Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee and previously covered North Georgia education.
Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties and later adding Marion, Grundy and other counties in the northern and western edges of the region to his coverage.
He was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School.
Benton has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the the University of Tennessee.
In 2003, he won first place for Best New Photograph in Group III of the Tennessee Press Association contest. He also placed fourth for Best News Story the same year.
Ben previously worked at The Daily Post-Athenian in Athens, Tenn., The Herald-News, in Dayton, Tenn., and at the Knoxville Journal, in Knoxville.
Ben lives in Chattanooga with his wife, son and father. He has been a Chattanooga resident since 1988.
Contact Ben at 423-757-6569 and at bbenton@timesfreepress.com.
Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/BenBenton.
Recent Stories »
Four people have died in two separate apparent drownings investigated over the last few days at sites just a few miles apart in Northeast Alabama.
Franklin County, Tenn., is just a few readings away from rules making pseudoephedrine-based cold medicines available only by prescription.
Jackson County, Ala.'s county administrator was fired Monday by a unanimous vote by the County Commission.
Jackson County, Ala., administrator Sandra Erickson was fired Monday for “gross neglect” as the county struggles with its budget, according to county officials.
MANCHESTER, Tenn. — The parking lot at the Walmart near the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival site in Manchester looked like a tie-dye explosion.
Like a return trip to the 1970s, the speed limit on 25 miles of Interstate 24 later this week will drop to 55 mph to improve safety for travelers during the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn.
State officials for the first time are lowering the speed limit on Interstate 24 to 55 mph starting at Monteagle, Tenn., and going north through the roughly defined Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival event area in Manchester to improve safety.
Sequatchie County, Tenn., voters will decide as soon as August whether they want a $20 wheel tax to help the county offset anticipated Affordable Care Act health costs estimated at $300,000 a year.
Middle Tennessee got socked by outside instigators who "hijacked" a public meeting last week, turning what was meant to be a step toward harmony into something more akin to a KKK rally, according to a member of the Muslim panel that sponsored the event.
What is it about Fort Payne, Ala., Mayor Larry Chesser's choices in wheels?
