With the recent retirement of longtime Editor Katrena McCall, The Press and Standard remains committed to being the community’s sole source of news and information. The local team bringing that information to its readers is consistent.
The newspaper remains owned and operated by Smith Newspapers, with Colleton resident Mandy Hathcock leading the paper as its publisher.
Hathcock joined The Press and Standard as its publisher in 2020. She was the owner of former The Colletonian Newspaper in Walterboro, which closed its doors last year.
“The pandemic hit us all in many ways. For me, it was the closing my business,” she said. “But I am passionate about the newspaper business, especially in Colleton County. This community has always depended on The Press and Standard, and I am proud to be a part of that legacy. I’m grateful to be here, doing what I love to do for people I care about.”
Hathcock said The Press will continue with its current weekly printed issue, along with ongoing printed special sections, magazines and publications. She said the newspaper’s online presence will be increased this year. “We want to get even more involved in reporting the news and community events, and we will do that through several different mediums,” she said.
“We are grateful to our advertisers and our readers, for letting us do this and we continue to make plans to grow.”
Meet your Press and Standard staff
Amanda R. Mosley
Amanda R. Mosley, 36, has been with the Smith Newspapers since February of 2006. She began working at Press Printing, the former printing company that actually printed each issue. She then moved to the business office in 2014.
Mosley is the newspaper’s graphic designer, building ads, laying out the pages of the paper each week and also constructing the paper’s classified and legal sections. She has a degree in graphic design from TCL in Beaufort, and is the former graphic designer for “Homes and Land Magazine,” out of Lady’s Island.
“I love working with all the people here and I love what I do,” she said.
Vicki Brown
Vicki Brown, the Press’s staff writer, is a longtime Walterboro resident and community activist. She is a full-time writer for The Press and Standard, covering community events and news. She is graduated in 1994 from Charleston Southern University, with a degree in secondary education. She has taught Language Arts for 20 years in and has also taught journalism for seven years at Colleton County High School.
“I am happy to be a part of The Press and Standard that keeps residents informed about the people and events in their community in an impartial, truthful way.”
Susan Hiott
Susan is a Walterboro native. She began working for newspaper in July of 2019. She is the bookkeeper and the office manager. “Her duties are critical to the paper’s daily lines of business,” said Hathcock. She assists customers and clients daily with professionalism and courtesy.
Kami Merritt and Tiffany Thigpen
Kami Merritt has been selling ads for The Press and Standard for many years and Tiffany has been selling for two years at the paper. Both women are the face of the newspaper in the community, selling ads to businesses and working to keep the newspaper’s special sections filled. Their work is vital to the success of this newspaper.
Heather S. Walters
Heather has worked in the Colleton County community as a journalist since 2002. She is the former reporter and Associate Editor of The Press and Standard. She and also worked as the investigative reporter for The Colletonian Newspaper in Walterboro. She is a graduate of Francis Marion University, where she earned degrees in Communications/Journalism and in Sociology/Psychology.
“I believe in journalism. It acts as a timeline of events for your community, and it is part of our balance system for government,” she said. “The readers in our community have so many different means of getting information now, through social media. I want to keep the newspaper a vital part of that mouthpiece.
“Colleton County is a beautiful, dynamic place. I want to keep reporting on those things that make it what it is,” she said.
Katrena officially retired at the end of January. See accompanying story on pages 4 and 5.
