Upcoming Workshops & Events
Dec. 9
SCPA Foundation Internship & Scholarship Application Deadline
The South Carolina Press Association Foundation’s internship program provides a meaningful, hands-on training experience for students interested in news reporting, copy editing, photojournalism, advertising or visual communications. Our internship program prepares students for careers at S.C. newspapers after they graduate.
The Foundation’s internship program provides a meaningful, hands-on training experience for students interested in news reporting, copy editing, photojournalism, advertising or visual communications. Our internship program prepares students for careers at S.C. newspapers after they graduate.
Two or more interns are placed each summer at daily and weekly SCPA member newspapers, allowing students an invaluable real-world training experience. If selected as an intern, you will be matched with an SCPA member newspaper that can provide the best learning environment for your area of interest. The Foundation will either help you secure housing for your internship or place you at a newspaper near an area where you already have access to housing.
This is a paid internship. Each internship is eight weeks long and pays $4,000 ($500 per week). You do not have to sign up for school credit to have this internship. However, if you want, the internship would qualify for class credit at most schools.
Internships are open to student journalists who attend a four-year college in South Carolina or reside in South Carolina and attend a four-year college elsewhere. Rising juniors and seniors, and recent college graduates are eligible to apply.
Apply for a summer internship today!
The Foundation also awards a scholarship each year to a S.C. college student interested in pursuing a newspaper career. The premier scholarship, worth $1,000 per academic year, is named for the Foundation’s first president, the late Frank R. Mundy of the Greenwood Index-Journal. Scholarships are open to student journalists who attend a four-year college in South Carolina or who reside in South Carolina and attend a four-year college elsewhere. Rising juniors and seniors are eligible to apply. Apply for the Mundy Scholarship today!
Dec. 23-26
Happy Holidays!
SCPA Offices Closed
Dec. 30
Happy New Year!
SCPA Offices Closed
Jan. 9, 2023 | 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Legislative Workshop for the Media
Room 112, Solomon Blatt Building, State House
Save the date! More details coming soon!
Jan. 10, 2023 | 2-2:30 p.m.
New Manager Orientation
Zoom
SCPA is hosting a virtual orientation for new editors, publishers and mangers to go over SCPA and SCNN member services. Join us Tuesday, Jan. 10, from 2-2:30 p.m. via Zoom. This will be an informal space for new leaders of SCPA member papers to get information, ask questions and chat with some of your peers. We’ll go over SCPA’s member services, Legal/FOI Hotline, SLED checks, lobbying, training, contests, communications, resources, ad representation and other benefits of your membership. Please RSVP if you’d like to attend.
Jan. 20, 2023 | 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Senior Management Roundtable
SCPA Offices, Columbia
Our annual Senior Management Roundtable is coming up soon!
Join us Friday, Jan. 20, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., at SCPA Offices in Columbia.
Especially after a couple years apart, this will be a great time to meet with your peers for robust discussion.
This event (formerly known as our Publisher Roundtable) is a great opportunity for senior daily, weekly and monthly managers (including publishers, general managers, ad directors and other key leaders) to come together to discuss the issues facing their organizations in a casual setting.
Topics are up to the group, but may include: new ad ideas that are working, non-traditional ways to build revenue, growing readership and audience engagement, ways to save money, managing staff and more. We’ll also have plenty of time for show and tell.
Attendees are asked to bring ideas and samples to share. If you have ideas for discussion topics or specific questions you’d like addressed, please submit them when registering.
The cost to attend is $25, which includes lunch. Register here.
This event is only open to SCPA member senior publishers, managers and ad directors.
Feb. 10, 2023 | 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
IRE Data Journalism Bootcamp
SCPA Offices, Columbia
This is the rescheduled date for the event originally set for Sept. 30, 2022, that canceled due to Hurricane Ian.
Sharpen your data journalism skills on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, as SCPA hosts IRE for a full-day boot camp. Sponsored by the SCPA Foundation Smoak Fund, this event will be a mix of training and hands-on work featuring the industry’s leading data-driven journalism organization, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE).
At this event, you’ll learn best practices for effectively using spreadsheets for analyzing data. This event is catered specifically toward S.C. journalists so regardless of your beat or your organization’s size, frequency or resources, you’ll walk away with practical skills. At only $65, this is a great value for top-notch training that will expand your skills and teach you cutting edge tools and techniques.
Attendees will need to bring a laptop with access to Google Sheets to this event. If you don’t have a Google account, you will need to create one. If you need help creating a Google account, contact SCPA.
Thanks to sponsorship from the SCPA Foundation Smoak Fund, the cost to attend is only $65, which includes a boxed lunch.
This hands-on session is limited to 30 attendees. View agenda and register today!
Feb. 16 | 2-3:30 p.m.
FOI & Libel Training
Zoom
Join SCPA Attorney Taylor Smith on Thursday, Feb. 16, from 2-3:30 p.m. for a refresher on the S.C. Freedom of Information Act and libel. If you are new to the Palmetto State or just need a refresher, sign up for this helpful session. We’ll leave plenty of time for your questions. This session is open to SCPA members and is free to attend. Please let us know if you’d like to attend.
Contests & Awards
SCPA recognizes the best in South Carolina journalism through our annual contests. Our prestigious awards programs are open to SCPA members only. Each year, nearly 4,000 entries are received in SCPA’s News, Advertising and Collegiate Contests.
- Our annual News Contest recognizes excellence in daily and weekly newspaper journalism. We also have an Associate and Individual member division, and a Collegiate Contest. The deadline to enter the 2022 News Contest has passed. Awards will be presented in March 2023 in Columbia.
- The PALMY Advertising Awards recognize the Palmetto State’s best, brightest and most enterprising advertising professionals and advertisers, and the impact they have made in their communities! 2022 PALMY awards were presented in July 2022. Rules for the 2023 PALMY Ad Contest will go live in May 2023.
Other Training Opportunities
- SCPA now offers free, individualized virtual training on legal and FOI topics for member newspapers. Learn more.
- SCPA members can attend Local Media Association webinars at a reduced rate because our state is a Media Association Partner.
- Poynter’s News University offers more than 100 interactive on-demand journalism courses. Several courses are free thanks to grant funding.