Adams, former Post and Courier executive, dies
5/16/12
The Post and Courier
Ernie Adams, a former Post and Courier executive who helped lead the newspaper online in the 1990s, died at home on May 15.
He was 76 and had battled esophageal and stomach cancer for several months.
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The Voice adds editor; opens new office in downtown Blythewood
5/16/12
The Voice announced last week the addition of James Denton as editor of the Blythewood newspaper.
Denton has spent the last two and a half years as editor and general manager of The Herald Independent in Winnsboro.
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Irmo board needs to open evaluation process
Editor's note: We have a growing trend in S.C. of school boards using their lawyers to evaluate superintendents, then claiming attorney-client privilege and keeping it all under wraps. Below is an op-ed on the most recent one in Lexington County. This has happened in Orangeburg and Berkeley Counties.
5/16/12
By Bill Rogers
SCPA Executive Director
The Lexington-Richland District 5 School Board – in collusion with its attorneys – is about to slap public accountability in the face by doing a secret telephone performance evaluation of its superintendent, Dr. Stephen W. Hefner.
Let's hope board members will stand up on behalf of taxpayers and reject this plan. They have the power, but do they have the intestinal fortitude. Let's hope they do. There is no need for this secrecy and courts have consistently ruled that superintendent evaluations are open.
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DHEC criticized for refusal to name Spartanburg restaurant linked to E. coli
5/16/12
The Herald-Journal recently reported that DHEC is being criticized for refusing to release the name of a Spartanburg Mexican restaurant linked to a recent outbreak of Escherichia coli.
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AP names Williams regional director
5/16/12
The Associated Press named Michelle Williams, bureau chief for Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as one of its four U.S. regional directors.
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Two new managers take reins at The Sun News
5/16/12
Kurt Knapek, formerly the online and day city editor for The Sun News, has been named the company’s Online General Manager. Creating the position will provide focused leadership on the growth of digital advertising and audience, said Pamela J. Browning, president and publisher of The Sun News.
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USPS losses of $3.2 billion in Q2
5/16/12
The Postal Service ended its second quarter (Jan. 1 – March 31) with a net loss of $3.2 billion, compared to a net loss of $2.2 billion for the same period last year.
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Apply for free military workshop
5/16/12
A weeklong program for journalists about covering the military includes lodging, meals and airfare to Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The workshop from Sept. 23-28 will be based at the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center in Kansas.
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AP reporter honored at Statehouse
5/9/12
Jim Davenport, veteran statehouse reporter for the AP, has been honored with resolutions by both houses.
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First Amendment lawyer to be featured at S.C. Book Festival
5/9/12
Jon Buchan, First Amendment lawyer and a founder of the Osceola alternate newspaper in Columbia in the late ‘60s, will be featured at the 16th annual S.C. Book Festival, which will be held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center from May 18 - 20.
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City Council emails, texts present challenges for laws governing open meetings, records
5/9/12
Wisconsin State Journal
By Dean Mosiman
Madison City Council members are emailing or texting colleagues, lobbyists, staff and others during public meetings, raising questions about whether the state's Open Meetings Law has kept pace with changing technology.
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Ariail recognized at Statehouse with Verner award
South Carolina cartoonist Robert Ariail was recognized by Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell at the Statehouse on May 3, for receiving the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Governor’s Award for the Arts from the S.C. Arts Commission.
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Mim Woodring, former editor and owner of The Star, dies at 83
5/3/12
The Star
By Phyllis Britt
Mim Woodring, former editor and owner of The Star newspaper, died at home May 2. She was 83. She was president of SCPA's Women's Division in 1961.
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Reporters Committee to host free webinars on covering protests and courts
5/2/12
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is hosting two free webinars in May and June to help journalists understand their rights to attend, report on and photograph protests and court proceedings.
