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Your connection to industry & member news | Jan. 15, 2026
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By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications
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| Can government officials discriminate among media?The Sumter Item recently reported that Sumter school board Chairman Shawn Ragin was refusing to respond to the newspaper’s inquiries because of reporter Bruce Mills’ alleged “continued rudeness and disrespectful communication,” which Ragin added “have consistently sought to portray both the Sumter School District and me in a negative and misleading manner.”
In an e-mail to the paper, Ragin added that “I serve as the official spokesperson for the board of trustees, and I do engage with other media outlets that conduct their work professionally, respectfully and without bias. … Effective immediately, I am requesting that the organization you represent assign a different reporter to communicate with me moving forward.”
To her and the newspaper’s credit, Item Executive Editor Kayla Green said that the paper would not assign another reporter to cover the board.
This local wrangle mirrors one on the national stage, where the Associated Press is suing over its exclusion from most White House press events because of the wire service’s continued use of “Gulf of Mexico” to refer to the body of water southeast of the U.S. mainland. Among President Trump’s first actions upon returning to office was an executive order to rename the gulf as the “Gulf of America.” The U.S. Board on Geographic Names later ratified the change. Read more
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SCPA still needs 20 more judgesTHANK YOU to the everyone who has already volunteered to help VPA's Contest next month! We are still a little short on judges in the following areas:
- Writing - 10 weekly and 2 daily newspaper judges
- Digital, Multimedia and Online - 7 judges from daily or non-daily papers
- Photography and Art - 2 judges from daily or non-daily papers
- Presentation and Design - 2 judges from daily or non-daily papers
Please volunteer and encourage your friends to help!
We will not ask you to judge another state's contest again until fall 2027!
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Eagle-Record to cease
publication after 127 years
According to Pew Research, a primary newspaper industry think tank, an average of 2.5 U.S. newspapers a week are closing, most of them weeklies.
Absent a buyer, The Dorchester Eagle, established in 1899 to serve the new county for legal and other services, is closing its doors after [the Jan. 8] edition.
Founded as a legal organ for the new county, cobbled together from Charleston and Colleton Counties, The Eagle merged with their bitter rival, The Dorchester County Record in 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression.
We have creatively kept the publishing cycle for many years, but ultimately, continuing spiraling costs, including printing, postage, insurance, taxes and fees, have rendered the operation, at least the manufacturing portion unsustainable for an independent operator to navigate.
The Eagle is still a profitable operation, but we have resisted gouging readers for memorials, weddings, obituaries and the like, which in retrospect may have been a mistake is some ways.
Many newspapers have turned to charging readers research fees for looking up information in their archives. Just imagine how that would go over! It’s a sad decision to make, but not necessarily a difficult one. For many of you who know me, I have always been immersed in history and old stuff in general, and that also weighs on me. But I also know that the three of us, including Vicky and Louise, would like to retire. They have their grandchildren to look forward to and, between the three of us, have given this venerable old newspaper almost 90 years combined. This is my 43rd year in the newspaper business overall and that's enough for me. ...
We very sincerely appreciate the love, support and criticism you've shown for many, many decades. Your loyalty means the world to us.
By Andrew Gentry, The Eagle-Record | Read more
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The Post and Courier launches a new Arts and Culture Lab
Last year, we began working on the idea of creating a donor-supported reporting lab focused entirely on arts and culture coverage.
The arts are a vital element of community life and, we thought, fit well in the framework of the journalism we do that is supported by grants and donations to our nonprofit Public Service and Investigative Fund.
Today I’m excited to announce the launch of our new Arts and Culture Lab. It is the third lab we have created from donor support. The other two focus on education and on climate impacts on sea level rise and coastal resilience.
The new lab will allow us to significantly expand coverage of arts and culture in Charleston and other Lowcountry communities. We also are rolling out a robust new statewide online calendar aimed at helping arts and culture organizations spread the word about events happening in their communities, including in smaller towns in more rural areas. Two founding supporters — the Wayne and Alicia Gregory Family Foundation and the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation — were instrumental in making this possible.
As part of this announcement, I’m pleased to share that Chelsea Grinstead will assume the role of Arts and Culture Reporter for the lab. Chelsea, an award-winning journalist, has worked as a reporter and editor in Charleston for almost a decade, including the last two years as a reporter with The Post and Courier’s life and entertainment team.
By Jeff Taylor, The Post and Courier | Read more
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Seneca Journal welcomes new reporter
The Journal of Seneca recently welcomed a new reporter to its staff.
Sam Walters, a recent graduate of Clemson University, began working for The Journal on Dec. 29. Walters holds a degree in sports communication and a minor in athletic leadership.
Walters is from Pittsburgh, living there for 10 years before he and his family moved to Anderson.
As a freshman at Clemson, Walters said he began working with The Tiger newspaper.
