Advertising’s slippery slope By John Foust, Advertising Trainer I remember taking a day-long ski trip to Virginia. The charter bus was filled with skiers who had different levels of experience: a few were pretty good, most were average, and some were novices like me.After a morning on the beginners’ slope,...
Is Your Website Being Used for AI? Can You Stop it?
Is Your Website Being Used for AI? Can You Stop it? Published Sept. 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Chatbots such as ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence services have exploded online since their introduction just a few months ago. They have become so popular...
South Carolina Supreme Court is unanimous in its support of open courts and open records. Are the trial courts paying attention?
South Carolina Supreme Court is unanimous in its support of open courts and open records. Are the trial courts paying attention? Published Sept. 2023 By SCPA Attorney Jay Bender On September 6 the Supreme Court of South Carolina filed an opinion vacating an order which had reduced the prison sentence...
Kansas case is an inflection point for rural newspapers
SUSTAINING RURAL JOURNALISM Kansas case is an inflection point for rural newspapers Published Sept. 2023 By Al Cross After local police raided the office of the Marion County Record and the home of its owners, creating a national outcry that was entirely justified, the question was asked in newspaper offices...
Interviewing
How to interview anybody By Jerry Bellune, Writing Coach Your guidelines for interviewing anybody are thankfully similar.Your subject may be the President of the United States or the woman who just won best arrangement at the local flower show.1. Do your research, even if it’s only talking with those who...
Could the Kansas Police Newspaper Raid Happen Here?
Could the Kansas Police Newspaper Raid Happen Here? Published August 2023Editor's Note: SCPA members are welcome to republish this column online or in print. By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The Aug. 11 police raid of the Marion County Record—in which the police seized the newspaper’s...
Jay Bender letter to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. RE cameras in the court
Jay Bender's letter to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. RE video and still photography coverage of U.S. v. Donald J. Trump The following letter was sent Aug. 4, 2023. Here is a PDF of the full letter on letterhead. By SCPA Attorney Jay Bender Jay Benderjbender@brblegal.comAugust 4, 2023The Honorable...
Mystery Plant 733
Mystery Plant! #733 John Nelson Posted July 26, 2023 By John Nelson johnbnelson@sc.rr.com And now, ladies and gentlemen, for your late summer enjoyment, I am proud to present a plant that is common as dirt... and a member of the sedge family! You may remember from your first botany class...
Darkness can never overcome God’s light
Living on Purpose: Darkness can never overcome God’s light Dr. William Holland Posted July 25, 2023By Dr. William HollandThere is a lot of talk today about the reality of a global system of organized evil that controls the governments and social politics of the world. There are many different attitudes...
Tony Bennett RIP
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: RIP Tony Bennett Posted July 25, 2023By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
SCPA President: CBS’ Koppel report provides hope, relights the journalism embers
CBS’ Koppel report provides hope, relights the journalism embers Published July 2023 By SCPA President Richard Whiting, Editor of the Index-Journal If you are a South Carolina newspaper (and website) journalist, then I hope I’m not sharing something you did not already know about and, more important, already watch. But...
Free Press Doesn’t Mean Freedom to Break the Law, But Police Shouldn’t Arrest Journalists
Free Press Doesn’t Mean Freedom to Break the Law, But Police Shouldn’t Arrest Journalists Published July 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Last month two reporters for the left-leaning The Asheville Blade in North Carolina were convicted of misdemeanor trespassing for not leaving when...
‘Running of the interns’ highlights why federal courts should be open to cameras
'Running of the interns' highlights why federal courts should be open to cameras Published June 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications “On your mark. Get set. Go!”These words were not actually called out in the federal courtroom where former president Donald Trump was arraigned...
Mystery Plant 723
Mystery Plant 723 John Nelson Posted May 17, 2023 By John Nelson johnbnelson@sc.rr.com The other day I was busying around in the herbarium when a gentleman from the little town of Wagener, SC dropped by, carrying a bucket. Inside the bucket was a good bit of water, from his pond,...
