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.
"We must act!" "Do something!" "Policy and change!"
by Clint Cooper 5 hours agoShould we be dismayed or gratified that college enrollment of high school graduates in Hamilton County has fallen nearly 11% over the last five years, according to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC)?
by Clint CooperThe drumbeat for educational choice is getting louder, and it can't happen fast enough. Especially for minority communities.
by Clint CooperMost parents make rules about what's right and what's wrong for their children from their own experiences, from what has stood the test of time and from what they believe provides the most safety.
by Clint CooperIn the minds of some conspiracists across the country, Jews are behind what has now notoriously been called "the great replacement theory."
by Clint CooperYou may recall there was a little to-do last year when legislators across the line from Tennessee in Georgia updated the state's voter laws. You might have read or heard about it.
by Clint CooperEven if all that recent Hamilton County mayoral candidate Sabrena Smedley alleges is true about crossover voting in the May 3 primary election, she faces an uphill climb in convincing the Tennessee Republican Party's State Executive Committee to overturn the results of the election.
by Clint CooperThe Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, geographically surrounded by larger airports in Knoxville, Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta and Charlotte, always seems to be fighting for its share of flights, generally, and nonstop flights, specifically.
by Clint CooperIt wasn't so long ago that the shoe was on the other foot.
by Clint CooperThe placement of news articles on Page A16 in the July 6, 1969, edition of the Chattanooga Times was random, but it held prescience of coming events.
by Clint CooperThe news that Tennessee state Sen. Bo Watson signed off on controversial legislation on which his lawyer wife, Nicole, had lobbied the legislature doesn't make us think the senator is corrupt.
by Clint CooperTennessee voters will get the opportunity in November to remove a clause from the state constitution forbidding members of the clergy from serving in the state legislature - 44 years after the United States Supreme Court deemed the wording unconstitutional.
by Clint CooperOur friends across the state line from Tennessee in Georgia have quite the Republican primary brewing. And we're not talking about the race for governor.
by Clint CooperIt's not as if Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee hadn't made his point clear on the issue.
by Clint CooperHamilton County Republican voters in Tuesday's primary election opted for older and less strident voices in their Hamilton County Board of Education candidates.
by Clint CooperIt passed by with little notice earlier this week, but Tennesseans without dependents who are receiving temporary government assistance, and can work, now must work (or participate in job training or do volunteer work).
by Clint CooperAny speculation that a last-minute push for Black voters was made to help Weston Wamp win the Republican primary for Hamilton County mayor would be interesting if it could be proven.
by Clint CooperThe third time may be the charm for Weston Wamp.
by Clint CooperThe most prominent national news story of the day early Tuesday - that a leaked draft of a United States Supreme Court opinion striking down the Roe v. Wade abortion law may have been written - was based on an unconfirmed report by one news blog but was treated as gospel by traditional media because it is an important issue to their partners on the left.
by Clint CooperWhen the Tennessee legislature passed the Basic Education Program (then the Basic Education Plan) for K-12 public education in 1992, not everybody thought it was a panacea.
by Clint Cooper