“I really got involved there and kicked off my journalism career working in soccer and different sports at Clemson,” he said. “From there, I worked with multiple different sites and companies in covering big Clemson events, like football, football camps and other big ACC conference events.”
While his background is in sports, Walters said he’s excited to transition to daily news.
“It excites me in being able to serve a different type of community, different type of audience,” he said. “There’s always stories that are out there to be told that are not always in the spotlight. I think that in this role, in a different way from sports, it’s a way to be able to listen and react to things that are going on in the community.”
By Caleb Gilbert, The Journal | Read more
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Ted Clifford to join Asheville Watchdog as investigative reporter
Asheville Watchdog has hired award-winning journalist Ted Clifford as an investigative reporter who will focus primarily on Mission Hospital and healthcare.
Clifford, currently a statewide accountability reporter for The State in Columbia, South Carolina, will start work in Asheville Feb. 2.
“I’m excited to be joining Asheville Watchdog and honored to be working with such an experienced team,” Clifford said. “My background is in reporting on how courts and the criminal justice system affect the lives of everyday people. As the institutions that impact our communities become more powerful and more remote, I believe that honest and thorough investigative journalism is more important than ever.”
By Keith Campbell, Asheville Watchdog | Read more
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Ending prompt notice of deaths at Charleston jail a step backward for sheriff’s office, attorneys say
CHARLESTON — The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office will stop giving immediate public notice of jail deaths, a decision legal observers criticize as a step backward for transparency and accountability.
Instead, the sheriff’s office will give notice of some deaths after the coroner’s office investigates and determines a cause or manner of death, said Lexi Douglas, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office.
Douglas said the sheriff’s office would not issue public notices of natural deaths. It can take weeks or months before the coroner’s office can determine how and why someone died, depending on circumstances and what tests are needed.
Delaying notifications creates information vacuums and breeds distrust, given the jail’s history of deaths, said attorney James B. Moore III, who represents the family of D’Angelo Brown.
“It begs the questions, is this policy change designed to control the narrative and limit public scrutiny during the critical early stages following an in-custody death?” Moore said. “I am not sure what other role it would serve. Families and the public have a right to know when someone dies in government custody — transparency shouldn't be contingent on official determinations.”
Brown died at a hospital from organ failure and E. Coli septic shock on Dec. 29, 2022, after spending months in a filthy jail cell often smeared with feces. His schizophrenia went largely untreated during that time. His manner of death was revealed as homicide “due to gross medical neglect” in late March 2023.
The deaths of Brown and others led to a still-pending federal investigation into the jail’s conditions and care. State and federal law require that jails report deaths to higher-level agencies. Those laws do not mandate that they send public releases of custodial deaths.
By Alan Hovorka, The Post and Courier | Read more
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RCFP statement on FBI search of Washington Post reporter’s home
On Wednesday, FBI agents executed a search warrant at the home of a Washington Post reporter as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally sharing classified information.
Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, made the following statement:
“Physical searches of reporters’ devices, homes, and belongings are some of the most invasive investigative steps law enforcement can take. There are specific federal laws and policies at the Department of Justice that are meant to limit searches to the most extreme cases because they endanger confidential sources far beyond just one investigation and impair public interest reporting in general. While we won’t know the government’s arguments about overcoming these very steep hurdles until the affidavit is made public, this is a tremendous escalation in the administration’s intrusions into the independence of the press.”
From Reporters Committee | Read more
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By Brandon Roberts, Summerville Communications
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| Local news should help people live here, not just tell them what happened
If there is one lesson years in local journalism have reinforced, it is this: Readers do not just want to know what happened. They want to know what it means for them – and what they should do next.
That idea is at the center of a newsroom initiative I am launching across our Summerville and Berkeley County papers, and one that I encourage colleagues in other communities to consider as well: service journalism.
For local newspapers, service journalism is one of the most effective ways to demonstrate our value to readers, particularly in fast-growing communities like ours. As Summerville, Berkeley County and surrounding areas continue to see rapid growth and an influx of residents from outside the region, more people are trying to figure out how things work here – local government, schools, utilities, roads, taxes, events and everyday services.
Service journalism directly meets that need.
Clear, practical reporting helps people feel informed, grounded and connected to their community. It positions our newspapers not just as record-keepers of what happened, but as essential guides to local life.
It is important to be clear: This initiative is in addition to our regular reporting, not in place of it. Meeting coverage, breaking news, enterprise reporting, sports, courts and community news remain the foundation of our work. Service journalism is meant to complement and strengthen that coverage, not replace it.
At its core, service journalism is reporting designed to help people navigate their daily lives. It answers practical questions, explains how systems work and provides clear, actionable guidance. Instead of focusing primarily on what happened or who said what, it asks a different question: What does this mean for me, and what should I do next?
That shift does not abandon traditional journalism. It builds on it. Read more
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