Is “Actual Malice” Really Not an Insurmountable Hurdle?
Is “Actual Malice” Really Not an Insurmountable Hurdle? Published May 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications This column has repeatedly discussed the numerous attacks on the landmark New York Times v. Sullivan precedent and the “actual malice” standard that it added to American libel...
A divided heart lives in deception
Living on Purpose: A divided heart lives in deception Dr. William Holland Posted May 16, 2023By Dr. William HollandI’m reminded again of the quote from Scott Fitzgerald, “You do not write because you want to say something; you write because you have something to say.” I can relate to those...
Carefully screen columns by public officials
Carefully screen columns by public officials Published May 2, 2023 By Jim Pumarlo, Newspaper Consultant How will the Legislature deal with a record budget surplus, and what will it mean for taxpayer pocketbooks? Are there implications for public safety with the proposal to legalize marijuana? Which communities are the winners...
Blink Book Review: “It. Goes. So. Fast.: The Year of No Do-Overs” by Mary Louise Kelly
Blink Book Review#13: “It. Goes. So. Fast.: The Year of No Do-Overs” by Mary Louise Kelly Reba Campbell Posted 5/2/23By Reba CampbellThe books I enjoy the most typically sit unfinished with one chapter to go. They deliciously hang out in my reading stack or on my audiobook list the same...
Preventing seeds of unforgiveness to germinate
Living on Purpose: Preventing seeds of unforgiveness to germinate Dr. William Holland Posted 5/2/23By Dr. William HollandHow much grace does it take to love our enemies? That’s a good question. Tragedies occur all around us and it’s true we are heartbroken and disturbed, but how do we react when our...
Disney Fights Back
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Disney Fights Back Posted 5/2/23By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
When A Church Dies
Living on Purpose: When A Church Dies Dr. William Holland Posted 5/2/23By Dr. William HollandSome linger in woods. Some stand, for now, at the end or side of a dirt road. Some hide behind other buildings, and some haunt the edge of hamlets and villages.Abandoned churches. How does a church...
Mystery Plant 720
Mystery Plant! #720 John Nelson Posted 5/2/23By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comWhere exactly is the “enchanted forest” that you sometimes hear about? I’ve come to realize that for me, it was that little patch of woods right next door when I was growing up. But you’ve probably been in an enchanted forest, too. Enchanted...
Making The Sea Bountiful
Making The Sea Bountiful Artificial Reefs & Memorial Fishing Grounds Tom Poland Posted April 26, 2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netEarly 1980s, it was. We put out to sink a ship. Waves tossed us about as we headed seaward to document the sinking of a Liberty ship. Seems it was the...
Taking a moment to share my life and appreciation
Living on Purpose: Taking a moment to share my life and appreciation Dr. William Holland Posted 4/25/23By Dr. William HollandFor those of you that read this column, I hope the insights and considerations are worth your time. I have political and social speculations like all of you, but I would...
Moody Spring
Moody Spring Tom Poland Posted 4/25/23By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netRounding a curve on Highway 107, I saw water spurting from handsome stonework set in a mountain. Moody Spring, I knew we’d stop. I had no qualms about drinking the spring’s water. It had no taste. That’s what made it great....
Mystery Plant 719
Mystery Plant! #719 John Nelson Posted 4/25/23By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comThe following story is true. (Or make that “stories”.)There was a botanist named Henry Oosting who was born in 1903. Upon acquiring his PhD, and at the age of 29, he was hired as an ecologist within the botany department at Duke...
Even if Public Records Are Wrong, Accurately Reporting Them is Protected
Even if Public Records Are Wrong, Accurately Reporting Them is Protected Published April 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications The “fair report” privilege is a legal doctrine accepted in South Carolina and most other states which provides that a publisher is not liable for...
Do you know where your fire extinguishers are?
Do you know where your fire extinguishers are? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer We all want to take care of our advertisers and coworkers. Well, there’s no better way to do that than to help them stay safe in the workplace. There are some simple things we can do to...
