Times News announces reporter changes for Kingsport, Sullivan County

KINGSPORT -- Two current Times News reporters have transitioned to new roles, effective this week. Former business reporter Allison Winters will now cover the city of Kingsport, and former education reporter Rick Wagner will cover Sullivan County. Allison Winters Winters graduated from East Tennessee State University's brand and media strategy master's program in 2023. She also received her bachelor's degree from ETSU in 2021, majoring in media and communication with a concentration in journalism. She served as the executive editor of the East Tennessean student newspaper for two years and has worked for the Kingsport Times News since November 2022. Winters was named the inaugural Six Rivers Media Scholar in May 2021. Originally from Mount Juliet, Tennessee, Winters moved to the area to attend ETSU and moved to Kingsport to further her journalism career. In her new role, Winters will cover Kingsport government, crime and courts, business/economic development and features. "I am excited to expand my coverage of Kingsport in the city I have called home for the past three years," Winters said. "It has been a joy to get to know the Model City and its residents, and I hope to continue to do so in the role." To share a story idea related to the city of Kingsport, reach out to Winters via email at awinters@sixriversmedia.com. Rick Wagner Wagner has worked for the Times News for almost 21 years. He first covered business, and then moved to covering education in 2009. Since then, he has covered Kingsport and Sullivan County public schools, as well as local colleges and post-secondary programs. A 1987 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, he holds a bachelor's of science with higher honors in communications with a news-editorial emphasis. He was a reporter, managing editor and editor of The Daily Beacon student newspaper. After graduation from UT, he took an internship at The Nashville Banner in June of 1987 before getting a permanent job at the Bristol Herald Courier, where he worked from the fall of 1987 to late 2004 before joining the Times News staff in April of 2005. In his new role, Wagner will cover Sullivan County government, crime and courts, business/economic development and features. "I covered Sullivan County local government, Sullivan County Schools and Tennessee politics for the Bristol paper for more than 16 years, before that covering night cops, some features and general assignment," Wagner said of the beat change. "My first commission meeting in June of 1989 went from 9 a.m. to after 11 p.m. and included passage of a property tax increase. My first commission meeting since the beat change, Feb. 19, included 30 minutes of sometimes heated public comment opposing the county's ICE or Immigration and Customs Enforcement." To share a story idea related to Sullivan County, reach out to Wagner via email at rwagner@sixriversmedia.com.