Hubert Osteen Jr.
The Sumter Item
Sumter, SC
Osteen recalls his newspaper’s coverage of the Civil Rights movement and the boycott that followed.
Video Interview
This video has been edited for length. If you’d like to listen to the full raw audio from our interview with Hubert Osteen, contact SCPA.
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Biography
Born: October 8, 1936 in Sumter
Newspaper History:
- Fourth generation of Osteen involved in newspapers in Sumter dating back 150 years
- Began working at newspaper at the age of 13 during the summers and continued to work there through high school and college
- Working full-time at The Item for 50 years
Honors and Awards:
- President of S.C. Press Association (1977-78)
- Member and chairman for over 20 years of the S.C. Press Association Foundation
- Member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors
- Business Person of the Year by the Sumter Chamber of Commerce in 1994
- Humanitarian of the Year by the Sumter YMCA in 1995
- Member and vice chairman of S.C. Parks, Recreation and Tourism Commission for nine years
Education:
- Bachelor of Journalism from University of Missouri
- Master of Science degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York City
Military Service: U.S. Air Force
Family: Parents, Hubert D. Osteen and Margaret Weeks Osteen. Married Jacqueline Brown Osteen in 1960. They have three sons, Graham, Kyle and Jack Osteen (all working in the newspaper business) and 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.