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Your connection to industry & member news | Dec. 4, 2025
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CONTEST DEADLINE IS TOMORROWThe clock is winding down on entering the 2025 News Contest! The deadline is tomorrow, Dec. 5.
The News Contest is an excellent opportunity to recognize the good work done by your staff during the previous year.
All entries can be submitted digitally so it is quick and easy to enter!
We're here to help! Give us a call at (803) 750-9561 or email us if you need your log-in information or have contest questions.
Starting next week, SCPA will review all entries to make sure they're ready for judging. When we've sorted your organization's entries, you'll receive an invoice and master entry report.
Entries will be judged by members of the Virginia Press Association in January.
We hope to announce winners for proofing in late January.
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|  When entering the News Contest, do not overlook our newest category, the Center for Integrity in News Reporting Award of Excellence – South Carolina. This award recognizes the best example of impartial, objective and fair news reporting. Entries must have been published between Nov. 16, 2024 – Nov. 15, 2025. This category is #72 in the online entry platform under "Contests By Division." Because this was a late addition, it is not listed in the PDF of rules.
The overall state winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize. View full judging criteria and more details here.
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|  | Mike Spears recently shared his hobby of making posters for special events by making one for The Twin-City News, which is celebrating 100 years! (Photo by Tonya Rodgers)
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Does USC control the organization that holds its athletes’ NIL agreements?
Are the University of South Carolina and its main booster club really separate entities? No, says a new filing by an open records advocate who is seeking to obtain agreements on how the state’s flagship university will divide up revenue among its athletes.
An ongoing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit between Frank Heindel, a former grain merchant, and the state’s flagship university over the contracts governing revenue sharing agreements with its athletes has demonstrated the extent of the relationship between them.
The University of South Carolina has offered a number of different and at times apparently contradictory explanations for why USC does not need to disclose the agreements governing revenue sharing and NIL contracts.
Among other arguments, lawyers for the school have said that USC does not have to hand over any of these agreements because they are made between students and third parties.
By the university’s own admission, NIL licensing agreements are made between student-athletes and an organization called Ascend Carolina, LLC. But rather than being an independent organization, Ascend is a “wholly owned subsidiary” of the Gamecock Club, which is the main booster organization for USC.
But Heindel argues that public records show these organizations are run by the university’s athletic department.
By Ted Clifford, The State | Read more
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 | A group of teen volunteers help assemble toys for Edward Group’s “Christmas for Kids.” (Photo courtesy of the Edwards Group)
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| The generosity of local news shines during the holidays and all year long
News organizations across the country continue traditions of charitable work around the holidays. Editor & Publisher reached out across our network to learn about their holiday giving traditions. Below you’ll find a sampling of responses, which range from hands-on toy delivery to special editorial content highlighting nonprofit organizations in their communities. ...
For the past 25 years, Edwards Group Holdings — which operates newspapers and radio stations in three states [including The Journal in Seneca] — has been the backstop for all the charities that provide Christmas items for children in their communities. Over the past 25 years, no child in the county (up to 18 years old) has gone without a Christmas gift. During that time, Edwards Group ensured more than 30,000 children received a gift, thanks to $5 million in locally raised donations. The charity is a 501(c)(3) called “Christmas for Kids.” It has a heart-warming story behind it.
“About 28 years ago, I stopped by the United Way office just a week before Christmas to see if they needed help fulfilling the Christmas wishes of the children on their list,” said Jerry Edwards, president and owner of Edwards Group. “When I walked in, the front desk was empty, but I heard someone crying in the back. Thinking someone was hurt, I went to check and found a woman sitting on the floor in tears. Her name was Joan Patterson.
“When I asked if she was hurt, she said no. … She explained that she still had over 300 children left without gifts and only $2,700 in donations to help them — that’s less than $10 per child. I introduced myself and told her not to worry — that we’d make it happen, even if I had to pay for it myself. I immediately called the newspaper, and we sent down a reporter and photographer. The next day, we ran a front-page story with the headline, ‘300 KIDS TO DO WITHOUT CHRISTMAS!’ alongside a photo of a single bag of toys sitting in an empty room. The community’s response was overwhelming. Within just two days, more than $25,000 was donated, along with hundreds of toys. One man even filled the bed of his F-150 truck with toys from Walmart and Kmart, saying he didn’t know what we needed, but wanted to help however he could. Thanks to the community’s generosity, every one of those 300-plus children had a Christmas that year.”
Years later, the United Way discontinued the program, but Edwards Group launched “Christmas for Kids” in its place, partnering with a local church. Later, other charities joined, including the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots and other local churches.
“Several years ago, after we finished giving out toys on Christmas Eve, one of ‘Santa’s Elves’ told us about a family who hadn’t signed up but was struggling,” Edwards recalled. “The volunteers quickly filled several bags of toys and delivered them. When they arrived, they discovered that the family they were looking for had moved — but another family with children the same ages was there, instead. The parents were sitting on the floor with their kids around a tiny Christmas tree, praying for help. The volunteers said it was one of the most moving moments they’d ever witnessed — seeing those children’s faces light up as their prayers were answered in real time. Moments like that remind us why we do this.”
