Russ McBee

Here's something I don't say very often: a story in today's Knoxville News Sentinel is such a masterful example of beautiful storytelling, it brought a tear to my eye. This piece by Scott Barker describes the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's Music And Wellness Program, in which musicians visit hospital wards to serenade the patients with the ...

David Neiwert, who has written extensively about eliminationist rhetoric from the right wing against liberals, had this to say about Sunday's tragedy in Knoxville: In reality, of course, rhetoric like this has historically played a critical role in some of the ugliest episodes in American history, as well as thousands of little acts of ...

Yesterday, a senseless act of non-random violence struck this city. A man, mad at the world and blaming liberals for his personal ills, targeted the innocent congregants of a progressive church in Knoxville, killing two and wounding seven. Like everyone else in Knoxville, I've spent the last couple of days in a state of shock over this. Described ...

Last night, I attended a dinner sponsored by the UT School of Journalism and Electronic Media, as part of this week's conference on Web journalism. I felt honored to be invited (since I'm not a journalist); I attended with some friends, and I also had a chance to meet several people whose work I've long admired (I wish I'd had a chance to say ...