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==Background and career==

==Background and career==

Coates was born in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] to Guy, Sr. (1909-1998}, and Winnie Lee Coates (1916-1981), who operated a doughnut shop. He had an older sister, Dorothy Coates Talley (1934-2012). Coates graduated from what is now the [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]. He worked first for ''The Corpus Christi ([[Texas]]) Caller Times,''  then ''The Shreveport Times,'' and the [[CBS]] television affiliates KNOE in Monroe and KSLA in [[Shreveport]]. He joined the AP in [[New Orleans]] in 1968; five years later he was named the AP bureau chief at the state Capitol in [[Baton Rouge]]. He covered the activities of six Louisiana [[governor]], [[Jimmie Davis]], [[John J. McKeithen]], [[Edwin Edwards]], [[David C. Treen]], [[Buddy Roemer]], and [[Mike Foster]].<ref name=obit/>  

Coates was born in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] to Guy, Sr. (1909-1998}, and Winnie Lee Coates (1916-1981), who operated a doughnut shop. He had an older sister, Dorothy Coates Talley (1934-2012). Coates graduated from what is now the [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]. He worked first for ''The Corpus Christi ([[Texas]]) Caller Times,''  then ''The Shreveport Times,'' and the [[CBS]] television affiliates KNOE in Monroe and KSLA in [[Shreveport]]. He joined the AP in [[New Orleans]] in 1968; five years later he was named the AP bureau chief at the state Capitol in [[Baton Rouge]]. He covered the activities of six Louisiana [[governor]]s, [[Jimmie Davis]], [[John J. McKeithen]], [[Edwin Edwards]], [[David C. Treen]], [[Buddy Roemer]], and [[Mike Foster]].<ref name=obit/>  

He reported on dozens of legislative sessions and countless political campaigns. He became an expert on Louisiana politics and provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the 1973 convention that led to a new state constitution in 1974. He held public officials accountable with his tough questioning. Former [[United States Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]], a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] called Coates "one of Louisiana's finest reporters." In addition to political matters, he reported on a sniper in [[New Orleans]], Hurricane Camille in coastal [[Mississippi]] in 1969, and floods and prison riots. He was a mentor to young reporters, Each week, he published a column on Louisiana politics and government that often featured the homespun observations of a fictional friend that he named "Jethro Rotheschild."<ref name=obit>Guy Coates Obituary (1940 - 2021) - Baton Rouge, LA - The Advocate, accessed May 11, 2021.</ref>

He reported on dozens of legislative sessions and countless political campaigns. He became an expert on Louisiana politics and provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the 1973 convention that led to a new state constitution in 1974. He held public officials accountable with his tough questioning. Former [[United States Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]], a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] called Coates "one of Louisiana's finest reporters." In addition to political matters, he reported on a sniper in [[New Orleans]], Hurricane Camille in coastal [[Mississippi]] in 1969, and floods and prison riots. He was a mentor to young reporters, Each week, he published a column on Louisiana politics and government that often featured the homespun observations of a fictional friend that he named "Jethro Rotheschild."<ref name=obit>Guy Coates Obituary (1940 - 2021) - Baton Rouge, LA - The Advocate, accessed May 11, 2021.</ref>