"I don't think Mr. Roy would be pleased to see this sad state of affairs" Mr. Statel, you've got to be kidding, at best! Mr. Roy's philosophy was one of "happy news": publish all the garden club photos, write about Farmer Brown's big pumpkin. Investigative in-depth reporting was not in his vocabulary. And, yes, I agree with you, the current version of our daily newspaper does little, if any, in the way of investigative journalism, but they do one hell of a job of comprehensive, thorough news coverage presented and written in a very professional mannter. We are not New York nor Washington, and investigative journalism in a city of this size is a luxury in which the print industry seldom indulges. yes, there certainly is a profit motive, but have you seen the sad state of the state's largest newspaper, The Tennessean? Once the spawning ground for some great journalists and a few Pulitzers, it has become little more than a wire service rag--and now costs one dollar at the rack! Corporate consolidation and acquisitions have changed the face of print journalism as has the weak economy of the past few years. With so many media competing for readers' attention, our culture has changed and the print world has suffered terribly as a result. I for one thought that Griscom did an excellent job leading the paper through a very difficult time. I hope his successor does half the job he did. Ron Patton
As a former News Free Press reporter who worked with Tom in the mid-70's, I am saddened to see his departure. Under his leadership, the combined Times and Free Press has consistently distinguished itself as one of the best mid-sized daily papers in the nation. Extent of coverage, diversity, competency of writing staff and overall commitment to quality news coverage have been trademarks of the city's newspaper under Griscom. One need look no further than the press associations: the paper consistently leads the region in awards and recognitions from its peers. In an era when absentee corporate ownership has traded quality journalism for profits, Chattanooga can take pride in having one of the better papers in the nation among cities of our size. Kudos to Tom for a decade-plus of quality journalism. His departure will be our loss. Rlpatton@comcast.net, Hixson
Griscom resigning as newspaper's chief
"I don't think Mr. Roy would be pleased to see this sad state of affairs" Mr. Statel, you've got to be kidding, at best! Mr. Roy's philosophy was one of "happy news": publish all the garden club photos, write about Farmer Brown's big pumpkin. Investigative in-depth reporting was not in his vocabulary. And, yes, I agree with you, the current version of our daily newspaper does little, if any, in the way of investigative journalism, but they do one hell of a job of comprehensive, thorough news coverage presented and written in a very professional mannter. We are not New York nor Washington, and investigative journalism in a city of this size is a luxury in which the print industry seldom indulges. yes, there certainly is a profit motive, but have you seen the sad state of the state's largest newspaper, The Tennessean? Once the spawning ground for some great journalists and a few Pulitzers, it has become little more than a wire service rag--and now costs one dollar at the rack! Corporate consolidation and acquisitions have changed the face of print journalism as has the weak economy of the past few years. With so many media competing for readers' attention, our culture has changed and the print world has suffered terribly as a result. I for one thought that Griscom did an excellent job leading the paper through a very difficult time. I hope his successor does half the job he did. Ron Patton
Griscom resigning as newspaper's chief
As a former News Free Press reporter who worked with Tom in the mid-70's, I am saddened to see his departure. Under his leadership, the combined Times and Free Press has consistently distinguished itself as one of the best mid-sized daily papers in the nation. Extent of coverage, diversity, competency of writing staff and overall commitment to quality news coverage have been trademarks of the city's newspaper under Griscom. One need look no further than the press associations: the paper consistently leads the region in awards and recognitions from its peers. In an era when absentee corporate ownership has traded quality journalism for profits, Chattanooga can take pride in having one of the better papers in the nation among cities of our size. Kudos to Tom for a decade-plus of quality journalism. His departure will be our loss. Rlpatton@comcast.net, Hixson