The Knoxville News Sentinel's outdoor editor told University of Tennessee journalism students Wednesday he uses his job to create public awareness about hunting.

"Many people don't know a lot about hunting, and they are quick to make judgments without knowledge to back them up. I use my job to inform these people."

Bob Hodge has been the outdoor editor for KNS since 1995. After graduating from UT with a degree in broadcasting and a minor in journalism in 1984, he wrote for the Smoky Mountain Star and the Maryville Daily Times before getting a sports-writing job with the KNS in 1991. When the opportunity arose four years later, Hodge took over as outdoor editor.

Hodge said he took the job under one condition: He gets to focus mainly on hunting and fishing.

"I knew I wanted this job, but I only wanted it if I could write about fishing and hunting. Exclusively. I wanted to write about hardcore outdoor activities."

Hodge explained he not only wanted to talk about hunting because it is an activity he loves and grew up with, but he also knew the job would give him an authoritative platform and position to inform readers about the validity of the sport. He hears people against hunting often say it's pointless and arrogant, but he wants to inform them that most hunters use the animals they kill.

"I don't hunt just for show or for trophies," Hodge said. "It's part of my lifestyle, and my family and I eat everything we hunt. We never let an animal go to waste."

Another thing Hodge tries to fight against is the idea that hunting is a sport made up of rednecks.

In May of this year, Hodge wrote a story about a tragic hunting accident that occurred in April in Minnesota when an intoxicated man shot and killed his 8-year-old son because he mistook him for a turkey. Hodge read the original story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and felt it was a story that could raise awareness for all hunters and the public in general.

"People hear about stories like this and think we are all just a bunch of ignorant rednecks shooting anything that moves," Hodge said. "I want people to know that 99 percent of hunters would never make a mistake like this."

Hodge said he wrote the story with hopes that people would read it, realizing it was written by another hunter, and understand that not everyone involved with the sport would condone hunting irresponsibly.

Hodge said the main thing he wants is for people to respect him and other hunters and to understand the sport before they make judgments. He said he used to get a lot of hate-mail from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and other similar organizations, but they have started to leave him alone.

He said he does not have a problem with vegetarians or animals' rights activists as long as they don't have a problem with him.

"Hey, if you work for animals' rights, then good for you," Hodge said. "I think that's great. But if I am respecting you, then I expect to be respected, too."