By Bob Miller for E&P Magazine | Read more
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AP Fund for Journalism secures over $30 million to bring AP content to local US newsrooms
AP Fund for Journalism today announced significant commitments from several organizations, including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Lilly Endowment Inc. and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, that will help power its first-of-its kind local news program to support the U.S. local news ecosystem.
The combined investment of more than $30 million – including a significant $25 million commitment from Knight Foundation – will allow APFJ to deliver nonpartisan, factual content and essential services that support 100 additional state and local newsrooms in 2026 and 300 by 2028. This backing will help those newsrooms serve their audiences, widen their reach, and strengthen their business operations.
Launched earlier this year with initial support from the Google News Initiative and Knight Foundation, the program has already supported a pilot project that to date has provided nearly 50 participating newsrooms with access to AP content including photos and video. The news organizations also receive personalized newsroom services to help them deliver timely and relevant localized news to their audiences.
Created in 2024 by The Associated Press, APFJ’s mission is to support public service journalism and make it accessible to an ever-widening group of state and local news organizations in the U.S. Earlier this year Lilly Endowment approved a two-year, $5 million grant to help APFJ launch and scale its efforts to ensure that more individuals nationwide have access to accurate and trustworthy news and information.
From APFJ | Read more
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Poynter, IRE and Internet Archive launch ‘Today’s News for Tomorrow,’ a project to help newsrooms preserve their digital footprint
The Poynter Institute partners with Internet Archive and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) to bring preservation and web archive training to 300 news organizations throughout 2026 and 2027.
This Press Forward-funded initiative was developed to preserve vital local online news content that often vanishes when publications cease to exist or technology changes. Beginning March 2026, participating organizations will receive online and in-person training, including free access to tools, services and networking opportunities to support the sustainability of digital news.
The project will create a national framework for digital preservation that serves newsrooms’ “immediate internal needs and communities’ future information needs,” according to Press Forward.
“Journalism is the first draft of history, and we’re at risk of losing that history thanks to changes in a newsroom’s technology, ownership and even outside pressure to erase it,” said Kristen Hare, program lead and Poynter’s director for craft and local news. “This program offers Internet Archive’s stellar preservation services and training to help newsrooms plan ahead.”
Successful applicants will be placed into cohorts based on characteristics such as geographic location and media type. They will receive training on Internet Archive’s digital preservation and web archiving services, share local news resources through a local news access portal and participate in knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities centered around local news preservation.
The program application is now open until Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. Eligible applicants work for media organizations — nonprofit, corporate, public, digital startups, college, print or broadcast — that produce digital content requiring preservation. While the application may be completed by the individual intending to participate in the training, approval from an editor, director, or equivalent is required. Due to the support of Press Forward, there is no cost associated with participation.
By Sabrina Shihvazger, Poynter | Read more
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Bright spots in local media: Lessons from the 2025 Medill State of Local News report
The 2025 Medill State of Local News report, released in October, documents the sobering challenges that face local news outlets: the loss of 40% of newspapers in the past 20 years; a rise in “news deserts” with 50 million Americans – one in six – now having limited or no access to local news; continued business model challenges; and, new threats including attacks on the free press and the rise of artificial intelligence.
But the report also calls out “Bright Spots,” shining examples of local news outlets that are serving audiences in innovative ways, building sustainable business models, and meeting people where they are to share news and information.
Mackenzie Warren, executive director of the Medill’s Local News Initiative, spoke with the LMA Digital Club and identified a dozen themes that emerged from the Bright Spots report. These bright spots offer lessons all local news outlets can learn from as we seek to transform our operations, and to better serve and connect with our communities.
- Increasingly direct relationships between journalists and consumer
- Journalists seeing that their role includes being engines of business growth, not solely engines of journalism
- More authentic relationships through in-person events, meet-and-greets, and even coffee shops as business development opportunities
- No sacred assumptions from the past. An openness to questioning why we do what we do, the way we do it.
By Frank Mungeam, Local Media Association | Read more
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By John Foust Advertising Trainer
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| When advertisers are concerned about the economy
You may have heard the story about the man who spent a hot summer afternoon doing yard work. When he came inside, his little boy said, “Come on, Dad, let’s play!” The man was tired after all that work, so he stretched out on the couch and closed his eyes. His son jumped onto the couch, pulled open his father’s eyelids and said, “Let’s go, Dad! Aren’t you ready to play?” Realizing that he needed to keep his son busy while he took a short nap, Dad reached for a magazine on the coffee table and turned to a page he had seen a few days earlier. It was a full page, full color map of the world. He pulled out the page, tore it into a dozen pieces and placed on the floor. He said, “Son, here’s a puzzle. Put these pieces of the world together and then we’ll play.”
As he drifted off to sleep, he could hear the pieces being shuffled, and after only a few minutes, his son tugged on his arm and said, “Dad, I got it!” He opened his eyes and – sure enough – every piece was in the right place. He said, “I’m proud of you. How were you able to do that? You’re too young to know how the world fits together.” The little boy broke into a big smile and said, “Dad, I turned those pieces of paper over and there was a picture of a boy. So I put that picture together, because I knew if I put the boy together, the world would take care of itself.”
The lesson is simple: Even though there will always be troubles in the world, our job is to work on ourselves. Read more
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