No Supreme Court Ethics
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: No Supreme Court Ethics Posted 4/18/23By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
Your Continental Divide
Your Continental Divide Tom Poland Posted 4/18/23By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netSomething trendy comes along that’s annoying and you resist. Some manager at work decides to implement a new work procedure. You don’t like it. “C’mon now, just go with the flow.” It takes courage to resist others. In going with...
Will the return of Christ interfere with your plans?
Living on Purpose: Will the return of Christ interfere with your plans? Dr. William Holland Posted 4/18/23By Dr. William HollandHenry Allan “Harry” Ironside was a Canadian-American Bible teacher, preacher, theologian, pastor, and author who pastored Moody Church in Chicago from 1929 to 1948. It is said that Harry Ironside was...
Mystery Plant 718
Mystery Plant! #718 John Nelson Posted 4/18/23By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comPetruchio: “Nay, come, Kate, come: you must not look so sour.”Katharina: “It is my fashion, when I see a crab.”Petruchio: “Why, here's no crab; and therefore look not sour.” The Taming of the Shrew. II, 1.(More humor from Shakespeare! This time, you...
A burden for souls is the heart of evangelism
Living on Purpose: A burden for souls is the heart of evangelism Dr. William Holland Posted 4/11/23By Dr. William HollandEveryone has their thoughts and interpretations when it comes to sharing the gospel, but there’s not a more terrifying word among the average Christian than evangelism. Just ask a believer when...
Mystery Plant 717
Mystery Plant! #717 John Nelson Posted 4/11/23By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.com “Nemo me impune lacessit.” {In English: “Nobody messes with me and gets away with it.”] --motto of the Scottish Order of the Thistle. Scottish history? Tradition has it that, a long time ago, an invading band of Norwegians took off their...
Life’s Healing Elixir
Life’s Healing Elixir Tom Poland Posted 4/11/23By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.net A Sunday sojourn found me at Healing Springs near Blackville, South Carolina. There I stood on Gods Acre, property deeded to God. Palm Sunday it was, and processions came to be healed. Some came to slake a thirst driven by curiosity....
Drumming Up White Feathery Memories
Drumming Up White Feathery Memories Tom Poland Posted 4/4/23By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netLong before I moved to South Carolina, family vacation trips took us over Charleston’s “New Cooper River Bridge.” To be accurate, we drove over the Silas N. Pearman Bridge to Mount Pleasant and Sullivan’s Island—destination surf and seafood....
Highway 61 Revisited
Highway 61 Revisited Tom Poland Posted 4/4/2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netFrom 22,000 miles high, a satellite dropped an uncanny merging of highway and music into my path. XM Radio played the comedic ACME siren whistle that rose, then fell smooth as silk. The second that whistle kicked off “Highway 61...
The angel said, “Jesus is not here, He is risen!”
Living on Purpose: The angel said, “Jesus is not here, He is risen!” Dr. William Holland Posted 4/4/2023By Dr. William HollandThis is the time of year when Christians focus on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Spring is a season of new life as His followers remember how He...
Trump Indictment
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Cartoon Headline Posted 4/4/2023By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
Mystery Plant 716
Mystery Plant! #716 John Nelson Posted 3/30/23By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comThe amaryllis family is a large group of herbaceous species, many of them producing large bulbs, plenty of basal slender or strap-shaped leaves, and most with a tropical distribution, but a good many are native here in the Southeast. Many of these...
Memories Of Zebco Reels & Red Wrigglers
Memories Of Zebco Reels & Red Wrigglers Tom Poland Posted 3/30/2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netI drive west, Georgia bound,and pass it yet again, a place that pulls at my heart. My father had a worm farm, and my grandfather’s country store had a minnow tank. Fishing meant everything to me...
Are your news, ad departments on same page?
Are your news, ad departments on same page? Published March 28, 2023 By Jim Pumarlo, Newspaper Consultant Editors often raise red flags – or at least hesitate – at requests for business news, and often for good reason.A store seeks a story for its grand opening – three months after...