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The truth about postal reform
5/2/12
NNA
By Reed Anfinson, President
Now that U.S. Senate has passed a bill, S 1789, to reform the ailing U.S. Postal Service, critics are trying to disable the bill on its way to the House of Representatives.  Business Week recently catalogued unhappy stakeholders, including postal unions, postal management and some Republicans who wrongly think the bill burdens taxpayers.
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New design coming for heraldonline.com
5/2/12
The Herald
By Paul Osmundson
I told my colleagues at The Herald last week that the best is about to get better.
For two years in a row, heraldonline.com has been named the best website among all South Carolina daily newspapers. The honor, from the S.C. Press Association’s annual news contest, is significant because our state has some darn good newspaper websites.
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Two discounts can save postage costs for periodicals
5/2/12
NNA
By Max Heath
Certain Periodicals Mail postage discounts are less obvious than others. Based on early results from the National Newspaper Association’s recent circulation survey, we are starting an occasional series of refresher columns. To help ensure members get the maximum postage savings possible under rules and regulation changes achieved by NNA, please review for compliance and speak with your software vendor as necessary. This month, two significant discounts are explained.
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Muller tapped as keynote speaker at NNA conference in Charleston
5/2/12
Award-winning broadcast journalist Judy Muller will be the keynote speaker at the National Newspaper Association’s 126th Annual Convention & Trade Show in Charleston, SC. She will speak at the opening breakfast and flag ceremony Oct. 5, 2012.
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'Unlimited access’ makes Post and Courier membership a bargain
5/1/12
The Post and Courier
By William E. N. Hawkins
I hope by now most of you have seen our ads promoting the new Advantage Membership. It starts Tuesday, when our current newspaper subscribers will automatically be transitioned into members.
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Exciting changes begin for readers
5/1/12
The Greenville News
By Steven R. Brandt, Publisher
and John Pittman, Executive Editor
As the leading news organization in the region, The Greenville News and GreenvilleOnline.com are committed to making a difference in the lives of our readers through our journalism, and making your voices heard through our pages and online.
Over the past several months, we’ve reached out to hundreds of readers to help us focus our coverage on what matters most in your lives. Today we are launching the biggest transformation in our coverage since the introduction of online content more than a decade ago.
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Longtime newspaperman Bob Bentley passes away
4/27/12
GREENWOOD -- Robert Bentley, an innovative journalist whose newsroom career began with writing obituaries and concluded with this one, died April 26, 2012.
Between these jobs, he was editor of six daily newspapers, a news executive on two others. The paper he led at Cape Canaveral as the nation's youngest editor at age 29, was delivered to the moon to honor its prize-winning aerospace coverage.
Bentley, 73, was a national pioneer in the logical, consistent positioning of the news. During Bentley's 1995-2001 tenure at The Index-Journal, he initiated "Lakelands" as a geographical identity, presided over a redesign and was instrumental in creating the Saturday paper and conversion to morning delivery.
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SC House approves strengthening open records law
4/27/12
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- The South Carolina House approved a bill Thursday strengthening the state's open records law.
The bill approved 101-1 a bill barring public agencies, governments and school districts from charging excessive fees for public records and requiring them to respond more quickly. It also removes legislators' exemption from the law.
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Newspaper websites see increases in unique and average daily visitors in first quarter
4/26/12
NAA
Arlington, Va. – Newspapers improved upon their website traffic in the first quarter of 2012 with a 4.4 percent increase year-over-year in adult unique visitors (113 million) and a 10 percent increase in adult average daily visitors (25 million).
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NNA heralds Senate passage of 21st Century Postal Act
4/26/12
WASHINGTON—By just two votes more than the minimum required, the U.S. Senate today passed S 1789, the bipartisan 21st Century Postal Act, 62 to 37. NNA President Reed Anfinson, publisher of the Swift County Monitor-News in Benson, MN, hailed the Senate’s vote as a critical step toward restoring the U.S. Postal Service to soundness.
