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Your connection to industry & member news | July 24, 2025
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Last call to place an ad in the 2025-2026 S.C. Media Directory If you'd like to place an ad in the newest edition of the S.C. Media Directory, now is the time reserve your space.
Rates start at $150 for a half page ad and $250 for a full page ad.
Please contact us to place your ad.
This important reference tool includes detailed information on the state's newspapers, online news publications and other media outlets.
Ads are very affordable and can help promote your message to agencies, legislators, business leaders, fellow SCPA members and press associations across the Southeast.
Publishers will receive Directory listing proofs next week.
The 2025-2026 edition will come out in early September.
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SCPA seeks feedback for 2025 News Contest SCPA is starting to update the News Contest rules as we prepare to launch the 2025 News Contest rules and digital entry platform in early October. If you have any suggestions, please let us know in the next few weeks.
The contest period will be for work published between Nov. 16, 2024 – Nov. 15, 2025. The deadline to enter will be Dec. 5, and awards will be presented on March 6, 2026 at the Annual Meeting in Columbia.
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By Hannah Strong Oskin, My Horry News
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| Oskin announces departure from My Horry News
The time has come. I’m retiring from the newsroom.
Being on a ride-along with a police chief who let me witness a murder investigation. Stomping through tobacco fields and the flooding aftermath of hurricanes. Hearing loved ones remember those who passed in such tragic and unexpected ways. Covering an execution.
The stories I’ve told weren’t limited — the topics were wide-ranging.
The lessons I learned were priceless. Ones you don’t learn in a classroom.
Listening to that veteran reporter talk on the phone to a source or slam the phone down and cuss when someone didn’t answer. Myself getting hung up on countless times.
Learning how to listen better and see the story through someone else’s eyes.
Maintaining composure, even when you want to let someone have it. (I only did that once.)
Less judging, more listening.
Nearly ten years of priceless lessons.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
No kidding.
Not much phases me now. And my skin’s gotten thick — thanks to the hate mail and social media comments about how terrible I am at my job.
This job isn’t for the weak.
It’s consuming. It’s hard work.
Thankless hours of sifting through documents, filing open records requests, beating the bushes for answers. Journalists are some of the hardest working folks I know. And smart. So smart.
One day you’re learning about how a beehive works, the next you’re sitting in court for a murder trial.
We get the opportunity to learn about almost every corner of the communities where we work.
But there comes a time where some of us are too impacted by the never-ending news cycle without enough time in the day.
For me, the moment was when my 2-year-old began realizing how this job was impacting my mental health and taking me away from family time.
“Mommy’s friends at work frustrate her,” she said of my complaining about sources being difficult. (Yes, I’m human, too.)
It’s tough being a working mom. But family comes first. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m moving on to my next adventure. Read more
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 | Manning Times Publisher Leigh Ann Maynard (left) was recently named president of the Manning Rotary Club. She's pictured with former Rotary President Johnson James and new Rotary Sergeant-in-Arms Melissa Foust-McCoy, who also serves as editor of The Manning Times. (Photo by Alex Feagin, Manning Times)
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| Manning Times publisher named Rotary president
The Manning Rotary Club is set to start a new chapter in its leadership. During the July 9 meeting, outgoing president Johnson James officially passed the gavel to incoming president Leigh Ann Maynard, publisher of The Manning Times.
Maynard, who was sworn in by James, then returned the favor by installing Managing Editor Melissa Foust-McCoy as the club’s new Sergeant-at-Arms. The duo presented James with a framed gavel as a token of appreciation for his leadership and dedication over the past year.
“It’s been a pleasure to serve this club,” said James. “The friendships I’ve made here and the work we’ve done together for our community have meant a great deal to me.”
Maynard expressed gratitude for James’s support and said she looks forward to building on the momentum of his term. “This year, my focus will be growing our membership and increasing our local fundraising efforts so we can do even more good right here in Clarendon County,” she said.
In addition to the leadership transition, Maynard reinstated the Manning Rotary Club’s board and led the vote to approve nine members to serve for the 2025–26 term: Johnson James, Leigh Ann Maynard, Melissa Foust-McCoy, Amy Land, Badge Baker, GG Cutter, Ryan Way, Louis Griffith, and Kendall Stewart.
By Melissa Foust-McCoy, The Manning Times | Read more
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By Deirdre Currin,
The Sumter Item
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| Sumter Item's Deirdre Currin looks back on time in Sumter as she prepares to leave
At Palmetto Park, I pause across the bridge every time. The turtles are so used to being fed stale bread by kiddos with their parents that they swim up to you immediately, little heads poking up expectantly. It takes them a surprisingly long time to grow bored of waiting for something that'll never come.
I'd gotten out of the habit of doing my daily walk there, and spring had passed us by. I had my headphones on, it was 8:30 p.m., but the sunlight was still going strong, and I had my head down as I walked. When I looked up, I think my jaw might've dropped. The trees were bursting with growth, and I could hardly see past them. While I'd had my head buried in work and social media and books, the park had begun flourishing with its height of summer growth. It was beautiful.
