07/01/2026
It happens almost every day when I'm on Facebook. I see where a South Carolina newspaper has posted a story. Then, someone comments that they can't read it because it's behind a paywall. Then another person copies and pastes the entire article into the comments for everyone to read. I know they think they're being helpful. But that story is how local journalists get paid. Every article represents hours, or sometimes days, of reporting, interviews, photography, fact-checking, editing and public records requests. And those paywalls help support the journalists doing that work.
I’ve spent my career in South Carolina’s newsrooms and my nonprofit, SC Investigates, works with them now to produce accountability stories. I promise that local journalists care deeply about their communities and work incredibly hard to get the facts right. They want to be in South Carolina’s city halls, school boards, the State House and every other place where important decisions are being made so they can tell you what's happening and hold those in power accountable.
But local journalism cannot survive without local support. If you value having trusted reporters covering your community, please consider subscribing to your local newspaper. It needs your support now more than ever as communities across America lose their local papers.https://apnews.com/article/newspapers-closing-media-industry-report-traffic-b0a3a14510ffe104da836d46432c2678
