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Your connection to industry & member news | Aug. 7, 2025
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Sign up for ad sales training with Ryan Dohrn on Sept. 19
- Selling value when the advertiser is focused only on price
- Grow your pipeline: 10 ideas to book more advertiser meetings
- AI-powered sales: Elevate your sales strategy
- Winning the tug of war with time, 10 ideas to do more with less
Dohrn is the Emmy award-winning creator of the 360 Ad Sales Training system and is a globally recognized media revenue consultant to over 500 companies. Unlike other media sales training consultants, Ryan actually sells advertising every day. His resume includes time in promotions and sales at The NY Times Company, Disney, Cumulus, Vance Publishing, Morris Publishing and PennWell. He has trained and coached over 30,000 ad sales reps to date and speaks over 60 times per year. In total, Ryan has been a part of over $500 million in ad sales to date. Ryan loves teaching ad sales reps his simple and effective way to achieve ad sales success.
Thanks to sponsorship from the SCPA Foundation Smoak Fund, the cost to attend is
only $75, which includes a boxed lunch. This session is limited to 30 attendees so please sign up soon if you'd like to attend.
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By Brandon Roberts, Summerville Communications
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| I’m not the only one who got lucky Let me say this up front: being married to a journalist isn’t always easy. The hours are weird, the assignments aren’t always glamorous and I have a complicated relationship with my phone. But still — I think my spouse and I both hit the jackpot.
My wife, Rhonda, and I have been close friends since high school (Class of 1998) and just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary, and somehow, I still tend to be misunderstood. People think journalists are always chasing scandals or interrogating everyone at dinner. But the truth is, being married to a journalist comes with some unexpected (and underrated) perks. Since I happen to be both a journalist and a married man, I feel qualified to lay out the case:
1. We have elite B.S. detectors. You can’t fake your way through dinner with us — we’ll notice. But that means we expect honesty, and we give it in return.
2. We work odd hours, which makes us flexible. Want lunch on a Tuesday? A mid-morning Target run? A spontaneous weekend getaway between deadlines? We’ll make it work.
3. We’re terrifyingly good at Scrabble. Seriously, don’t challenge us unless you’re OK with losing on a triple-word score.
4. We meet deadlines. If you love punctuality, a journalist won’t leave you waiting.
5. We’re walking news alerts. You’ll never miss a headline again — or that new ordinance no one else noticed. Read more
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|  It's last call to RSVP for next week's Editor's Roundtable! Editors: join us Aug. 15 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. at SCPA Offices in Columbia to collaborate with your peers. Please RSVP by Friday if you'd like to attend.
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Leadership reshaped as Seneca Journal becomes employee-owned
The (Seneca) Journal and its parent company, the Edwards Group, have recently made changes in both its ownership and leadership structure.
Hal Welch, who previously served as general manager of The Journal for more than a decade, has been promoted to publisher and editor of The Journal. Welch will continue to serve as chief operating officer of the Edwards Group, a role he has held for four years. [Welch currently serves as President of SCPA.]
Larry Davidson, who served as advertising director since 2020, has been promoted to general manager of The Journal, while advertising representative JD Donald will be moving into the advertising director role.
These changes come on the heels of The Journal — along with other Edwards Group newspapers and radio stations across the country — being transitioned to its employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), a retirement plan that gives employees a stake in the company.
Jerry Edwards, former owner of the Edwards Group and publisher of The Journal, will now serve as chairman of the Edwards Group Board of Directors.
“Since the inception of our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), I have been preparing to gradually transition from my roles as CEO of Edwards Group and publisher of The Journal to chairman of the board over the next year,” Edwards said. “This change will allow me to focus more strategically on growth through acquisitions while continuing to support the mission and values that have guided us.”
Edwards said today, Edwards Group “proudly” includes more than 130 employee-owners across three states who operate 11 newspaper and magazine print products, 13 radio stations and translators, two job shops in Wyoming and Michigan and the “largest offset printing facility across four states” located in Westminster — which Edwards said prints more than 12 million pages each month.
By Caleb Gilbert, The (Seneca) Journal | Read more
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 | The Inspiration Award was presented to North Myrtle Beach Times Publisher Polly Lowman (center). (Photo by Lynn Bellamy)
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| Polly Lowman receives North Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club award
On Friday, July 25, members of the North Myrtle Beach Woman’s Club presented the 2025 Inspiration Award to Polly Lowman at the North Myrtle Beach Times newspaper office.
A presentation speech was written to commemorate what Lowman has accomplished throughout her 89 years in Little River and North Myrtle Beach.