The trees, the turtles and the kids who feed them - it's all so beautiful. You can find these things many places, but this is my home, and I'm so happy to have it here.
That's why leaving The Item and Sumter will be so hard. Because even though I've only been here a year and some change, it feels like my home. Read more
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|  | SCPA Associate Member Georgetown County was recently recognized with four national awards from the National Association of County Information Officers for its public communications efforts. Georgetown County Public Information Officer Jackie Broach and Deputy PIO/Multimedia Technology Specialist Randy Akers were recognized in the website, newsletter, podcast and photo series categories.
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|  | Jonathan Vickery, publisher of The People-Sentinel, captured some cute photos of children enjoying yesterday’s Reptile Encounter event at Fuller Park in Barnwell. He even held one of the large snakes! This free event brought over 30 other reptiles.
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State review reveals Jasper County School District misspent $4M from restricted tax money
COLUMBIA — An audit of a restricted Jasper County School District account revealed that officials misspent more than $4.1 million collected through a decades-old penny tax.
Jasper County voters in 2001 approved an additional 1-percent sales tax for 25 years so the school district could fund capital projects and pay down debt related to those projects.
But a S.C. Department of Revenue report, obtained by The Post and Courier through an open-records request, found that the district could not provide documentation for five withdrawals exceeding $4 million. The district’s bond attorney confirmed that the money was used for debt unrelated to penny tax projects, the report found. An additional $26,703 was used for a commercial loan unrelated to tax-approved projects.
By Mitchell Black, The Post and Courier | Read more
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Editorial: As if we needed it, here's one more reason to rein in SC charter schools
The list of problems with the South Carolina law governing charter schools just keeps growing.
We already knew the Legislature had inadvertently allowed private colleges to unilaterally declare themselves charter school authorizers and decide how much money S.C. taxpayers must give to how many charter schools for how long.
We knew that state law has done nothing to prevent charter authorizers from selling services to the schools they authorize — pretty much the definition of a conflict of interest. Or from starting or owning charter schools. Or loaning money to businesses that make money off the charter schools.
Well, we might know that last part: It could be that those charter management companies are the tails wagging the dog, actually working to create the authorizers so they can continue selling their services to failing schools that are funded by taxpayers because the authorizers decide they must be.
We knew already that the first two private authorizers got into the business to become disrupters, recruiting schools that other authorizers were about to close — and that there was little the state could do to stop them.
We knew that at least one of those self-appointed authorizers, the Erskine Charter Institute, considers itself exempt from the state Freedom of Information Act, and so complies with that law only when it feels like it.
From The Post and Courier | Read more
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Appeals Court upholds ruling restricting AP access to Trump
A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld an earlier ruling allowing the Trump administration to block The Associated Press from covering the president in certain spaces.
The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said in an order that it would keep in place a June 6 decision that found that it was legal for the president to restrict access to a news organization in invite-only places like the Oval Office or Air Force One.
The White House has been at loggerheads with The A.P. since February, when it began barring the outlet’s journalists from press events because it continued to use the term Gulf of Mexico in news coverage instead Gulf of America, as the president has renamed the body of water.
By Katie Robertson, The New York Times | Read more
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Vanishing public data: How journalists can fight back
Across the U.S., environmental reporters are facing an increasingly difficult challenge: the disappearance of public data. Government records that once detailed scientific data — such as climate change and extreme weather risks — are being removed or made harder to find, often without explanation.
For journalists who depend on these datasets to tell stories, this is more than a nuisance. It’s a threat to their work.
To adapt, many are turning to new resources. Some now rely on international sources. Others are working with digital archivists who are preserving what’s been lost. Projects like the End of Term Web Archive are now playing critical roles in salvaging data that would otherwise disappear.
Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive, is one of the people leading this preservation work. Since 2004, Graham and his team have been part of the End of Term Web Archive, a collaborative effort dedicated to preserving U.S. government websites and datasets during presidential transitions when website purges are most likely to occur.
“The work to preserve and make available material published by the U.S. government that may be changed, or removed, from public access starts long before those changes or deletions,” Graham wrote in an email to the Institute.
By Maggie Amacher, summer intern, National Press Club Journalism Institute | Read more
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SCETV makes 'prudent decisions' to protect long-term financial health
South Carolina stands to lose several million dollars after Congress voted to cut federal funding to public media.
The South Carolina broadcast service receives a couple of million in grant money each year from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a national media corporation which is on track to lose $1.1 billion after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Recissions Act of 2025 for the second time on July 18. The bill cuts $9.4 billion in funding for government departments and public media. The measure goes to the president's desk for signing.
South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV) said that while its services are financially backed by several revenue sources, the national cuts will deeply impact the overall public media system. ...
SCETV, which runs public radio and television stations across the state, received a little under $3.1 million from CPB in 2024, but that is not the network’s only source of revenue, according to a financial statement report. The network also receives funding through the South Carolina General Assembly, the ETV endowment, and other revenue sources.
The state’s public broadcasting network said thanks to the support of those financial sources, it has been able to make “prudent decisions” to protect its long-term financial health.