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Digital innovators vie for lead in Charleston
4/26/12
NetNewsCheck
By Carol Marie Cropper
In Charleston, S.C., the local media players are bringing new media innovation to the Old South: The daily newspaper is getting ready to put up a paywall, while its competitors are rolling out apps, mobile sites and innovating ways to gather news, in their efforts to win over audiences and grab a bigger piece of a growing local ad pie.
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Ending overnight mail harms newspaper readers; NNA suggests actions to ameliorate damage
4/25/12
NNA
The National Newspaper Association today filed testimony with the Postal Regulatory Commission urging the commission not to recommend an end of overnight mail delivery and to instead recommend numerous changes in mailing rules and practices for newspapers faced with closing mail processing facilities.
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Richland County police withhold incident report
4/24/12
Citing investigatory reasons, Richland County investigators have only released one page of the multiple-page incident report taken after the fatal shooting of a man and woman in Irmo, WIS-TV reports.
“It is unclear what the rest of the report reveals, “ according to their web page.
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Seven strategies for reaching elusive young readers
4/24/12
Poynter
By Jeff Sonderman
Mainstream news organizations are not doing so well with young audiences.
Only 30 percent of people 18 to 34 read a newspaper in print or digitally on an average day, according to the Newspaper Association of America. That’s down from 35 percent in 2009.
But there’s no reason to give up hope on reaching the digital and even print audiences of the future. Based on research and the advice of news outlets that do reach young people, here are some of the important steps you can take.
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Lee, NYT, Media General report results
4/24/12
News & Tech
The New York Times Co. and Media General Inc. both posted profits but Lee Enterprises Inc. didn’t fare as well as more newspaper publishers filed quarterly results.
The Times’ profit, some $42 million for the first quarter, was largely a result of its December 2011 sale of its regional newspaper group to Halifax Media Holdings LLC.
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Calhoun Falls Town Council illegally suspended officer
4/20/12
Index-Journal
By Scott J. Bryan and Erin Owens
Calhoun Falls Town Council conducted an illegal move in executive session during a March meeting, embattled Town Councilman Charlie Tillman revealed Thursday.
Tillman, appearing at his first Council meeting since his arrest Monday for an assortment of charges, said Council conducted an illegal vote during the closed-door meeting. When Tillman attempted to discuss the action further, Calhoun Falls Mayor Lee Garrett interrupted him and the issue passed.
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Attorneys say Berkeley School Board violated FOIA by voting in executive session
4/19/12
The Post and Courier
By Brenda Rindge
Superintendent Rodney Thompson will receive a 5 percent raise as a result of his evaluation.
Berkeley County School board members violated the state Freedom of Information Act when they decided in a closed-door meeting that Superintendent Rodney Thompson’s job performance exceeds expectations, according to media attorneys.
The law allows public bodies to discuss personnel matters in executive session, but prohibits them from making decisions.
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Tribune-Times photographer Davis retires
4/19/12
Tribune-Times
By Ron Dekett
After 32 years of capturing the heart and soul of the Golden Strip and its residents in award-winning photographs, staff photographer Gwinn Davis has retired.
His sister, Sudie Gambrell, an unrelenting advocate of the Tribune-Times and of the people and businesses in the Golden Strip, and a former general manager of the Trib, also has left the employ of Gannett, the publisher of The Greenville News and the Tribune-Times.
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Sudie Gambrell, GM of the Tribune-Times, retires
4/19/12
Tribune-Times
By Pete Martin
More than 300 Upstate residents, business owners, local officials and coworkers attended a surprise retirement party at The Loom in Simpsonville to celebrate the work of long-time Tribune-Times employees Sudie Gambrell and Gwinn Davis.
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Reporter named Beaufort County magistrate
4/19/12
The Island Packet
By Anne Christnovich
Reporter Richard Brooks will turn in his press badge and don a judge's robe after being appointed to the Beaufort County Magistrate Court bench.
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Newspaper sales tax exemptions preserved in House panels
4/19/12
The House Sales and Income Tax subcommittee voted unanimously late Tuesday to preserve exemptions for newsprint and circulation.