Kathy Heagen, club president, read the following before presenting the award.
“It is my great honor to present our third annual Inspiration Award – an award that celebrates determination, vision and the power of one woman to uplift an entire community. And this year, there is no one more deserving than the woman we lovingly call Miss Polly – Polly Lowman.
If you’re new to North Myrtle Beach and haven’t yet had the pleasure of meeting Miss Polly, I have just one piece of advice for you – find her. You’ll most likely spot her at the North Myrtle Beach Times where she’s still hard at work nearly every day. And if you take a moment to speak with her, I promise, you’ll leave that conversation not only wiser about our community’s past but also more inspired about its future.
Miss Polly has been the heartbeat of North Myrtle Beach for decades. She founded the North Myrtle Beach Times on February 24, 1971 – becoming its only publisher and fierce guiding force ever since. She went on to launch the Loris Times on August 7, 1991, and through both publications, she has created a lasting legacy that has informed and inspired generations of readers.
From North Myrtle Beach Times | Read more
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|  Vashti Smith, intern for The Link in Cheraw, recently received a certificate for completing “Earn Your Press Pass.” Smith is a senior journalism major at Hampton University. Thanks to funding from the SCPA Foundation, there is no charge for members to use this self-paced online journalism and ad sales training course. If you have a reporter, sales rep or intern who could benefit, please sign up!
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|  | Congratulations to SCETV and S.C. Public Radio for winning four S.C. Broadcasters Association awards including the STAR Award– Convergence Coverage TV for "Focus on Helene” and a Merit Award –Best Use of Digital Platforms (Radio) to The State House Gavel – Russ McKinney, Maayan Schechter and Gavin Jackson. SCETV is an Associate Member of SCPA.
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|  Kimberly Williams, an educator at Macedonia Elementary Middle School in Blackville, shared this photo of People-Sentinel reporter Stephanie Shaver and a student. Shaver was photographing the first day of school when she noticed a student who was upset and missing her mom. She took the time to comfort the student.
“She’s so sweet and compassionate. She got down on the floor to try to help comfort a crying student,” said Williams of Shaver.
“We don’t share this to toot our own horn or promote ourselves, but we hope it serves as an example about the power of kindness and compassion - neither of which costs anything to display. Our world needs more of both!” said newspaper publisher Jonathan Vickery.
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|  | WCRE’s “WakeUp with Mitch and Angie Cee” with Mitch Johnson and Angela Crawford was recently named the best Radio Morning Show in the state from the S.C. Broadcasters Association. WCRE is the sister station to The Link in Cheraw. Newspaper and station owner Jane Pigg is past president of SCPA and SCBA.
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Failure to launch: Calhoun Falls special called meeting ends before it begins
What was supposed to be a special called meeting for the Calhoun Falls Town Council at 2:30 Saturday afternoon was adjourned shortly after 3 p.m., before it ever even started.
An agenda was posted on the Town Hall door Friday afternoon, but the meeting was otherwise not announced on the town’s Facebook page — its only website. According to code §30‐4‐80 of South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act, agendas for regular and special meetings must be posted at least 24 hours prior to the meeting at the main office and on the public body’s website.
Despite having only posted the agenda on Town Hall’s door, some residents took photos and shared the agenda through text and on social media. About 20 residents showed up to attend the called meeting.
By Mundy Price, Index-Journal | Read more
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Former Midlands school board member allowed to sue colleagues for conspiracy
A former Midlands school board member can add his former school board colleagues to an existing lawsuit against a current school board member, a judge has ruled.
Ken Loveless, a former member of the Lexington-Richland 5 school board, can expand his defamation lawsuit against current board member Kevin Scully to include former board members Beth Hutchison and Ed White, former school board attorney Michael Montgomery, and White’s wife Bea White. Loveless accuses all of the defendants of being part of an illegal conspiracy against him.
The decision by Judge Charles McCutchen now allows Loveless’ lawsuit to move forward against all the defendants.
Loveless had previously filed a federal lawsuit against Hutchison, Montgomery, White and former school board member Michael Cates. That suit alleged his former school board colleagues conspired to defame him and violate his free speech rights by accusing him of unethical conduct in his relations with the firm building a new elementary school.
By Bristow Marchant, The State | Read more
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Spartanburg Sheriff’s Office spent thousands on helicopter fuel without mission logs, records show
In the year-and-a-half period from Jan. 1, 2023, through July 4, 2024, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office bought more than $16,500 worth of fuel for its helicopters at Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport without any corresponding mission log explaining why a helicopter was being used.