No Evidence
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: No Evidence Posted 3/28/23By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
What will be your wager about God’s existence?
Living on Purpose: What will be your wager about God’s existence? Dr. William Holland Posted 3/28/23By Dr. William HollandGod’s offer for everyone to accept His salvation is the greatest gesture of compassion and grace the world has ever known. However, for those who reject His invitation, as the rich young...
Mystery Plant 715
Mystery Plant! #715 John Nelson Posted 3/23/2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comDon’t worry about kids falling out of this tree. It’s terrible for a tree house, or just for climbing, and for pretty obvious reasons.It is a native deciduous plant, fairly common from New York through the lower Midwest, and south to Texas...
S.C. media and First Amendment advocates must remain vigilant as new ‘hurricane’ brews in Florida
S.C. media and First Amendment advocates must remain vigilant as new 'hurricane' brews in Florida Published March 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In 2022, Hurricane Ian barreled across Florida, causing widespread damage and becoming the deadliest hurricane to strike Florida since 1935. Ian...
WHY WOULD AN INNOCENT MAN LIE?
WHY WOULD AN INNOCENT MAN LIE? Published March 2023Editor's Note: Member editors can pick this column up and run it in print and online as they see fit. By SCPA Attorney Jay Bender Why would an innocent man lie to police about the last time he saw his wife and...
A cure for the Sunday Afternoon Blues
Everything and Nothing: A cure for the Sunday Afternoon Blues Aïda Rogers Posted 3/21/23By Aïda RogersFor many years I’ve been afflicted by the Sunday Afternoon Blues, which means that for almost as many years I’ve known how to get rid of them: I get out of the house and do something....
The magic and mess of a blank page
The magic and mess of a blank page Reba Campbell Posted 3/21/23By Reba CampbellI started the year trying to resume the discipline of keeping a handwritten journal. This process of deliberately writing by hand has reminded me how it so often results in a flow that’s very different from writing...
If it’s 10:08, it must be a watch ad
If it’s 10:08, it must be a watch ad By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”That’s certainly true in advertising. Consider the nuances of photography. For example, the next time you...
To build trust and your audience, show how much you care, not just how much you know
INTO THE ISSUES To build trust and your audience, show how much you care, not just how much you know Published March 20, 2023 By Al Cross The national headline on stories about the latest poll on the news media and democracy were about its finding that half of Americans...
What does having a pure heart mean to you?
Living on Purpose: What does having a pure heart mean to you? Dr. William Holland Posted 03/20/2023By Dr. William HollandMany are familiar with the beatitudes which are a section of a larger discourse spoken by Jesus in His earthly ministry. They are found in His sermon on the mount in...
Behind the Lens
Behind The Lens Tom Poland Posted 03/20/2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netThirty-seven years ago I wrote “Worth The Wait,” a feature on photographing wildlife. South Carolina Wildlife magazine photographers Ted Borg, Robert Clark, and Phillip Jones gave me tips on seasons and subjects, cameras and lenses, film speed, light and color,...
Territorial Dispute
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Territorial Dispute Posted 03/20/23By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
We’re Sending You To …
We’re Sending You To … Tom Poland Posted 3/16/2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netIn the 1960s my father visited the Central State Hospital in Georgia. He may have gone to visit a relative. I recall a heated family gathering in the dining room. A relative had the family up in arms....
Mystery Plant 714
Mystery Plant! #714 John Nelson Posted 3/16/2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.com“And, most dear actors, eat no onions nor garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath…” Midsummer Night’s Dream. Act 4, scene 2.You probably remember James Cagney in the 1935 film version of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s a classic! Cagney played Nick...
The Joy Of Scholarships
The Joy Of Scholarships Tom Poland Posted 3/16/2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netAfter high school I hoped to land a scholarship to play football. I played first unit on the junior varsity ream and started three years on the varsity. Playing at a small college was a long shot at best....
