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Your connection to industry & member news | April 16, 2026
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SCPA hosts business beat reporting roundtable May 15 in ColumbiaReporters and editors who regularly cover business and growth and development beat topics are invited to join their peers for a Business Beat Reporting Roundtable on Friday, May 15, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., at SCPA Offices in Columbia.
This event, sponsored by the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications Baldwin Business and Financial Journalism Endowment Fund, will be moderated by Baldwin Business Faculty Fellow Parks Rogers.
This will be an informal space to share ideas and collaborate. Journalists who cover local and state businesses or growth and development issues are welcome to attend.
Topics are up to the group but may include: story/series ideas, building trust with sources, storytelling with data, resources, challenges you face on the beat and more. We’ll also allow time for open discussion.
Please submit discussion topics, ideas and specific questions on the registration form.
The cost to attend is $30, which includes a boxed lunch. Register here!
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 | By Eric P. Robinson,
USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications
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SC reporter testifies, but not about sources – yetJournalist and podcaster Mandy Matney testified on April 8 in a Cherokee County courtroom, but not directly on the question of whether she should be required to reveal any information she has regarding the leak of a video that included police photos of the body of Mallory Beach, who died when the boat in which she was riding hit the pilings of a bridge in Beaufort, ejecting her from the vessel.
The incident led to felony charges of boating under the influence against Paul Murdaugh, who died on June 7, 2021. His father Alex was convicted in 2023 of the murder of Paul and his mother (and Alex’s wife) Margaret (“Maggie”). Alex Murdaugh is appealing that conviction. Alex Murdaugh also pleaded guilty to state and federal financial crimes. Read more
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|  Earn Your Press Pass, a virtual self-guided training program is a free member benefit that can help your new hires, student interns or freelancers learn the basics of journalism and begin producing content for your community news organization today! With just a few modules of short video content, participants can learn about effective editing, interviewing, writing and more! This program breaks down complex topics to help you learn about community journalism. Limit the time spent on training your new hires and freelancers – sign them up for Earn Your Press Pass today!
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Upload election notices to SCPublicNotices.com All public notices related to S.C. elections should be added to our statewide public notice site.
Since these run as display ads, not all are being manually added or auto-fed into the system.
SCPA is happy to add these important notices to SCPublicNotices.com for you.
Please email us the PDF or let us know the run date and we'll pull the notices from your e-edition.
Thanks for your help with this important project that ensures the public's right to know!
Also, here’s a quick primer on what types of notices/legals should be added. Most folks remember to post the notices that run in the classified section, but we also need all display notices including water quality reports, info on ordinances, tax sales, meeting dates and more!
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New Summerville editor shares vision for connected community
A community newspaper is empowering. It gives you knowledge. It presents perspectives that make you ponder, think critically or see your corner of the world through a new lens. Local newspapers may challenge you, entertain you and inspire you to make a difference. That could be through voting, speaking passionately on a subject before your local government or donating to a good cause.
Once determined to write for a national publication, I fell in love with community newspapers after witnessing how local governance, politics, business, culture, arts, academics, athletics, law and order and philanthropy shape a collective people. A friend of mine once said that the best government is that which is closest to its people. And that is true of any facet of life: your church, the businesses on which you depend, the school your children attend, the nonprofits you support and all the places where you live, work and play.
You already know that The Summerville Journal Scene is a reliable and trustworthy source of information. The beautiful thing about this newspaper is that it’s much more than that. It’s a town square. It’s a historical record. It’s an ever-evolving reflection of the identity of the people it serves. And most of all, it has the power to connect neighbors and strengthen community.
So who am I?
As the new editor of the Summerville Journal Scene and Berkeley Independent, I fully acknowledge that I am, in fact, a stranger to most of you—but I hope to change that very soon.
By Michael Prochaska, The Summerville Journal Scene & Berkeley Independent | Read more
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Dunlap & Eddy named to E&P’s 'Tomorrow’s News Trailblazers'
One of my favorite salutes has always been E&P’s 25 Under 35. Last year, we changed it up a bit and renamed it “Tomorrow’s News Trailblazers.” This salute showcases our future — one that’s inspired, passionate and innovative — reinvigorated by fresh ideas and talent. This group of “Trailblazers” is redefining the industry and transforming news media.
Bailey Dunlap (he/him), 29
Chief Revenue Officer, Dunlap Media Group, Laurens, South Carolina
Education: Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, University of South Carolina
What is a lesson you’ve learned early in your career that you think future news trailblazers should know?
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned early in my career is that great journalism and strong business thinking must coexist. For a long time, the industry treated those as separate conversations, but the future belongs to news leaders who understand both. Producing impactful reporting is essential, but if you’re not also thinking about sustainability, audience behavior and innovation, you’re leaving the future of that journalism to chance.
