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Your connection to industry & member news | June 25, 2026
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PALMY winners announced for proofing; July 1 is deadline for corrections2026 PALMY Ad Contest winners are now live for proofing!
Please let us know by July 1 if you have corrections.
On July 17, the digital awards presentation will be made available on the SCPA website and promoted as a resource for all members to use throughout the year. That's also the day that judges' comments, Best of Show, Designer of the Year and the President’s Awards for Best Overall Advertising will be announced.
Awards will be shipped to winners in July. Please tell us if you'd prefer to have a recognition event at your newspaper.
Congrats winners and special thanks to members of the Virginia Press Association for judging this important contest.
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|  Free distribution members: It’s time to update your annual circulation data for SCPA/SCNN databases, contest divisions and to promote your newspaper in the 2026-2027 S.C. Media Directory. You should have received distribution and printers affidavits last month. Please let us know if you need us to resend them. Please note SCPA only needs these affidavits returned for member newspapers that do not submit or publish a USPS 3526 form or verified audit.
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|  Last week's opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago reminded us that we have a few of these posters left, which we created in 2008 following President Obama's election. Posters are free and available first-come, first-served. Posters must be picked up at SCPA Offices in Columbia. Shipping is not available. Contact us if you are interested.
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Pipa joins SCPA as design intern
SCPA has hired USC student Sara Pipa as their new design intern. She earned the position after helping design, proofread and lay out SCPA’s 2026 Annual Meeting awards presentation and winners exhibit.
Pipa is an upcoming senior journalism student with a minor in entrepreneurship. Since first arriving at USC, she has grown exponentially both inside and outside of the classroom.
The majority of her collegiate journey was spent as a marketing and social media intern at USC’s Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning.
Pipa aspires to pursue design after graduation. She hopes her time at SCPA will equip her with real-world experience and the tools necessary to succeed in the future.
“During my time at SCPA, I hope to expand on what I know and continue to learn more,” she said. “In my ideal world, I will end my time here with new connections, a broadened skillset and new opportunities lined up for post-grad!"
Outside of school and work, she enjoys reading, going to the beach and spending quality time with friends and family. Sara will work part-time on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. She can be reached at sara@scpress.org.
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By Cindi Ross Scoppe,
The Post and Courier
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| Scoppe: What I’ll be doing — and not doing — in my new job. And why.
After I gave up trying to convince Rick Nelson not to retire as The Post and Courier’s editorial page editor, I spent a while thinking about what a responsible opinion staff does and looks like.
Actually I spent a while organizing my thoughts, because after nearly three decades of writing editorials and opinion columns, I already had some pretty clear ideas. As I start my new job Monday in Rick’s old job, I’d like to share those thoughts with you — not because they’re much of a change but because I’m not sure we’ve ever explained where we’re coming from and what we’re trying to accomplish.
But first, a few process items: I hope to keep writing this column weekly, along with some editorials. We're looking to hire an editorial writer, based in Charleston. And I’ll keep living in Columbia and visiting the Statehouse regularly — which I believe speaks volumes to our commitment to being South Carolina’s statewide newspaper.
Our priority issues will continue to range from public education, open government and using our tax dollars wisely to conserving our natural resources, managing growth and preserving what makes Charleston so special. Nor do I expect changes in our political philosophy: Although our positions on average tend to land slightly right of center, individually they range across about the middle 70 percent of the political spectrum. Read more
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Beaufort holds special meeting on FOIA investigation. What we know
Beaufort city council members met behind closed doors on Monday to discuss the investigation into the city’s accidental release of 9,000 unredacted documents last year.
During the closed-door meeting, held in executive session, city councillors were scheduled to hear an update on an outside legal counsel’s investigation into the August 2025 leak of over 9,000 pages of information in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Charleston-based law firm Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd is leading the external investigation, along with attorney Ross Appel, Beaufort Mayor Phil Cromer said.
No action was taken following executive session, and nothing was said after the private meeting. The investigation is moving along and nearing its final stretch, Cromer said later. But Cromer and Councilman Josh Scallate did not go into detail about what was discussed in executive session.
“We’re near the end, but we still got a little ways to go, but hopefully it’ll be over by summer’s end,” Cromer said. He declined to provide details of the investigation’s findings.
“As soon as we are able, we will provide a public statement regarding the findings.” Scallate added in a text.
By Ben LeGrand, The Island Packet | Read more
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Opinion: Why reporters don’t belong in front of grand juries
The Justice Department has withdrawn subpoenas that never should have been issued. They sought to compel reporters from The Post and the Wall Street Journal to testify before a grand jury to answer questions under oath about their reporting on national security. Both newspapers sought to quash these subpoenas during closed proceedings in federal court, and the government withdrew them before a judge ruled.
This broadside against press freedom, revealed publicly on Tuesday, is the first known instance in which the Trump Justice Department tried to force journalists to appear under oath before grand juries. There are important constitutional, historical and practical reasons why courts have insulated journalists from doing so and the practice has become exceptionally rare.
The free press depends on confidential sources, and many of the most consequential stories in U.S. history wouldn’t have been possible if whistleblowers couldn’t trust that their identities would be protected. Sources risk their jobs, physical safety and prison time for sharing some information. It’s not just national security but reporting on organized crime, government misconduct and more.
From the Editorial Board, The Washington Post | Read more
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Podcasting doesn’t have to be complicated, says new LMII report
For many local media organizations, podcasting remains stuck in the “someday” category.
The idea sounds appealing. The execution often feels overwhelming.
Questions about equipment, studios, production workflows, distribution and monetization can quickly create paralysis before a newsroom ever records its first episode.
That’s one of the reasons Local Media Association Digital Content Coordinator Ryan Welton created a new LMII Innovation Insights report focused on the fundamentals of podcasting.
The report is designed to help local media organizations move beyond perfectionism and start creating content.
“We need a studio. The podcast has to be sold,” Welton said when describing common newsroom concerns. “The fact is, you don’t.”
Instead, the report focuses on practical, achievable steps for organizations looking to launch or improve podcast efforts.
From Local Media Association | Read more
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By John Foust,
Advertising Trainer
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| Effective advertising is audience-centered
I look at ads from a lot of publications, because there are lessons to be learned from all of them. Recently, I ran across two that were so interesting that I showed them to my wife.
For the first ad, I put my thumb over the logo – which revealed the products they sold – and asked her what they seemed to be selling. The headline read, “Visit our showroom.” The body copy – with vague bullet points like, “Locally owned and operated” and “Ask us about smart home technology” – was equally unhelpful. As a result, it was up to the photograph in the center to reveal what they sold. The picture showed a wall filled with samples, which looked like blobs of different colors. Suellen took a quick glance and said, “Paint and carpet.”
Considering all the confusion in the ad, she made a good guess. But the correct products were blinds and shutters.
With such ineffective copy and a misleading photograph, the ad’s only hope of communicating something as basic as the advertiser’s line of work was the logo. And that was not going to do any selling all by itself. Read more
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