Rep. Murrell Smith of Sumter introduced the amendment to preserve newspaper exemptions, which got great support from Rep. Lonnie Hosey or Barnwell. In fact, all the subcommittee members -- after a little grousing about editorials in a couple of dailies -- were supportive in questioning.
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Newspaper sales tax exemptions preserved in House subcommittee
4/18/12
The House Sales and Income Tax subcommittee voted unanimously late Tuesday to preserve exemptions for newsprint and circulation.
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Columbia tries to ban video cameras
from open meeting
4/13/12
The State
By Noelle Phillips
A hearing for a former Columbia Police Department chief deputy was postponed Thursday after city officials got into a dispute with reporters over the use of video cameras in the hearing.
Former Deputy Chief Isa Greene gave approval to the media to attend her hearing before a panel of city employees as she protests her dismissal from the department. However, Pamela Benjamin, the city’s human resources director, told reporters for WIS and WLTX that they would not be allowed to use their video cameras during the proceedings.
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Prospects brighten, but concerns remain
4/11/12
News & Tech
As the industry’s print-to-digital migration gains steam, newspapers say they’re ready to stop allowing nonsubscribers to read their online content for free. They are also saying that print remains important, and that mobile, and by extension, revenue-generating distribution of content, will be a critical issue in 2012 and 2013.
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Embracing the future
4/11/12
American Journalism Review
By Paul Steinle & Sara Brown
Is the newspaper industry dying or is it “managing through a transition of consumer habits” en route to a successful new business model?
Over 13 months in 2010 and 2011, we visited 50 newspapers across the United States – one in each state – to discover firsthand how newspapers are doing.
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Gannett expects paywall ‘will be worth $100 million to us in 2013′
4/10/12
Poynter
By Rick Edmonds
If you look past last year’s numbers, good things are starting to happen in the industry, Newspaper Association of America president and CEO Caroline Little said, opening last week’s conference in Washington.
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Publishers lost $27 in print for every digital $1
4/10/12
Reflections of a Newsosaur
By Alan D. Mutter
The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism generated gasps when it reported that newspapers are losing $27 in print advertising for every $1 of digital revenue that they gain. But the situation is even worse.
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Doubts arise about Gov. Haley’s records retention policy
4/8/12
The Post and Courier
By Stephen Largen
COLUMBIA — State government watchdogs and the state’s leading media attorney harbor serious concerns about a new records retention policy announced by Gov. Nikki Haley’s administration last month, saying the new agreement gives the governor’s office too much discretion to delete certain email exchanges and could easily lead to abuse.
The watchdogs said the new agreement represents a missed opportunity.
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Haley’s efforts in FOI bill criticized
4/5/12
The Post and Courier
By Stephen Largen
Gov. Nikki Haley wants lawmakers to lift the exemption in state law that allows them to shield their emails and other internal communication from public view.
But how Haley, who invoked the same exemption while a legislator campaigning for governor, has pursued that goal has put the governor’s office at odds with the S.C. Press Association, which represents and serves the state’s daily and weekly newspapers.
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Teamsters request for Dorchester bus contract gets improper fee quote
4/4/12
The Post and Courier
By Bo Petersen
SUMMERVILLE — Three people who asked for a copy of the Durham School Services bus contract from Dorchester District 2 schools were told it would cost $150 — an apparent violation of the state Freedom of Information law.
The requests came over the last few weeks as Teamsters union representatives try to organize bus drivers in the district.
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Postal reform stumbles again
4/3/12
National Newspaper Association
By Tonda F. Rush
WASHINGTON—Senate leaders prepared in late March to bring the 21st Century Postal Service Act, S1789, to the floor for a vote before Congress recessed for Easter. But opposition to parts of the bill threatened to bring reform to a halt again.
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Times-Union publisher Lucy Talley leaving
3/30/12
The Florida Time-Union
By David Bauerlein
Times-Union Publisher Lucy Talley is leaving the newspaper after three years at the helm to take a position with Hearst Newspapers.
