Jim Hipps is a product of the Deep South. Born in Helena, Arkansas, as a child he lived in five different Southern states, and most of his early education was in the public school system in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Memphis State University and the University of Tennessee, before joining the Army during the Vietnam War. While in the military, he was a reporter for, and editor of, two different Army newspapers, as well as a correspondent for the "Stars & Stripes - Pacific." After his tour of duty, he began a successful 40-year career in both print and broadcast journalism. By the time he