 |
|
|
Your connection to industry & member news | Sept. 23, 2021
|
S.C. Journalism Hall of Fame nominations due Dec. 3The deadline to nominate someone for the S.C. Journalism Hall of Fame is Dec. 3.
The Hall of Fame was established in 1973 to recognize and honor men and women who have excelled in their craft and made significant contributions to journalism and their communities.
Requirements for admission specify that a nominee must have made his or her journalistic reputation in South Carolina. If the reputation reflects achievements outside the state, the nominee must have been a native of South Carolina. Nominees must have been deceased for four or more years.
Nominations may be made by anyone now or previously employed by or associated with a South Carolina newspaper.
Because SCPA was not able to hold an in-person meetings in 2020 or 2021, we will honor the 2020 and 2021 Hall of Fame recipients at the 2022 Annual Meeting and Awards on March 12, 2022.
Here's how to nominate someone for the Hall of Fame.
| |
RSVP for free virtual training
We have some great (free!) virtual training coming up over the next month. Take a look at the topics and let us know if you'd like to attend! Also, tell us what types of training sessions you'd like to see SCPA offer.
| |
NAM releases National Newspaper Week promo kitThe Newspaper Association Managers (NAM) and The Relevance Project have started releasing promotional materials in the National Newspaper Week content kit.
National Newspaper Week will be observed Oct. 3-9 and "Community Forum” is this year’s theme.
The content kit contains promotional ads, editorials and the like, all suitable for you to publish in celebration of National Newspaper Week.
Additionally, Relevance Project resources will also be available to to help each newspaper become the "Community Forum" in their community.
NAM will continue to update the kit with additional materials including editorials and editorial cartoons.
SCPA will also have a local column and house ad available early next week on the S.C. News Exchange.
| |
"The best journalism is that which builds communities. You build your community by publicizing good deeds done, by reporting on the cheats and scoundrels and other politicians, by urging yourself and those around you to do better, by allowing dissenting voices to be heard, and by making certain that your town's issues are heard in Des Moines and Washington. Use your power to build and the newspaper will grow naturally. Always be honest. Again, credibility is your only stock and trade."
– Art Cullen, editor of the Storm Lake Times in Iowa, discussing the battle to keep print news alive in small-town America. From NPR | Listen here
"Storm Lake" documentary will air on PBS Nov. 15.
| |
|
| "Other Shoes" by Robert Ariail
| |
|  If you can't get enough of award-winning Camden cartoonist Robert Ariail, enjoy his new strip featured every week in the Charleston City Paper, which has granted us ongoing permission to republish it. Called "Lowcountry," the weekly feature, which is available for syndication in South Carolina newspapers, focuses on politics, human nature, the environment and public policy. More: Contact publisher Andy Brack.
| |
| | |
Voting discrepancy surfaces over Richland 2’s SC Supreme Court mandatory mask lawsuit
Three Richland 2 school board members say they were unaware the district was going to file a lawsuit with the S.C. Supreme Court over requiring masks in schools.
That’s because the Richland 2 school board never publicly voted on filing the suit. Rather, the school board’s only vote on the topic came on Aug. 16, when board members agreed to seek legal advice. Board leadership said it was clear during closed-door talks among nearly all board members that Richland 2 would be pursuing a suit.
By Lucas Daprile, The State | Read more
| |
Editorial: SC transparency law keeps public in the dark
If someone on Charleston City Council were to be under investigation by the State Ethics Commission right now, you would not know about it. Why? Because South Carolina law prohibits public knowledge of potential ethics violations by public officials, unless the commission’s secret vote deems the claims worthy. To put it bluntly: Transparency law in the Palmetto State is nothing more than reputation protection for state politicians.
For most legal questions, even those involving people in power, have the same starting rules. Any time a legislator or councilman is arrested for drunk driving, for example, an investigation is conducted. If a mayor rear-ends someone on Broad Street, the police are called, blue lights and all, to write a report. Guilty or not, the matter is public and the process runs its course equitably.