Talley was formerly ad director of The Post and Courier in Charleston.
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Post and Courier debuts new-look website
3/27/12
The Post and Courier
Staff Report
 The Post and Courier today launches a new-look website that aims to provide a more pleasing experience for readers who want information from the Lowcountry’s largest and best news source.
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Natl. Archives works with Web company to streamline FOIA requests
3/27/12
Would streamlining FOIA requests save you time and man hours? The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently implemented a comprehensive solution that can also help you effectively track, monitor, and resolve your FOI requests.
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Didn't cops get the photos-OK memo?
3/27/12
Philadelphia Daily News
By Wendy Ruderman
Ian Van Kuyk, a Temple University junior studying photojournalism, emerged from class earlier this month with a straightforward assignment: Take pictures at night.
Van Kuyk's professor had armed him with a Nikon D40 digital camera and the knowledge that he had the legal right to snap photos anywhere within the public domain.
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Owner of T&D to roll out paywalls in 2012
3/23/12
Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises, which owns The Times and Democrat in Orangeburg, plans to roll out paywalls in most of its 52 markets by the end of the year.
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Former McClatchy CEO Pruitt will head AP
3/23/12
The McClatchy Company announced today that Gary B. Pruitt, chairman, president and chief executive of McClatchy, will leave the company May 16, to become president and chief executive of The Associated Press. He will join AP in July.
Pruitt succeeds retiring AP President and CEO Tom Curley to become the 13th leader of AP in its 166-year history.
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SCPA names weekly and daily journalists of the year at Annual Meeting
3/20/12
Corey Hutchins of the Free Times in Columbia and Renee Dudley of The Post and Courier in Charleston were honored as South Carolina's top journalists at the Press Association Annual Meeting in Folly Beach on March 17.
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Three newspapers take top honors for FOI efforts
3/20/12
One of the Press Association's most coveted awards is the Reid Montgomery Freedom of Information Award. It recognizes reporting that furthers the cause of open government and freedom of information in South Carolina. It goes to the heart of what newspapers are about -- their watchdog role as the fourth estate.
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Osteen and Sossamon honored by S.C. Press Association
3/20/12
Two longtime newspaper executives were awarded the S.C. Press Association Distinguished Service Award at the group's annual meeting March 17. They are Hubert Duvall Osteen Jr., editor of The Item in Sumter, and Louis Sossamon, former publisher and editor of The Gaffney Ledger. The awards -- presented by SCPA President William E.N. Hawkins -- are for people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to the S.C. Press Association and the newspaper industry.
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Late newspaper editor, editorial writer Pierce to be honored
3/20/12
The State
By John Monk
The late award-winning newsman Bob Pierce, who practiced print journalism at The State newspaper for 42 years, will be inducted into the S.C. Journalism Hall of Fame today.
Pierce, who died at 79 in 2007, won awards for reporting, editorial writing, column writing and typography before retiring in 1990. He was also managing editor and senior associate editor on the editorial page.
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Opinion: Our Hall of Fame honoree
3/20/12
The Post and Courier
Peter Manigault was a nationally recognized conservationist, historic preservation advocate and patron of the arts. His contributions live on in Charleston, across the Lowcountry landscape and beyond. He protected thousands of acres in the Santee Delta as wildlife habitat, and his example gave impetus to others to do the same. He was involved early in the revival of the Ansonborough neighborhood, and the painstaking restoration of his home, the Miles Brewton House on King Street, preserved one of Charleston's iconic structures and received national recognition.
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Lancaster publisher elected to lead press association
3/20/12
Susan Rowell, publisher of The Lancaster News, was elected president of the S.C. Press Association at the group's annual meeting Saturday at the The Tides hotel in Folly Beach. Other officers elected were: Jack Osteen, publisher of The Item in Sumter, and Morrey Thomas, publisher of The News and Press in Darlington, as vice presidents; and Judith Mundy Burns, publisher of the Index-Journal in Greenwood, as treasurer.
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