Science Draws Overflow Crowd for Kingsport Library Talk
World-renowned forensic scientist Dr. Bill Bass - who founded the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility, also known as the Body Farm - drew throngs of people to the Kingsport Public Library to hear him speak.
J. TODD FOSTER: Beware of the Cloven-Hooved-Animals-With-Curly-Tails Flu
The 1918 swine flu pandemic killed at least 20 million people worldwide and up to 100 million. It affected a third of the world’s population. It was the H1N1 strain. It appears to be back. Let’s not sugarcoat it with euphemisms or feed at the trough of political correctness. Let’s deal with it.
April 26, 2009
FOSTER COLUMN: They Use Live Dogs for Shark Bait and Other Tidbits
For years, I resisted joining the online social networking site Facebook. Such a public site isn’t usually a good idea for newspaper editors and other people who don’t want to be found, including those relocated through federal witness-protection programs.
