Author: Post and Courier Staff

Sunday Morning Overview

CBS News “Sunday Morning” profiled The Post and Courier-led “Uncovered” project on July 2, highlighting the newspaper and its partner efforts to expose corruption and questionable government conduct throughout South Carolina.

The Post and Courier launched the project in 2021 with a handful of print media partners. It has since grown to include a network of 19 community newspapers from every corner of the Palmetto State.  The project produced more than 70 stories to date, spawning reform initiatives and at least 10 state investigations and audits in the process.

Ted Koppel dove into The Post and Courier’s growth strategies in the ever changing publishing industry, observing, “Manigault is bucking the trend: hiring more staff, expanding digitally across the state, and investing heavily in, of all things, a state-of-the-art printing press.”

The Post and Courier is acutely aware that small newspapers across the country are closing their doors, thus contributing to the staggering fact that 70 million Americans live in “news deserts”.  Koppel pointed out that the impact of news deserts is dire – “absent a source of reliable local news and scrutiny of local officials, can lead to the spread of disinformation and corruption.”

The Post and Courier’s commitment to ending news deserts with local expansions and upholding democracy with investigative journalism is the fuel behind the paper’s growth.

Read more about The Post and Courier’s commitment to local market expansions.

Local Newspaper Market Expansions = New Business Opportunities Across the State

As The Post and Courier’s audience continues to grow, so does the audience our business partners have access to reaching with advertising efforts.  Furthermore, the grassroot investigative journalism that is being conducted in local communities would not be possible without the continued support from our readers, business partners, and donors to the Investigative Fund.

Top Leadership Changes

Changes are coming to top editor positions at The Post and Courier as South Carolina’s largest newspaper continues to grow and expand its offerings.

Executive Editor Autumn Phillips has been promoted to the newly created position of editor-in-chief, effective Aug. 1. In this role, Phillips will oversee two significant growth opportunities for the newspaper: philanthropic fundraising and the launch of a new venture in which she will lead readers on international trips.

“Autumn is a veteran world traveler and journalist,” Publisher P.J. Browning said. “She will teach participants how to write about the journey as a way of deepening the experience.”

Veteran journalist Jeff Taylor has been hired as The Post and Courier’s new executive editor after a national search. Taylor, who also will start Aug. 1, is an award-winning newsman who most recently served as vice president and executive editor for news and investigations at USA Today.

“Jeff comes to us with a tremendous background as a journalist and has held many executive leadership positions,” Browning said.

For Phillips, the move allows her to keenly focus on two of her driving passions: writing and travel. During her 5½ years at The Post and Courier, she has written several pieces about her sojourns to far-flung places such as Lebanon, Sudan and Kyrgyzstan. Beginning next year, she will bring readers along on her journeys.

Subscribers will also have a limited number of travel opportunities with other Post and Courier journalists as they report on international connections to Charleston. Photographers will teach them how to capture the journey, and reporters will show them how to see a place through the lens of climate change, history or food, Browning said.

Back at home, Taylor will oversee the daily operations of The Post and Courier as it continues to expand across South Carolina. In addition to its home base in Charleston, the newspaper has newsrooms in Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Florence and Rock Hill. As he charts a path forward, Taylor will lean on a wealth of experience gleaned from a long and distinguished career in journalism, Browning said.

Read more about Phillips and Taylor, along with other news, on www.postandcourier.com.

New Ventures and Continued Focus on Digital Expansion

The impact of Autumn Phillips new venture on the community will be profound, as subscribers will have the opportunity to partake in travel experiences with other Post and Courier journalists, gaining insights into international connections to Charleston.  Jeff Taylor is poised to spearhead The Post and Courier’s digital expansion, bringing forth positive changes for business partners, advertisers, and the Charleston community.

Recognizing the paper’s impact, community connection, and high regard among South Carolinians, Taylor is thrilled to join a platform that embodies his passion for “big-J journalism” and its potential to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Taylor’s vision revolves around bolstering The Post and Courier’s digital footprint, attracting new generations of readers who will shape the newspaper’s future.

By capitalizing on the paper’s reputation for producing penetrating and context-rich stories that provide a comprehensive understanding of the interconnected pieces, Taylor intends to offer content that cannot be found elsewhere.

This digital expansion will not only enhance engagement with existing partners but also attract new business and advertising collaborations. Ultimately, the Charleston community stands to benefit from Phillip’s and Taylor’s dedication to elevating journalism and fostering a deeper understanding of local and international issues.

The Post and Courier is relaunching their climate and environment newsletter with a new name, Rising Waters: Climate Stories of the South.  This newsletter will focus on the environment and climate issues not only facing the South Carolina Lowcountry, but the entire Southeast region of the United States.

Time for Change

Over the past few years, the environment and climate change newsletter, Tipping Point, has been sending to over 2,000 subscribers, but The Post and Courier has decided it is time for a change that will better reflect their journalism and the everchanging state of the environment.

Environment and Climate Reporter Clare Fieseler joined The Post and Courier last December and expressed an interest in starting this newsletter to better connect with her readers, and make sure that they were receiving the environmental science content that they expect from The Post and Courier.

“Some of the same issues I lived through in North Carolina for many years – storms, rising seas, land development and thorny environmental politics – followed me here to the Lowcountry,” Fieseler continues, “I knew that I wanted to give readers a weekly deep dive into our climate coverage to show how it connects to news happening across the South.”

The 2020 series, Rising Waters, documents how the quickening pace of climate change and sea level rise poses an existential threat to South Carolina.  The series was named as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the local reporting category in 2021.

The Post and Courier’s Executive Editor, Autumn Phillips, said, “We wanted this newsletter to continue the paper’s tradition of excellence when covering climate change and the environment.  Bringing back the name ‘Rising Waters’ was a no brainer.”

This newsletter will focus on how climate change interacts with the environment, such as with wildlife, human health, food, housing, migration and more.  Fieseler hopes to share books, trends, scientific insights and more with her readers, and to settle how they can address the environmental changes that are surrounding them today.

Rapidly Growing Audience = Effective Marketing Opportunities

This newsletter is projected to target a highly engaged and specific audience, creating the perfect atmosphere for businesses to capture the attention of these subscribers.  The Post and Courier’s Director of Sales, Wayne Snow, said “The broad insights Clare will bring to our highly engaged audience supports our unending commitment to connecting advertisers that have a desire to capture them.  When it comes to topics like these, we’re excited about the opportunity to marry our customers to ‘Rising Waters’ thoughtful and responsive subscribers.”

Details regarding these sponsorship opportunities will be announced in the coming weeks.  For now, subscribe to the weekly newsletter and donate to support climate and environmental journalism.

Rising Waters: Climate Stories of the South will be sent directly to subscribers emails every Friday at 8 a.m.