Biden Budget
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Biden Budget Posted 3/16/2023By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
Walking on bridges that human eyes cannot see
Living on Purpose: Walking on bridges that human eyes cannot see Dr. William Holland Posted 3/16/2023By Dr. William HollandSoon after Jesus had resurrected, we find a beautiful account found in John chapter 20 that is a wonderful example of how much God loves us and desires to help us. The...
Only two options: The broad or the narrow way
Living on Purpose: The broad or the narrow way Dr. William Holland Posted 3/8/2023By Dr. William HollandThose who identify with following Jesus are usually satisfied with being comfortable and cozy in their religious styles. Let’s just say that suffering for God is not on their bucket list. When we take...
The Home Place
The Home Place Tom Poland Posted 3/8/2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netIt’s a scene Normal Rockwell would have liked. We see an old hand-dug well, a corncrib, and an outhouse. A fine old cedar leans back as if taking a gander at my camera and me. We time travel here where...
Mystery Plant 713
Mystery Plant! #713 John Nelson Posted 3/7/2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.com Here’s an easy one. It’s easy because it is very common, and very distinctive. This is a shrubby species, usually a multi-trunked woody plant, with smooth gray bark, often getting to be a tall shrub, or even a small tree. It...
Mystery Plant 712
Mystery Plant! #712 John Nelson Posted March 1, 2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comSpring is finally here, I think…and this wildflower is proof. It is one of the earliest blooming woodland species we have. And, I think you will agree, it’s one of the prettiest. Folks, I’m telling you that this spring seems...
The Green Of Winter
The Green Of Winter Tom Poland Posted Feb. 28, 2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netPine pollen yellows my deck, but the green of winter colors my thoughts. Two things I like about winter. One, winter’s cold bones lay the land bare. You see things that go unnoticed when leaves flutter and...
Practice over Perfect
Practice over Perfect Reba Campbell Posted Feb. 28, 2023By Reba Campbell“Practice makes perfect.” Surely a mantra we all heard as children…whether it was in sports, spelling, music or math. This was a standard line repeated by grown-ups who were just trying to help us learn. Practice is a good thing…right?...
God’s invitation is to the entire world
Living on Purpose: God’s invitation is to the entire world Dr. William Holland Posted Feb. 27, 2023By Dr. William HollandKentucky is having amazingly warm weather for February and actually broke records the other day. My grass is turning green and soon everything will be budding and we will be out...
Mystery Plant 711
Mystery Plant! #711 John Nelson Posted Feb. 22, 2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comSome of you, such as myself, really like to see the end of winter roll around each year. As with all the other seasons, this process is rather gradual, and, there are many signs of spring’s coming, sometimes these working...
Editor ‘can handle mean,’ but can’t stand ‘baseless cynicism and unwillingness to think’
INTO THE ISSUES Editor ‘can handle mean,’ but can’t stand ‘baseless cynicism and unwillingness to think’ Published Feb. 21, 2023 By Al Cross This month’s column is mainly from someone else, because it illustrates a serious problem facing rural newspapers: How do they manage increasingly contentious public discourse and still...
New Leadership
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: New Leadership 2/21/23By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
God is waiting to pour out His glory on us
Living on Purpose: Column Headline Dr. William Holland 2/21/23By Dr. William HollandLast week we talked about the recent revival in Wilmore Kentucky. Anytime there are 1500 people in one place worshiping God around the clock, we know the Lord is stirring hearts. We had a trip to Denver planned last...
Mystery Plant 710
Mystery Plant! #710 John Nelson 2/21/2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.com We had a Mysterious pine tree not too long ago, and here is another. There’s always a new pine species that’s worth learning about.This one is growing in a small park not far from my house, in the Shandon area of Columbia, where...
Thirty Years—The Mountains To The Sea
Thirty Years—The Mountains To The Sea Tom Poland 1/21/23By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netI remember the year well. 1984. It was my first year working as a staff writer for South Carolina Wildlife. I had just spent six years working in film for what would become DNR. Those six years opened...
Managing and Covering the Murdaugh Case and Other “Trials of the Century”
Managing and Covering the Murdaugh Case and Other “Trials of the Century” Published Feb. 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications Although it is common to call a high-profile trial “the trial of the century,” it is a misnomer; there have been several such trials...