But if you file an ethics complaint against any elected official, the potential crime becomes secret — nobody with any knowledge of the complaint can discuss it, thanks to South Carolina’s secrecy protections for politicians.
From Charleston City Paper | Read more
| |
The Lancaster News names new editor and sales team leader
Jane Alford has been named editor of The Lancaster News. She has served as interim editor since the retirement of Brian Melton in June. She has been with the paper for 20 years.
Alford has been at the helm during the paper’s recent transition in ownership as it was bought over the summer by Paxton Media Group.
“While stepping in as interim editor, she led us through the transition to a new printer, the conversion to a new content management system and our move to the new pagination hub,” said TLN Publisher Dale Morefield.
Jane’s passion for local journalism and her experience, both in this industry and at The Lancaster News, will certainly benefit the community and our readers. I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for Jane’s qualifications as a journalist and as an editor. I am confident she will continue the paper’s tradition of quality journalism,” he said.
Alford, who will continue to serve as editor of Carolina Gateway and the multiple special publications printed by TLN, said she’s ready for the challenge.
“I feel like I’ve been in training for this my whole career here,” she said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for our papers. Lancaster County is a hopping place, and that’s where journalists want to be.”
Ashley Johnson has been promoted to The Lancaster News sales team leader. She has been with TLN for nearly five years.
By Mac Banks, The Lancaster News | Read more
| |
Q&A with new Free Times editor David Clarey
Give me your life story in an elevator pitch.
I grew up in the Midwest — South Dakota, specifically. I went to school in Minneapolis. From there, I went to school for journalism, and I started working in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. I wanted to cover food and be a bit more creative with my writing. So, I pursued some openings and I came down (to Columbia) for an interview. I loved the place."
This was you first job in the South. Now that you have been here almost two years, what are your impressions?
"I go back to the people. I know it's cheesy, but literally everyone is really, really kind. Southern hospitality is a really real thing, and just getting acclimated to that has been really good. I cover food right now. Getting to explore a whole new food world has been super cool too because there's so many new things. For instance, coleslaw on a hot dog is not a thing where I'm from. It's everywhere here, and I love it."
What is your vision for Free Times?
“I want to make sure we strike that balance of nodding towards what we’re known for, but I also want to find new and exciting ways to cover these industries — the arts, entertainment, food and culture. I think there’s a lot of ways to do that. We can look at writing stories that are more accessible to folks, or introduce folks to some of these topics we’re talking about. I want to be first on things often, which we’ve always done a good job with. But, I want to make sure we keep that up as well.”
By Andy Shain, The Post and Courier Columbia | Read more
| |
Georgetown Times office sale finalized for Front Street boutique hotel
At a time of major redevelopment of Georgetown’s historic downtown, the office of South Carolina’s oldest newspaper will soon be demolished to construct a 56-room boutique hotel along the city’s harborwalk.
Lachicotte Company real estate agent Christy Whitlock confirmed Sept. 15 that Winyah Hospitality LLC recently purchased 615 Front St. for $1.17 million, nearly 10 percent above tax appraised value, according to county records.
The office is home to Georgetown Times, owned by the parent company of The Post and Courier in Charleston. The newspaper will plan to move over the next few months, company executives said.
“The Georgetown Times is very important to our company, and we plan to find a new location within the city of Georgetown,” said P.J. Browning, publisher of The Post and Courier in Charleston and president of the Evening Post Industries newspaper division.
By Demi Lawrence, Georgetown Times | Read more
| |
P&C journalists travel to Greenland for story on rising sea levels
The Post and Courier recently published a special report, “The Greenland Connection,” which details how melting ice in Greenland is affecting South Carolina's Lowcountry.
The story was written by projects reporter Tony Bartelme and photographed by Lauren Petracca, who both traveled to Greenland to research and cover this story as a part of the newspaper's deep dive into climate issues facing the state.
