Ask The Editor: -30- on a career

A gunman fired a .22-caliber bullet into my father's chest during an overnight gas station robbery more than a half century ago. My father, working graveyard shift, was cleaning the men's room of a Los Angeles-area station when two robbers burst in and demanded keys to a locked cashbox. When my father started to speak, one of the robbers pulled the trigger. My father survived. The robbers got away. No arrests were made. As a second-grader, I shared the account at school. My teacher accused me of "making up stories" and said if it were true that "I would have read it in the newspaper." Sometimes I wonder if the teacher's comment became the impetus for my career in journalism, which comes to an end Jan. 23, 2026, after working for newsrooms in California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Tennessee. I am retiring after 45 years — the last 10 years in the Tri-Cities. My career started at age 19 as a part-time sports reporter at The Bakersfield Californian. I covered a cross-country meet my first day and turned in an overwritten 40-inch story. My editor cut the story to about 12 inches. I tell staff members that being a reporter is the greatest job in the world because it is. You learn valuable life lessons as a reporter — for example, taking ownership for an error, developing relationships by building sources, and graciously accepting constructive criticism from readers or an experienced editor. As a reporter, I wrote several hundred stories about traumatic deaths — murders, drownings, plane crashes and so on. Career highlights include coverage of space shuttle landings at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, a two-week assignment to the former Soviet Union, the powerful and deadly 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake, airspace violations over Camp David and the Amerithrax (anthrax attacks) saga in Frederick, Maryland, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. I once traveled to Alaska on assignment to background a triple-murderer and discovered that he killed three people as a juvenile. His court records had been sealed, and no one knew of his violent past until he killed again. I wrote about a professional hitman who dressed up as Santa Claus to complete a contract killing. My team in York, Pennsylvania, used the power of a Freedom of Information Act request to dislodge documents that led to the liberation of a condemned man on death row. Earlier this year, I served as a media witness to Tennessee's first execution of a condemned inmate in five years. The demand for local news from a trusted local source has never been greater. I can state with absolute certainty that Six Rivers Media reporters and editors hold dear the profession's foundational pillars of truth, accuracy and fairness. As an editor, I am proud of the deeper-dive and watchdog journalism projects accomplished during my time with Six Rivers Media — our ongoing coverage of Helene, for example, which recently received national recognition. In 2022, the Kingsport Times News received a National Headliner Award for its 2021 staff project, "Meth Mountain," which brought the region's methamphetamine epidemic to light through detailed data, analysis and first-person accounts of addiction and recovery. Our 2023 series, "Breathless: Coal's Silent Toll," dug deep into the status of black lung and silicosis cases. We found victims are younger and the trust fund for benefits is broke and hardly pays enough to live on. Earlier this year, SRM reporters and editors tested Tennessee's open records law by asking to inspect public documents in Sullivan, Hawkins, Washington, Carter, Unicoi and Johnson counties. Our survey found nearly one of every seven requests to see public records was either ignored or met with resistance by local government officials or their employees. Reporters and editors across all four Six Rivers Media newsrooms are currently on a journey to research, report and write about fentanyl and its ripple effects across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. The series — "Fentanyl's Fatal Grip" — will be chunked out over the next year and beyond. Your subscription to the Kingsport Times News, Johnson City Press, Erwin Record and The Tomahawk in Mountain City makes this type of journalism possible. I have had the honor of hosting SRM's "Word On The Street" podcast, and I want to thank all the local newsmakers who have been on the show. I also want to thank all the services clubs, organizations and colleges who have invited me to speak to your groups and students. Speaking of students, I launched SRM's College Media Day four years ago. I am delighted that so many young people are interested in journalism. Once a reporter, always a reporter. I still make beat calls and meet sources off campus for background conversations that point to an exclusive story. I like to eat breakfast at Waffle House to gather my hyper-local news — what are people talking about? What's the talk of the town? I will be around for a few more weeks. I would love to land one last scoop before I leave. Have a story tip? Email me at rwalters@sixriversmedia.com Rob Walters is the content director for Six Rivers Media. Contact him at rwalters@sixriversmedia.com.