What are they selling?
What are they selling? By John Foust, Advertising Trainer Greensboro, NCMy wife and I once visited with Rick and Karen, a couple who had served as missionaries overseas. As part of their work to get involved in the community, Rick was assigned to teach a class at a local school....
It’s encouraging to see a hunger and thirst for God
Living on Purpose: It’s encouraging to see a hunger and thirst for God Dr. William Holland 2/14/2023By Dr. William HollandThere is a move of the Holy Spirit happening in Wilmore Kentucky where the small evangelical Asbury University and Seminary are located. As the regular chapel service began Wednesday morning in...
A Walk In Winter Woods
A Walk In Winter Woods Tom Poland 2/14/2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netI like boardwalks. Those that take you through protected natural areas. Several come to mind. The lovely boardwalk at Woods Bay takes you 1,150 feet through a cypress-tupelo swamp. Edisto Gardens’ 2,600-foot boardwalk also takes you through a cypress-tupelo...
Let’s Dance
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Let's Dance 2/9/2023By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
Mystery plant #709
Mystery Plant! #709 John Nelson 2/9/2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comThose of you faithful readers of this column will know that its author (me) is fond of studying the plant life in grocery stores…and of course this means those plants that are being marketed, usually as species which are edible in one way...
Prime time to take inventory of your newsmakers
Prime time to take inventory of your newsmakers Published February 2, 2023 By Jim Pumarlo, Newspaper Consultant Here’s a periodic action item for every newspaper: The exercise can be quite revealing in evaluating how you are connecting with various audiences. It is even more important in today’s fractured media landscape...
Do we only follow God when we feel like it?
Living on Purpose: Column Headline Dr. William Holland 2/7/2023 By Dr. William Holland Have you ever wondered what is the purpose of television, games, movies, and social media? Many will say it was created to entertain and inform us, but what we may not have noticed, is that when we...
Mystery Plant 708
Mystery Plant! #708 John Nelson 2/2/2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comWhich plant group displays the showiest, most flamboyant flowers? Sunflowers and daisies? Lilies, daffodils, and amaryllis? Or maybe the iris family? (It’s fun to ponder this weighty question now, as spring is about to erupt, and not too soon!) But many of us...
Santos
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Santos 1/31/23By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
The power of enthusiasm
The power of enthusiasm By John Foust, Advertising Trainer There’s a story about a professor of literature at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. As he approached retirement, someone from the newspaper interviewed him. During the course of their conversation, the reporter asked the wise old professor about...
Appreciating every day and every hour
Living on Purpose: appreciating every day and every hour Dr. William Holland 1/30/23 By Dr. William Holland I have a good friend that is seriously ill with late-stage cancer. When he was diagnosed about 2 years ago, he began to write and send a daily text thread to friends about...
Mystery Plant 707
Mystery Plant! #707 John Nelson 1/26/23By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.com A few days ago I was up at the herbarium here are USC; they let me come in now and then and putter around, helping to prepare and file away specimens. That day we all gathered around...
We Need Tree Scholars
We Need Tree Scholars Tom Poland 1/24/23By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netThe January-February 2023 issue of South Carolina Wildlife magazine ran my story on Edgefield County’s Curryton Magnolia. The old tree’s close to being a state record magnolia but a magnolia with more state record potential lives at Hampton Plantation in...
A Writer’s Moon Tide Memories
A Writer’s Moon Tide Memories Tom Poland 1/23/23By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netIt seems like yesterday though it was forty-five years. I took a job as a scriptwriter-cinematographer with the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department. I put my Journalism degree to work, writing film scripts about blackwater rivers, sea...
A new mission: answering how rural communities sustain journalism that serves local democracy
INTO THE ISSUES A new mission: answering how rural communities sustain journalism that serves local democracy JAN 1, 2023 By Al Cross The Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues has a new mission: to answer the question we posed at our second National Summit on Journalism in Rural America...