I’ve also learned that trust in local news is built through consistency. It’s not just one big investigative story that creates loyalty; it’s showing up every single day and becoming part of people’s routines. When readers know they can rely on you to keep them informed about what’s happening in their community, that relationship becomes incredibly powerful.
For future trailblazers, I think it’s important to embrace both the mission and the model. Protect the purpose of journalism, but don’t be afraid to think creatively about how to sustain and grow it. ...
Bryn Eddy (she/her), 25
Editor, Lexington County Chronicle, Lexington, South Carolina
Newsletter Editor, Osteen Publishing Company (South Carolina newspapers), Sumter
JOUR 291 Writing for Mass Communication Instructor of Record, University of South Carolina
Education: Bachelor of Arts, English, Winthrop University, Rock Hill
Currently pursuing a Master of Arts, Journalism, University of South Carolina
What is a lesson you’ve learned early in your career that you think future news trailblazers should know?
Local journalists should let their readers know they are local residents, too. Readers will trust your reporting more when they know you’re a community member like them. Yes, remain unbiased in your reporting, but let your readers know you’re human through newsletter introductions, columns and social media posts. You can get involved with local theater, volunteer at your local shelter and attend community events as a citizen; basically, learn to love the community you’re reporting in, and tell your readers about it. News consumers, especially at the local level, want their reporters to be real people with real passions, loved ones, favorite local spots and growing personal roots in the area. You can accomplish these personal local ties even if you're new to the area.
By Robin Blinder, Editor & Publisher | Read more
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10 questions with Marshall Project CEO Katrice Hardy
Editor's Note: Hardy served as executive editor of the Greenville News and regional editor of USA Today Network's South region. She is also a former Executive Committee member of SCPA.
The powerhouse media executive Katrice Hardy, who has led newsrooms in Texas, Indiana and South Carolina, last year joined the nonprofit news pioneer The Marshall Project as its first CEO. She has moved quickly, boosting breaking news coverage, developing new revenue opportunities and hiring the newsroom’s third editor-in-chief.
Hardy oversees both the Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom and the business side for the 11-year-old nonprofit with a mission to shine a light on a broken U.S. criminal justice system. As Hardy approached one year on the job, she spoke with Quill about her career path, the organization’s outlook and business strategy, the role of AI in newsrooms and how Marshall is covering ICE’s brutal immigration crackdown.
By Cory Schouten, Quill Magazine | Read more
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Hey students! Report and write for The Daniel Island News!
Ever dreamed of seeing your name in print? Or telling a story that everyone in your community can read?
Now, it’s your chance!
The Daniel Island News Kids Takeover Edition is back, and we’re handing over the newspaper for one whole week so you can run the show.
That’s right: middle and high schoolers in the Daniel Island and Clements Ferry area can become reporters, editors, photographers, and storytellers for this special edition.
Your voice. Your stories. Your newspaper.
From The Daniel Island News | Read more
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Charter school accountability bill awaits hefty amendment in SC House panel
One of South Carolina’s leading school choice advocates is soon expected to introduce a lengthy amendment to a charter school accountability bill the state Senate passed earlier this year.
House Education committee Chair Shannon Erickson, R- Beaufort, said Tuesday she would introduce her 36-page amendment at an upcoming hearing.
"I figured we needed to have a large discussion about this and it would be more appropriate to do it with a large body instead of doing it twice,” the Beaufort County Republican told members of a House Education panel, which briefly discussed the Senate bill Tuesday before reporting it to the full Education committee without changes.
Erickson’s amendment, which she provided to The State Media Co., roughly doubles the size of the already-extensive bill.
Outside of making some changes to virtual education, the amendment primarily addresses the business side of charter schooling, which has evolved significantly in the three decades since the General Assembly passed the state’s Charter Schools Act in 1996.
“No one is disagreeing with the programmatic choices (charter schools) get to make,” Erickson said Tuesday. “Most of what we have heard is: ‘How do you follow the dollars? And who gets paid what, when and how?’ ”
The full Education committee was scheduled to take up the Senate bill — and Erickson’s amendment to it — Tuesday afternoon, but postponed its discussion after debate on other legislation ran long. As of Wednesday morning, a hearing on Erickson’s amendment to the bill had yet to be rescheduled.
S.454, passed unanimously back in February, shores up the regulatory framework of the state’s decades-old charter schools law by clarifying financial and operational practices and establishing guardrails for education management companies and privately-run charter school authorizers.
By Zak Koeske, The State | Read more
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Editorial: How many more SC kids must endure charter school chaos before Legislature acts?
