Thompson tapped as new SI editor

The Sampson Independent is welcoming a new editor to its team even as it says a heartfelt goodbye to a long-time newsroom leader.

Chuck Thompson has been hired to helm the editorial team at The Independent, replacing Chris Berendt, a 20-year veteran writer who was named editor in 2016.

Thompson is a native of North Carolina who said he spent “just enough time in South Dakota to almost forget the feel of the humidity, the plethora of bugs, and the sound of thunder ripping through the night air without any rain to follow.”

He said he couldn’t be happier to be back home.

General manager Sherry Matthews concurred, saying she was also happy to have Thompson back in North Carolina and willing to make his home in Sampson County.

“I am thrilled that Chuck is a part of our team,” Matthews said. “He brings to the table the things I, and our readers, have come to expect — commitment to community, a laser focus on accuracy and a desire to tell the stories that are uniquely Sampson.

“He will be a tremendous asset to not just our newsroom but our entire newspaper.”

A native of North Carolina, Thompson was raised in the foothills, in Shelby, NC, and has lived and worked from one end of the state to the other, from the Blue Ridge Mountains, to Wilmington, the greater Raleigh area, and now Clinton.

He comes directly to Clinton from Rapid City, South Dakota, where he covered business and economic news, state government, U.S. Forest Service, Ellsworth Air Force Base, and education.

Thompson is no stranger to hard-hitting news and interviews. From construction on bridges going over-budget, to shim fails on elevator towers on new construction hotels, and Colonel Oakley, commander of Ellsworth USAF Base spoke with Thompson regarding the January 4, 2024 crash of a B-1B Bomber, which made national news.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, South Dakota Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, Senator Ted Budd, are just a few of the more well-known figures, as of late, which Thompson has had a chance to meet, interview, and report on during his career.

Thompson, who majored in History at Lees-McRae College, is a life-long history buff who enjoys visiting Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields, museums, going fishing, and getting to the coast any opportunity he can, to enjoy boating, the calmness of the intracoastal waterway, and other times just relaxing at home with a good book.

Thompson has also worked in broadcasting, with his most recent experience being a host of a weekly afternoon news and talk radio show from 4 p.m - 6 p.m. on KOTA radio 100.7 FM in Rapid City, South Dakota, before moving back to North Carolina.

So, what made Thompson want to come back home? As a warm-blooded Southerner, he said it was the below 30 windchill through most of January that did it for him. While he said South Dakota is an absolutely beautiful state, full of amazing people, the negative temperatures helped solidify his decision to return home.

Thompson said he looks forward to settling down in Sampson County and continuing his journalistic adventure during the second half of his career.

As he prepares to take the helm of The Independent, Berendt will be making his departure on Aug. 15, leaving a stellar 20-year career as a crime reporter, government reporter and, finally, editor.

“Chris and I have worked together so long, he can nearly complete my sentences,” Matthews said of the man who succeeded her as editor in 2016 when she became GM. “He has been such a part of this newspaper, I truly cannot imagine not seeing him in the hallways or hard at work in his office.

“He has been an integral part of the editorial team for the past 20 years, and his desire to see the paper be the best it can be has always been something I have deeply appreciated. Above all things, he is perhaps one of the best writers I’ve ever had the privilege to work with in this business. I wish him well in the next chapter of his life. He will truly be missed.”

But Matthews said the paper will be in good hands with Thompson as editor.

“Like me, Chuck believes in community and is looking forward to getting out and talking to people, being a part of civic organizations and planting roots right here among us.”

Thompson rounds out a team that includes writers Alyssa Bergey and Michael Hardison, sports editor Brandt Young and Matthews, who still writes stories and editorials on occasion.

“We will be bringing you the stories you want and need to read,” Matthews said. “Together we plan to re-establish The Sampson Independent as the place to get all your local news written by local writers. We want everyone to be proud of their local newspaper and it remains our aim every day to ensure that is the case.”