Bartelme and Petracca worked with Josh Willis, a climate scientist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and head of the Oceans Melting Greenland project. Willis has been researching the oceans effect on the ice in Greenland for the past six years, and through this research has discovered that glaciers are even more threatened than once previously thought. Approximately 280 Billion tons of the massive ice sheet in Greenland melts into the ocean every year and about 15% of Charleston’s rising sea level can be connected to this melting ice.
Bartelme, who also reported on The Post and Courier’s Rising Waters, an in-depth series on the increased flooding in the Charleston area said, “We explored one of the most important stories that hardly anyone is talking about – how melting ice in Greenland affects the gravitational pull on oceans. This has a direct effect on sea levels in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, where every inch of sea rise matters.”
This story is part of the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines project and also received support from The Fund for Investigative Journalism and The Post and Courier Public Service and Investigative Reporting Fund. Check out the project.
| |
The Robesonian names David Kennard its new executive editor
LUMBERTON, NC — The task of overseeing The Robesonian’s news-gathering operations has been given to a man with almost 30 years of experience in the newspaper industry.
David Kennard began his tenure as The Robesonian’s executive editor earlier this month. He occupies an office that has been vacant since Donnie Douglas left the newspaper in March 2020. Kennard comes to Lumberton from Fayetteville, where he helped launch the Greater Fayetteville Business Journal. ...
Kennard’s news career began in 1992 in Quincy, Washington, where he led a small community newspaper. ...
He continued his on-the-job training at successively larger papers in Oregon, California, Utah and Ohio. Among his past jobs was executive editor of Summerville Communications, where he managed three nondaily newspapers (The Summerville Journal Scene, The Berkeley Independent and The Gazette). He was the executive editor of The Daily Herald in Provo, Utah, and managing editor of Mansfield News Journal/Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum, a 25,000 circulation publication in Mansfield, Ohio.
From The Robesonian | Read more
| |
 | Guests chat with artist during the exhibition. Photo by Andrew Wigger, The Newberry Observer
|
| Two day Newberry Observer art exhibition draws a crowd
Roughly 100 people attended the two day art exhibition “Observing Community” at The Newberry Observer over the weekend.
"Fantastic,” Robert Matheson said in response to the exhibition.
“We really appreciate the community coming out to support the local artist and it was an awesome experience to share all of our work with them,” said Amy Matheson.
In the span of roughly a month, about 28 artist of various ages and backgrounds came to create art. Matheson said they even utilized supplies found at The Newberry Observer, with permission from staff. ...
“Whatever magic we seemed to capture Friday and Saturday was amazing. We were honored to have past employees come back for a visit and see what is left of the pressroom and facilities here in the building. Of course, they came to support the art community and Newberry Made, as well, and we were glad to have them,” said Publisher Andy Husk.
“While this event sort of symbolized a ‘goodbye’ to this building, we are still working to produce The Observer every week. The community has seen that the building has been for sale for a while hopefully in the next few weeks we will be announcing a move to the immediate downtown area. Some of this art and artifacts from the exhibition will be traveling to whatever the new destination is.”
By Andrew Wigger, The Newberry Observer | Read more
| |
SCPA members invited to UofSC 'Information Saves Lives' panel discussion Friday at 10 a.m.
The University of South Carolina will host Information Saves Lives, an international forum on media freedom, disinformation and hunger, Sept. 24 at 10 a.m.
Headlining the event are former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme, which won the Nobel Peace Prize; UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay; and University of South Carolina Interim President Harris Pastides.
Other speakers include:
- Glenn Smith, a member of the Charleston Post & Courier team that won the 2015 Pulitzer Price for its series on domestic violence in South Carolina.
- Maria Ressa, founder and co-CEO of Rappler, a Philippine news site that challenges President Rodrigo Duterte’s attacks on the press.
- Marcelo Canellas, a Brazilian TV reporter who has won international awards for his coverage of hunger.