If your kids attend a traditional S.C. public school, you can run into teachers who don’t know what they’re teaching, principals who promote division and school board members who are more interested in enriching themselves and their friends than educating your kids.Of course, that also can happen at a charter school. Or, yes, a private school.You can also end up at a traditional public, charter or private school with the best teachers, principals and school boards.
In other words, there’s nothing inherently superior or inferior about any of the three main types of schools.
Well, except this: If you’re at a traditional public school, you don’t have to worry about the principal and all the teachers disappearing and the school closing mid-year. But as we’re seeing in real time in Fort Mill, that sort of chaos is a real possibility with a charter school — particularly if it’s run by one of those profit-seeking management companies.
And although this is less clear, there are indications that you could be particularly vulnerable if that charter school is authorized by an offshoot of a financially struggling private college rather than the S.C. Public Charter School District or your local school district.
From The Post and Courier | Read more
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In search of ‘honest’ school voucher data, SC Senate eyes new collection process
Frustration over the South Carolina Department of Education’s data sharing, or lack thereof, has spurred lawmakers to shift responsibility for collecting some school voucher data to another agency.
The Senate Finance committee this week approved a one-year budget directive to put the Education Oversight Committee in charge of collecting, analyzing and reporting the test results of voucher students, whose private school tuition and other education-related expenses are subsidized by taxpayer-funded scholarships.
The EOC, an independent body charged with assessing school performance and standards, is already supposed to handle the analysis and reporting of voucher student data, but has not previously been charged with collecting test results from education service providers and the parents of scholarship recipients.
State Senate Education Committee Chairman Greg Hembree, who introduced the measure Tuesday, said the EOC’s role working with public school student data for the annual state report card made it a natural fit to do the same for students enrolled in the state’s voucher program.
By Zak Koeske, The State | Read more
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Editorial: Government should maintain employees' records. Period. Full stop.
Even if North Charleston Police Chief Ron Camacho was merely following city policy when he allowed his department to purge internal affairs records that were just 3½ years old, it's a terrible look, especially for a department that's had its share of difficulties earning the trust of the public it serves.
North Charleston City Council needs to adopt an ordinance making it clear that such records will be kept, not tossed out.
While Mr. Camacho might have been following policy and might truly have had no nefarious intentions, his actions concerned the city's attorneys enough that they intervened to stop him, as The Post and Courier's Kailey Cota noted in her April 3 report. And thank goodness for that. His action was an apparent break from his two immediate predecessors (one of whom was current Mayor Reggie Burgess), neither of whom had destroyed old personnel files.
We cannot think of any reason the chief would destroy such records other than a misguided attempt to protect police officers who might be embarrassed (or worse) about their own internal affairs files. Mr. Camacho suggested as much when he noted that he wants officers to be able to demonstrate improvement without older or minor disciplinary actions having an extended impact on their future.
From The Post and Courier | Read more
Related column: N. Charleston police file purge revealed flaw in SC records retention law (By Cindi Ross Scoppe, The Post and Courier)
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How much does it cost to see SC school board member’s Black History Month emails?
The Lexington 1 school district says it will cost hundreds of dollars for district staff to review a school board member’s emails about a controversial high school fashion show.
The State asked Lexington 1 to provide copies of any emails sent to or from board member Katie McCown that referenced a Black History Month fashion show that set off a controversy over McCown’s criticism of the student-run show.
The State requested McCown’s communications for the month following the River Bluff event under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act. The school district’s general counsel said Lexington 1 had 1,096 emails containing the phrases “Black History Month,” “fashion show” or “River Bluff.” They expected it would take more than 36 hours for district personnel to review the emails and redact any confidential information about students, at a cost of $730.
McCown had lambasted the Feb. 20 show at River Bluff High School in since-deleted Facebook comments, calling it a “disgusting,” “disgraceful display” that showcased “vulgar and ghetto behavior.”
By Bristow Marchant, The State | Read more
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Federal judge finds Pentagon is violating court order to restore access to reporters
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ruled that the Defense Department is violating his earlier order to restore access to the Pentagon for reporters, a setback in the administration’s efforts to impede the work of journalists.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman sided with The New York Times for the second time in a month. He had earlier said the Pentagon’s new credential policy violated journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process. On Thursday, he said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s team had tried to evade his March 20 ruling by putting in new rules that expel all reporters from the building unless guided by escorts.
“The department simply cannot reinstate an unlawful policy under the guise of taking ‘new’ action and expect the court to look the other way,” Friedman wrote.
Friedman had ordered Pentagon officials to reinstate the press credentials of seven Times reporters and stressed that his decision applies to “all regulated parties.” The Pentagon building serves as the headquarters for U.S. military operations.
