Clint Cooper is the Free Press editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, representing the conservative side of the newspaper's opinion section. Previously he worked as a lifestyles reporter, and has been an assistant sports editor and Metro staff writer for the newspaper. Prior to the merger between the Chattanooga Free Press and Chattanooga Times in 1999, he was sports news editor for the Chattanooga Free Press, where he was in charge of the day-to-day content of the section and the section's design. Before becoming sports news editor, he was a staff writer. In the Life section, he is responsible for the content of the weekly religion page but also contributes entertainment stories to the current section; health, home and profile stories for the daily Life pages; and general news articles to the news columns. In the past, he has written on technology and baby boomers for the section. Clint has received honors over the years for his writing and design in both individual work and work as part of a team or section. Among those are several best overall team coverage awards from the Southern League (when he was either lead writer or content/design editor), a best section award by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association (when he was content/design editor) and several first-place awards in the community lifestyles category of the Tennessee Press Association contest (as part of a staff). The Chattanooga native is a cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a degree in mass communications and did postgraduate work there in secondary education. Clint and his wife of 21 years, Donna, have one son, Patrick, 18. He enjoys acting, reading and running. Contact Clint at 423-757-6497 or ccooper@timesfreepress.com. You may friend him on Facebook.
The Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center, in its various non de plumes, has been wandering in the wilderness for as long as the country's longest war.
by Clint CooperIn Las Vegas, not surprisingly, it was all about the sizzle.
by Clint CooperAlthough one sexual abuse case is one too many, priests in the Catholic Church who have perpetrated such actions do not mean the church as a whole does not and has not done enormous good through the years
by Clint CooperWith former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg rising in the polls against doubts any of the long-declared Democratic candidates can defeat President Donald Trump for re-election, words he spoke in the past and comments he was rumored to have made are resurfacing.
by Clint CooperU.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, finally has found a job that fits her. She announced last week she'll be a celebrity guest judge on "RuPaul's Drag Race" this season.
by Clint CooperHamilton County residents in early voting that has begun for the March 3 election are being asked to determine if the county's Assessor of Property office is being run fairly and efficiently.
by Clint CooperFaith is loosely defined as belief in something without having proof.
by Clint CooperA number of the Chattanooga area residents who attended the Wednesday rally for Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg clearly were shopping.
by Clint CooperIn eight days, the Hamilton County Board of Education will discuss whether to extend the contract of Superintendent Bryan Johnson.
by Clint CooperDuring the early and mid-2010s, the crime problem in Chattanooga threatened to spiral out of control.
by Clint CooperU.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, who told a New Hampshire interviewer last October that to reduce her carbon footprint she mostly flies commercial, appeared to hide behind a staff member last week after stepping off a private plane in Iowa and spotting a camera following her.
by Clint CooperIndividuals can quibble about whether the State of the Union address was the proper venue in which to award a Presidential Medal of Freedom last week, but the recipient who was awarded is every bit as deserving as the hundreds of people already honored.
by Clint CooperIf you're confused about the salary conversations surrounding Hamilton County teachers over the past year, you're not alone.
by Clint CooperThe United States made official Wednesday what every member of Congress knew was a foregone conclusion when the House of Representatives launched a formal impeachment inquiry last Sept. 24.
by Clint CooperWe'll admit up front we're no fans of what the State of the Union speech has become, but Tuesday night's spectacle was the oddest in memory.
by Clint CooperImagine yourself Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren or Joe Biden or Pete Buttigieg or Amy Klobuchar on Tuesday morning.
by Clint CooperYour local government has been at work — destroying records. Were they important records? We wish we could tell you, but we can't.
by Pam Sohn and Clint CooperDemocratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, seemingly desperate to get some love from the man who selected him as vice president, said for the second time in recent weeks he would appoint former President Barack Obama to the United States Supreme Court if he would take the job.
by Clint CooperOne thing is clear from the second round of meetings on the Hamilton County School district's potential 10-year master facilities plan: The community still is unable to realistically deal with it.
by Clint Cooper"Our long national nightmare is over." — President Gerald Ford
by Clint Cooper