An audit of the helicopter program originally was announced by interim Sheriff Jeffery Stephens. But it was called off after county council cut funding to the aviation program, with County Councilman Monier Abusaft saying the helicopters were former Sheriff Chuck Wright’s “plaything.”
“We are not going to open up an audit of that program as it is now defunct and would be a waste of time that could be devoted towards something productive and that would help us to move forward,” sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Graham McLellan said in an email.
Under department policy, mission logs were required anytime the helicopters were used, McClellan said. That didn’t always happen.
The Post and Courier used records requests to obtain all 130 mission logs for SCSO helicopter flights from the year-and-a-half time period, as well as records from the airport showing all fuel purchases the sheriff’s office made for its helicopters there.
By Christian Boschult, The Post and Courier Spartanburg | Read more
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Online news publishers face 'extinction-level event' from Google's AI-powered search
When Google unveiled AI Overviews last year, online publishers worried that the AI-generated blurbs in the top spot of search results would spark precipitous declines in traffic and gut the business model of vast reaches of the web.
Now, there is growing evidence validating those fears.
New research shows the web traffic that publishers have long relied on is significantly slowing, thanks to AI-generated summaries and the rise of AI chatbots.
By Bobby Allyn and John Ruwitch, NPR | Read more
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Report for America grant application deadline is Oct. 20
Report for America is a national service program that places talented journalists—corps members—into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities.
The window to apply for consideration as a host newsroom opens Sept. 15 and the deadline to apply is Oct. 20.
Winning host newsrooms will be announced in January 2026, with Report for America corp members starting work in July 2026.
Here is more information if you are interested in becoming a host newspaper.
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The good, the bad, and the completely made-up: Newsrooms on wrestling accurate answers out of AI
Erlend Ofte Arntsen has filed more Freedom of Information Act requests than he can count — triple digits by one tally, quadruple when you include follow-ups and related requests.
Now, a new newsroom assistant at one of Norway’s largest newspapers is transforming Arntsen’s workflow, saving time that could be better spent on shoe-leather reporting than arguing in legalese with government bureaucrats.
That assistant is called FOIA Bot and is powered by generative AI. When the government sends back a request or rejection, the bot comes up with a competent rejoinder, given its access to the whole of Norway’s FOIA law and 75 templates of similar responses from the Norwegian Press Association.
“It’s something I would have had to use a half a day [for] when I’m back in my investigative unit, where I have time to think those long thoughts,” Arntsen, who works at Verdens Gang, told Nieman Lab. “I was able to get this done on a night shift working breaking news, because I used that bot.”
By Josh Axelrod, Nieman Lab | Read more
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5 proven strategies to deepen audience engagement
Building trust and loyalty with our audiences is more essential than ever.
Why?
It drives repeat engagement, increases subscription and retention rates, and turns casual readers into long-term supporters and advocates of your journalism. In this fragmented media ecosystem — amid discussions of declines in search traffic — engagement is foundational.
This was the topic of my session for the recent 2025 Latin American Conference.
In today’s fragmented and platform-dominated media environment, building trust and loyalty isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the foundation for long-term success. Yet while we talk often about trust, we don’t always take action to earn it.
During my session at last week’s 2025 INMA Latin American Conference, I focused on five proven strategies to deepen audience engagement and turn casual readers into loyal, long-term supporters.
Here’s a recap of the ideas — with real-world newsroom examples — that any news organisation can start applying now.
By Amalie Nash, International News Media Association | Read more
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| Compelling Writing with Jerry Bellune
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By Jerry Bellune, Writing Coach
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| First responders think creatively
This dates me but I remember when Presidents Kennedy and Reagan were shot.
Kennedy was riding in an open car in Dallas November 22, 1963, Reagan outside the Washington Hilton March 30, 1981. Reagan survived.
We were working on a South Carolina newspaper when Kennedy was shot and a Pennsylvania newspaper when Reagan was shot. I had been Reagan’s guest for breakfast at the White House only a few weeks before. It ain’t bragging if it’s true, Muhammad Ali said.
We covered both stories almost as if they happened in our town. Lots of staff-written stories from every angle we could think of including reactions from people on the street.
David Graham of The Atlantic magazine calls himself a first responder to news.
“When people ask what I do, I sometimes describe my role as that of the magazine’s first responder,” Graham writes. “A significant part of my work is to jump in when a big news story happens and quickly place it in context. That creates a beachhead for my colleagues to come in with additional reporting. The adrenaline spike of breaking news is one of the things that hooked me on journalism.” Read more
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