By Michael Kunzelman and David Bauder, AP | Read more
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Saving local news also means saving the archives
Editor's Note: Pedersen formerly served as executive editor and general manager of The Sun News in Myrtle Beach.
Stephanie Pedersen had already been through two newspaper building moves by the time she got to Tacoma, Washington. In both those other cities, when the newspapers moved to new spaces, the physical archives moved to warehouses.
“It was very rare that we ever even went back,” she said. If it wasn’t a digital archive, “basically the archives went somewhere else to die.”
If news is the first draft of history, the loss of local news archives means a loss of memory, culture, identity and, sometimes, reality.
So in Tacoma, when it was time for the News Tribune to move out of its building during the pandemic, Pedersen knew what she did not want to happen again. Because a few journalists in the newsroom had good relationships with local librarians, they checked in to see what could be done. And, no surprise, the librarians wanted to protect those archives, which included photos, clips and research.
That first draft has been digitized and preserved and now is accessible to anyone through the Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Reading Room. It’s beyond what Pedersen, the senior vice president of local news for McClatchy and executive editor of the Tacoma News Tribune and The Olympian, ever imagined more than a century of local news might become. And it’s exactly what more than a century of local news should offer to its community.
By Kristen Hare, Poynter | Read more
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Next Gen News 2: How news discovery and consumption is changing
Younger audiences find and consume news in ways that are meaningfully different, and their information-seeking behavior is a signal to the changes that publishers should anticipate from audiences in general. That’s a key finding in the just-released Next Gen News 2 report, which surveyed 5,000 adults across five countries and included 84 in-depth interviews with 18-28-year-olds. Jeremy Gilbert, Knight professor of Digital Media Strategy at Medill School of Journalism and a co-author of the study, shared key findings from the study at Local Media Association’s recent Local News Summit in New York.
“Younger audiences do see the value of news,” said Gilbert. “But they feel overwhelmed.”
Gilbert said it’s a myth that young people are not interested in news. While it’s true that older audiences do engage more with the news, the Next Gen News 2 research found that 35% of young people engage with the news multiple times per day.
By Frank Mungeam, Local Media Association | Read more
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Four things local publications can do right now to grow audience and engagement
The challenge is real: how do you grow your audience without breaking the budget — and how do you actually see a return?
Long story short, publications need to commit to change. Not a rebrand. Not a campaign. A fundamental shift in how you engage with your community — physically, digitally and at the level of actually building community.
These are some of the questions we need to answer collectively. Can you pull back on written story volume to make more room for real engagement with real people? How do you activate your physical paper instead of treating it like a liability? And is your newsletter transactional, or is it actually building community?
One thing is clear: you are not going to out-resource bigger publications. You won’t match their staff or their budgets. But you can do something they can’t — tell stories in a way that is uniquely yours, rooted in a community they don’t live in, don’t understand and can’t replicate. That’s the advantage. Use it.
By David Stuckey, Local Media Association | Read more
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Fact-checking has to go where misinformation actually spreads
For much of the last decade, fact-checking organizations have measured their value through familiar journalism metrics: articles published, traffic generated, audience numbers, and citations from politicians, academics or other relevant actors in the public debate. These measures made sense when rumors spread via Facebook posts, political falsehoods aired on television and corrections were tagged to individual articles.
But that is no longer the world in which false information circulates. Today, many of the most influential falsehoods move through forwarded voice notes, WhatsApp groups, neighborhood chats, local influencers and informal networks of trust. Some people deliberately profit from disinformation, exploiting platforms that prioritize engagement and revenue.
But much of it is shared by people with no intent to deceive at scale. They pass it along to warn, help, entertain or translate the news into familiar terms.
By Laura Zommer and Natalia Colombo, Poynter | Read more
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How to partner with a local business to grow your newsletter subscribers
The Missourian — Columbia, Missouri’s local newspaper based at The University of Missouri — serves a large variety of audiences but is currently focused on gaining subscribers within the 30-45 year age range for their newsletter. With this goal in mind, Innovation in Focus helped them brainstorm ways to reach that audience and decided that the best strategy would be to meet people somewhere they already frequent: local coffee shops.
Aiming for something interactive and in-person, we decided to create punch cards that included a QR code leading to the Missourian newsletter. That way, every time someone used the punch card, they would be reminded to scan the QR code and navigate to the newsletter.
We also wanted to benefit local business and relationships so we reached out to The Grind, which has four locations throughout Columbia. They agreed to collaborate with this project, and in return The Missourian offered to put an ad in three of their newsletters, a value of $500, and one on the website. We hoped that this collaboration might bring new customers into the Grind as much as it brings new subscribers to the Missourian.
By Ishrat Madiha, Reynolds Journalism of Institute | Read more
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