The Johnson City Press and Kingsport Times-News Had Their Sports Department Almost Entirely Restaffed With No Fallout
Three writers have left in the past seven months.
Recently, Six Rivers Media, responsible for publishing the Johnson City Press and Kingsport Times-News, experienced a mass turnover of sportswriters.
To begin the year Joe Avento and Doug Fritz left after careers of 35 and 36 years at the Press, respectfully.
A few months later Tanner Cook, who replaced Avento as sports editor, then left Six Rivers himself.
When Cook left he was a guest on Don Helman’s weekend sports talk show, but nothing has been said in more than seven months since Avento and Fritz departed.
Usually when two writers with whose careers span that of seven Presidential administrations at a newspaper leave, there is a sense of loss.
Not here.
Avento had been covering ETSU sports during his entire time at the Press, first covering Fred Warren’s golf team and gradually becoming the Bucs’ full time beat writer after Kelly Hodge left in 2009. He had shared Bucs coverage with Hodge previously.
