On October 8, 1953, while serving as editor of the
University of Georgia's student newspaper –
The Red & Black – he wrote a column that angered many in power by saying the university was misguided to deny admission to
Horace Ward just because he was black. "There's absolutely no logic in excluding the Negro from the white man's way of life, especially at a university," Shipp wrote. He was fired from the newspaper over the column, and "encouraged" to leave the campus, which he did, joining the
U.S. Army and serving
West Germany. He met his wife there and brought her back with him. After Shipp came home from military service in 1956, he worked full-time at the
Atlanta Constitution editing and writing, during which time over the next 30 years he covered the civil rights movement, along with the early days of the space program, numerous political campaigns, and breaking stories all over the world. He also was the first to break the news that
Jimmy Carter was running for president. Shipp served as associate editor of
Georgia Trend Magazine. He wrote a twice-weekly column that appeared in more than sixty Georgia newspapers. Shipp was a regular panelist on
The Georgia Gang, a weekly commentary program on news and politics which appeared on
WAGA-TV, Channel 5. ==Books==