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Your connection to industry & member news | Oct. 9, 2025
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Embracing local journalism for a better future It's National Newspaper Week! Thanks to everyone who has participated so far. We've really loved reading your reflections on why local journalism matters to you and your community! Please keep sharing your columns and stories with your community and SCPA. Here are a few we've spotted:
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S.C. Journalism Hall of Fame nominations due Dec. 5The deadline to nominate someone for the S.C. Journalism Hall of Fame is Dec. 5.
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.
We will honor Hall of Fame recipients at the Annual Meeting and Awards on March 6, 2026.
Here's how to nominate someone for the Hall of Fame.
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Managers: Please approve your directory proof by Oct. 17 All publishers/general managers should have received a proof of your newspaper's directory listing for the 2026 edition of the S.C. Media Directory. Please review and submit corrections by Friday, Oct. 17.
The new edition will be distributed in early November.
Let us know if you need us to resend your proof(s).
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S.C. newspapers go pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month
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On the set of Scene On Seven with Jack Roper
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| Simpsonville Sentinel celebrates 15th Anniversary
The Simpsonville Sentinel is celebrating 15 years of service to Fountain Inn, Simpsonville, Mauldin and surrounding rural areas.
"We have an incredibly talented team that helps us to continue to publish our wonderful local newspaper," Publisher Bob Gecy wrote in a letter to readers. "Our advertisers never let us down with their loyal patronage. Everyone on our team has contributed to the newspaper’s ongoing success. We cannot thank you enough."
Gecy thanked the newspaper's contributors: Rick (The Pirate Hunter) Grover, Scott Crosby, Anne Peden, Rhoda Crosby, Connie Gecy, GP McLeer, Shawn Bell, Chad O’Rear, Tim Pinkerton, Aaron Rupe, Taft Matney, Shirley Adams and Tom Adams.
From The Simpsonville Sentinel | Read more
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The Woodruff Times celebrates 100th issue
The Woodruff Times reached a remarkable milestone this week with the release of its 100th issue, marking a significant moment in the life of the community-focused publication.
Founded with a vision to inform, connect and celebrate the people of Woodruff and the surrounding area, The Woodruff Times has become a trusted source for local news, uplifting stories and coverage of events that matter most to residents. Over the course of 100 issues, the paper has highlighted student achievements, celebrated community milestones, honored local heroes and given a voice to businesses, churches, schools and organizations that help make Woodruff strong.
"Our mission has always been to serve this community with integrity and heart," said the editorial team. "Reaching 100 issues is not just a milestone for us, it's a celebration of the people who continue to support local journalism and believe in the importance of keeping Woodruff's story alive."
By Vareva Harris, The Woodruff Times | Read more
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Jessica Brodie releases second novel
Jessica Brodie, editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, has released her second contemporary Christian novel, Tangled Roots.
The book, second in the Dahlia series, is about a woman who has built a respectable life by hiding her troubled past from everyone, including her fiancé; now she must confront her relationship with her recently paroled brother and decide whether to embrace messy redemption or maintain her carefully constructed façade. Book one, The Memory Garden, released in the spring and is an Amazon #1 bestseller. Both feature journalists as protagonists. Find Tangled Roots on Amazon and other book retailers.
Brodie has been the editor of the Advocate since 2010.
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Editorial: SC Election board, other panels will hold illegal meetings until we stop them
A judge’s decision to let the S.C. Election Commission give our voter registration database to the Trump administration centered on an agency attorney’s promise that it would act only after it entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Justice Department to safeguard our sensitive data, which would be approved at a public meeting of its governing board.
The attorney presented this as the agency’s plan all along, and there might never have been a lawsuit if the commission had made that clear from the start, rather than trying to coyly avoid upsetting Gov. Henry McMaster and other loyalists who apparently believe our state should do whatever President Donald Trump wants, whenever he wants it.
Circuit Judge Daniel Coble wrote Wednesday that plaintiff Anne Crook’s “alleged irreparable harm rests on the premise that the Election Commission will not act in good faith or properly carry out the law,” and noted that “Public officials are, absent evidence to the contrary, presumed to act in good faith and follow the laws.”
The agency’s acting director greeted the ruling with a promise that “Any decision regarding future data sharing with the DOJ will only be made by a public vote of the Commission, with at least 24 hours’ public notice provided in advance.”
We take no issue with the judge’s decision. But for reasons that have nothing to do with Crook v. S.C. Election Commission, we believe it’s worth noting that the decision comes less than two weeks after the board demonstrated that it cannot in fact be trusted to obey state law — and specifically that it cannot be trusted to do precisely what its acting director just promised it would do: hold a public meeting in public.
From The Post and Courier | Read more
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More videos show incident of Beaufort County sheriff’s deputy who pointed weapon at boys. Who is he?HILTON HEAD — New videos have surfaced that provide further details about a weekend confrontation in which an off-duty Beaufort County sheriff’s deputy pulled a gun on several teens and threatened to shoot them in the middle of a neighborhood street.