SCPA members are invited to attend in person or via livestream. Learn more
| |
How the Post and Courier raised more than $1 million for a South Carolina-wide investigative fund and Education Lab
Post and Courier Executive Editor Autumn Phillips shared information with American Press Institute's Better News resource about building a program of philanthropy to fund journalism. In this piece she shares that digital subscriptions can pay for the newspaper's daily journalism, but the deep investigative work is expensive and needs another funding source to be sustainable under a changing business model.
By Autumn Phillips, The Post and Courier, for API's Better News | Read more
| |
Borrell's latest study reveals bad and good news on local ad spending
Since 2016, Borrell Associates — a Williamsburg, Va.-based consultancy — has been taking the quarterly pulse of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to better understand their marketing and advertising strategies and concerns. Borrell empaneled a group of SMB representatives, including owners or those responsible for marketing decisions. The firm surveyed them again in August 2021, compiling the data in the September-published "Q3 Borrell Business Barometer: Signs of Trouble Ahead."
Those "signs of trouble" are formidable; 40% said they expected economic conditions for small businesses to worsen over the next six months. A mere 14% expected a sunnier forecast.
COVID-19's delta variant is top-of-mind for small and medium-sized businesses.
“The intriguing thing here is that their outlook on current economic conditions slid back to where it was in February of this year,” Corey Elliott, executive vice president of local market intelligence for Borrell Associates, explained. “That’s not horrible — and certainly better than all of 2020, but it is as if the optimism I saw in May (and) June has tampered a bit. … When we ask them to look out over the next six months, here, too, you see some pessimism creeping in, at least more than was present February to June."
By Gretchen Peck, Editor & Publisher | Read more
| |
A guide to social branding on any newsroom budget
If you work in a newsroom, chances are you’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the mission or values of your newsroom. You’ve wondered about how your stories further those goals and you also know all the ins and outs of what makes your organization unique.
But how do you translate that to your readers?
For starters, your journalism should align with your mission and values. When users read your stories on your site or through a newsletter, they should be able to identify what your organization stands for.
But it doesn’t stop there. The look and feel of your organization also further your mission and values by giving readers a clear and accessible way to engage with your content on social media accounts. Branding establishes trust and makes it clear who your company is and what it stands for. It helps readers know what to expect every time they engage with your content, regardless of platform.
By Adriana Lacy, Reynolds Journalism Institute | Read more
| |
 |
By Kasie Strickland, The Sentinel-Progress
|
| I’m getting a job at The Daily Planet
In the nineties, there was a little piece of television gold on the airwaves staring Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher: Lois & Clark, The New Adventures of Superman.
I loved that show and faithfully tuned in every week. Thirty years later, with the help of the internet and streaming television providers, I have rediscovered this little gem and have consequently binged-watched four seasons over the course of about two weeks.
The nostalgia is all there, it’s still a great show — albeit a bit more campy than I remember. But there’s one big difference to Lois & Clark for me now: I’m a newspaper editor.
You see, there’s a third major character on the show that I never quite appreciated in my youth: The Daily Planet.
We’re all familiar with the basic Superman story: A baby was sent to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton and lands in Smallville, Kansas, where he’s adopted and raised by the Kent family. Our yellow sun gives him amazing abilities and he fights for “truth, justice and the American way” as Superman. When he’s not flying around saving the world in a red cape, he’s Clark Kent, a newspaper reporter at The Daily Planet. Nobody — not even fellow reporter/love interest Lois Lane — suspects Clark is Superman because, you know, Clark wears glasses.
But I didn’t bring you here today to talk about Superman’s adventures, I want to talk about Clark’s. And Lois’. And Perry White and Jimmy Olsen’s and all the other people in and around The Daily Planet. Which, as far as I can tell, seems to have a budget roughly the same size as the Pentagon’s.
It’s insane. Read more
| |
|
|
|