Resolve to be accessible, stay relevant
Resolve to be accessible, stay relevant Published Jan. 2023 By Jim Pumarlo, Newspaper Consultant Surviving in today’s fractured media landscape depends on your ability to identify, collect and deliver the relevant community news. That job becomes more challenging if readers become frustrated in their attempts to connect with reporters. The...
Suing the Media for Revenge and Profit
Suing the Media for Revenge and Profit Published Jan. 2023 By Eric P. Robinson, USC School of Journalism and Mass Communications In his new bestselling book and slew of media interviews promoting it, Prince Harry rails against the British media and their alleged collaborators within the British Monarchy, blaming them...
Honey locust
Mystery Plant! #705 John Nelson Posted Jan. 10, 2023By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comIt's the branch of a tree, but this tree is no good for a tree house.Take a look at the thorns, which can be found up and down the trunk, and also potently arming the branches. You won't beinclined to...
Devotion At An Abandoned Home Place
Devotion At An Abandoned Home Place Tom Poland Posted Jan. 10, 2023By Tom PolandA Southern Writerwww.tompoland.nettompol@earthlink.netNo matter how long, no matter how often you travel a road, it’ll surprise you. I’ve driven Highway 378 into Georgia for not quite fifty years. The road has been a journal, and some of...
Accomplishing God’s will is our purpose
Living on Purpose: Accomplishing God’s will is our purpose Dr. William Holland Posted Jan. 10, 2023By Dr. William HollandIt’s disappointing to God that most people are usually more concerned about what they want in life than asking Him what He requires of them. Since our eyes were opened in the...
Speaker McCarthy
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: Speaker McCarthy Posted Jan. 10, 2023By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
2023 Legislative Preview for the Media
2023 Legislative Preview for the Media Posted Jan. 9, 2023 Rep. Bruce Bannister, Chairman, Ways & Means (R-Greenville) Rep. Bill Sandifer, Chairman, Labor, Commerce & Industry (R-Oconee) Rep. Tommy Pope, Speaker Pro Tempore (R-York) Rep. Tommy Pope, Speaker Pro Tempore (R-York) Rep. Jay Jordan, Chairman, Ethics (R-Florence) Rep. Tommy Pope,...
23 Legislative Preview
2023 Legislative Preview for the Media Posted Jan. 9, 2023 Sen. Shane Massey, Majority Leader (R-Edgefield) Sen. Brad Hutto, Minority Leader (D-Orangeburg) Sen. Brad Hutto, Minority Leader (D-Orangeburg); Sen. Shane Massey, Majority Leader (R-Edgefield) Sen. Brad Hutto, Minority Leader (D-Orangeburg); Sen. Shane Massey, Majority Leader (R-Edgefield) Sen. Shane Massey, Majority...
2023 Legislative Workshop
2023 Legislative Preview for the Media Posted Jan. 9, 2023 Frank Rainwater, Executive Director, S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office Frank Rainwater, Executive Director, S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office Sen. Chip Campsen, Chairman, Fish, Game & Forestry (R-Charleston) Sen. Chip Campsen, Chairman, Fish, Game & Forestry (R-Charleston) Sen. Chip...
Enjoying the comforts of remaining the same
Living on Purpose: Enjoying the comforts of remaining the same Dr. William Holland Posted January 2, 2023By Dr. William HollandAs God continues to move upon the earth, He has never stopped calling His children to be truth seekers, to speak His words, and demonstrate His character. The painful fact is...
House of cards
Stuart Neiman Cartoon: House of cards Posted January 2, 2023By Stuart Neiman This content is being shared through the S.C. News Exchange and is for use in SCPA member publications. Please use appropriate bylines and credit line
Mystery Plant! #699
Mystery Plant! #699 John Nelson Posted December 29, 2022By John Nelsonjohnbnelson@sc.rr.comWinter hasn’t even started yet, but it sure looks like it in my backyard. Practically all of the leaves are fallen, and we’ve had two hard frosts here in central South Carolina. I am grateful that in my part of...