“South Carolina ETV and Public Radio remains committed to providing trusted, locally focused content, educational resources, and essential public services to the people of South Carolina,” SCETV said in a statement.
By Bella Carpentier, Greenville News | Read more
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Nextdoor social site, looking for a revival, pins hopes on partnership with local news providers
NEW YORK (AP) — Nextdoor, the social media site that aims to create connections among neighbors, is trying to shake off an uneven past and a nagging sense it is being underutilized. How? It is turning to professional journalists for help.
The company announced a partnership last week with more than 3,500 local news providers who will regularly contribute material to the app. As part of a redesign, it is also expanding its ability to alert users about bad weather, power outages and other dangers, along with using AI to improve recommendations for restaurants, services and local points of interest.
“There should be enough value that we are creating for neighbors that they feel like they need to open up Nextdoor every single day,” said Nirav Tolia, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “And that isn’t the case today.”
The potential for Nextdoor to help itself and journalists at the same time is most intriguing.
Nextdoor is carrying portions of local news stories from providers in the area where the user lives. If people want to learn more, a link to the news site is included.
By David Bauder, AP News | Read more
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News/Media Alliance Secures Takedown of Illegal Paywall Bypass Website 12ft.io
The News/Media Alliance has successfully secured the takedown of notorious paywall bypass website 12ft.io (“12ft Ladder”). The 12ft Ladder website offered illegal circumvention technology that stripped paywalls, allowing users of the technology to access otherwise restricted copyright protected content without paying the required fee.
From News/Media Alliance | Read more
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Local news outlets adding events to grow engagement, revenue
A WWE-style belt decorated with The Pilot logo, donned by a proud Southern Pines electrician, is a sight one could only bear witness to at the ‘Best of the Pines’ awards event.
From small town celebrations like this one to nationally-known annual festivals like that at The Texas Tribune, intimate information-based conversations hosted by Mirror Indy, and networking nights by Block Club Chicago, hosting events is increasingly playing a key role in publications’ audience and revenue strategies.
Like other local news organizations, these outlets are operating in a rapidly changing environment as social media algorithms and the use of AI tools sharply curtail digital traffic.
As these evolving consumer behaviors affect their readership and bottom lines, many local news leaders are moving aggressively to strengthen their direct, one-to-one relationship with their audience. And some of them are turning to events as one way to build trust, relevance and revenue for their news organizations.
“Events allow you to meet communities where they are,” Texas Tribune Senior Director of Events and Live Journalism Matt Ewalt said. “…Humanizing the work of an institution, of a newsroom, being present to listen to communities and their needs. That larger trust building is critical.”
By Hannah Carroll, Northwestern Medill Local News Initiative | Read more
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By Melissa Foust-McCoy, The Manning Times
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| Local news doesn’t pick winners, we tell the whole story
Over the past few weeks, The Manning Times has received a wave of criticism, from headlines being called clickbait to accusations of biased journalism. I want to address those concerns directly, not to defend myself, but to explain our approach and invite a more thoughtful conversation about the role of local news.
First, let me say that we are always listening. We take your comments seriously, and we reflect constantly on how to improve our reporting and our reach. But news isn’t biased just because a reader doesn’t like what it says. A headline’s job is to capture attention and reflect the story. Yes, it should draw you in. But it should never mislead you. When we write about complex local issues, our goal is to present the full picture. Unless it’s Election Day, we don’t declare winners. We report what happened and trust you, the reader, to form your own opinion.
It’s also important to remember that I am not just “the media.” I’m your neighbor.
This fall, my children will be enrolled in Clarendon County School District schools. I buy groceries where you do. I pump gas at the same corner stores. I vote at the same precinct. But when I log onto social media, I’m no longer Melissa. I become “mainstream media,” a target for whatever frustration is boiling that day. I’ve been called biased, careless, even dangerous. I correct my mistakes, because integrity demands it, but I also stand by my reporting.
Let me be blunt: almost every story I write, whether it’s about politics, school board meetings, or town government, makes someone mad on both sides of the issue. I do have personal political views, as we all do, and yet I’m often criticized just as harshly by my own party as I am by the opposition. In fact, I’ve spent so much time working to stay neutral that sometimes it feels like I’ve lost my own voice. But I’ve kept doing it, because it matters. Because facts matter. Because the truth still matters. Read more
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By Jim Pumarlo, Newspaper Consultant
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| Don’t underestimate the value of communicating with readers
Today’s hyper partisan political climate has put all media – including the community press – in everyone’s crosshairs. The examination extends beyond opinion pages, which always have drawn extra scrutiny.
Readers increasingly question the five Ws and H of reporting: Who is the source for a story? What is reported, and what is omitted? Where does the story appear, front page or inside? When does the paper choose to pursue a story? Why is or isn’t something reported? How is the story told?
It’s no surprise that reporters face a growing challenge to get sources — especially government employees, undocumented individuals and others in vulnerable positions — to go on the record. Trusting News underscores: “People are increasingly afraid to talk and worried about retaliation, job security, safety or legal risk. Read more
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