Jay Bender

S.C. Press Association Attorney
Columbia, SC

SCPA Attorney covers legal issues faced by newspapers

Bender recalls important cases for free presses in South Carolina.

Video Interview

This video has been edited for length. If you’d like to listen to the full raw audio from our interview with Jay Bender, contact SCPA.

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Biography

Born: July 16, 1944 in Hominy, Oklahoma

Newspaper History:

  • Counsel of SCPA and member newspapers since the early 1980’s
  • Media Law professor at the University of South Carolina

Honors and Awards:

  • First recipient of Reid H. Montgomery Freedom of Information Chair at USC
  •  SCPA Distinguished Service Award

Education:

  • B.A. in Journalism from the University of South Carolina 1970
  • J.D. from the University of South Carolina 1975

Military Service: U.S. Army 1962-1966

Family: Married to Anne Cushman; children are Todd, Edward and Sumner Bender; stepdaughter Elizabeth Wiggers; six grandchildren

SCPA's oral history project is dedicated to preserving the heritage of our state's journalists and newspapers.

This program is funded by the South Carolina Humanities Council, whose mission is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. This program is co-sponsored by the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications.