Long-time newspaperman, photographer, and videographer who sold his first news photo more than 60 years ago, still writes and shoots photos for Lee Enterprises newspapers, provides TV news for local stations/networks, and produces documentaries. He is also the founder and publisher of Capitol Hill Blue, the oldest political news channel on the Internet, and owns Blue Ridge Muse, a hyperlocal website in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwestern Virginia. A member of the National Press Photographers Association, Thompson also owns Blue Ridge Photography, LLC.