Both the sheriff’s office and the State Law Enforcement Division are investigating the matter. Neither agency has publicly identified the officer.
The Post and Courier has learned that the incident in the Squiresgate neighborhood involved Master Sgt. William “Billy” Squires, a 19-year-veteran of the department.
The sheriff’s department previously acknowledged only that the officer lives in the neighborhood. Public records list Squires’ address in the Squiresgate area. When the newspaper requested Squires’ personnel file from the SC Criminal Justice Academy on Sept. 29, an academy spokesperson confirmed that SLED had requested the same file that day.
Reached by phone, Squires declined comment and referred The Post and Courier to the sheriff’s office, which has not provided records that the newspaper requested.
An 84-second video depicting Squires brandishing his weapon on the youths has gone viral. Additional videos given to The Post and Courier provide more detail about what led to the altercation.
A group of boys were walking in the neighborhood late in the afternoon on Sept. 28. A bearded man rode next to them on a green all-terrain vehicle, according to videos provided by Alexis Housey, an aunt of one of the boys.
By Mitchell Black, The Post and Courier Beaufort County | Read more
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Five Points bar Jake’s settles drunk driving death lawsuit for $6.5 million
The insurance carrier for Jake’s Bar of Five Points in Columbia has paid $6.5 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a man killed by a drunken driver alleged to have been overserved liquor at the bar.
Attorneys for Jake’s and its insurance carrier had filed a motion earlier this month to seal the amount of the settlement and keep it confidential.
After The State newspaper hired veteran media lawyer Jay Bender to argue on the public’s behalf that the settlement amount should be public, Judge Thomas William “Billy” McGee III ordered the amount made public. McGee had indicated before he ruled that secret settlements in wrongful death cases did not conform to state law.
“That’s a big number. No wonder they tried to keep it secret,” Bender said Tuesday.
By John Monk, The State | Read more
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Winthrop University board broke open meetings law, lawsuit from former attorney alleges
ROCK HILL — Winthrop University’s former general counsel is claiming that the school’s board violated state open meetings law several times over the past year, including in relation to a meeting where he was allegedly fired for objecting to retaliation against an employee who reported racism within the university’s administration.
Todd Hagins’ lawsuit, filed in York County court last month, also alleges that the board’s former chair and vice chair served in those roles longer than allowed by the board’s bylaws.
The lawsuit alleges 27 violations of the Freedom of Information Act, the state law which requires government bodies to hold their meetings in public.
By Ian Grenier, The Post and Courier | Read more
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Lawsuit seeks breakdown of how USC is divvying up $20.5M for student-athletes
A South Carolina freedom of information advocate has sued the University of South Carolina to obtain the school’s deals to share more than $20 million with its student-athletes.
According to the lawsuit filed Sept. 30 in Richland County, the state’s flagship university has denied that it has any records of these multi-million dollar deals, and whatever records they might have would be shielded by a law that protects students’ academic records.
The university’s justification for its secrecy is “contradictory and legally untenable,” wrote Frank Heindel, a former grain merchant and open records advocate.
“I’m not asking for names or grade point averages. I’m asking how a public university spends public money,” Heindel told The State.
By Ted Clifford and Jordan Kaye, The State | Read more
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Longtime Kingstree News Publisher Tami Rodgers dies
Tami K. Rodgers, 53, wife of Davis Rodgers, died Oct. 6, at her home, surrounded by her beloved family, after a courageous battle with breast cancer.
Tami was born February 24, 1972, a daughter of Sherry Miles Kortness and the late Kenneth L. Kortness. She was a graduate of Kingstree Senior High School and retired in May as publisher of The News in Kingstree after more than 30 years of service. She received numerous awards from the SC Press Association over the years. Tami was an active member of Kingstree Presbyterian Church, and she loved her church family. She taught Sunday School and was a member of the WIC. She loved to cook for her family and friends on holidays, attend school events, work puzzles and truly enjoyed kayaking and fishing on Black River.
In addition to her husband of 34 years, Dave of Kingstree, survivors are: a son, Joshua Rodgers (Mary Gray Glick) of Florence; a daughter, Abigail Rodgers (Corey Knotts) of Kingstree; her mother, Sherry Kortness of Spokane, WA; two brothers, David Smith of Charlotte, NC and Roger Kortness of Spokane, WA. Tami also had several nieces and nephews that she loved like her own children. She was preceded in death by her father Kenneth Kortness.
Tami’s family would like to give special thanks to McLeod Oncology, Dr. James Smith and the entire staff for their care and compassion during Tami’s illness.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 8, at Kingstree Presbyterian Church, 229 Sumter Highway, Kingstree, SC 29556. Tami’s family will greet friends and family in the fellowship hall following the service.
Memorials may be made to McLeod Cancer Center HOPE Fund.
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