About The State

More Than a Century of Journalism:
The State newspaper was founded on February 18, 1891 by the Gonzales brothers (N.G., Ambrose and William). The name and the state tree, the Palmetto, which accompanies the name, symbolized the brothers’ commitment to the state of South Carolina. Sons of an aristocratic planter’s daughter and a Cuban revolutionary who also was a Confederate colonel, the Gonzales brothers wanted to create a powerful voice and led the newspaper to become the largest and most influential in the state.

The newspaper was family-owned until 1986, when it was purchased by Knight Ridder. It was bought by The McClatchy Company in 2006.

Key Executives:
Henry Haitz III, President & Publisher
Parks Rogers, VP/Advertising
Mark Lett; VP & Executive Editor
Brad Warthen, VP/Editorial Page Editor
Pat McFarland, VP/Circulation
Diane Frea, VP/Human Resources
Kelly Edwards, VP/ Finance
Phil Haggerty, VP/Operations
Tonnya Kennedy Kohn, Managing Editor
Gary Ward, Online Editor
Warren Bolton, Associate Editor

South Carolina’s Largest Newspaper

The Market:
The State newspaper has an average daily circulation of 107,153 and an average Sunday circulation of 139,521. We are a statewide capital city newspaper (Columbia is the state capital of South Carolina) and are the largest newspaper in the state. We have 462 FTE's, with another 50 employed primarily in production and circulation as contract labor.

Our web site, TheState.com, attracts 750,000 unique visitors per month and more than 7 million page views, and is South Carolina’s most highly trafficked news website (source: Alexa, 2006). We are CareerBuilder.com, Cars.com, Apts.com and Shop Local affiliates.

In August of 2006, The State launched GoGamecocks.com, an online website devoted to USC sports. Some of the features include a daily after-practice report during football season, real-time scores and result, a player and team stats database, press conference audio and video, wallpapers and screensavers, and a heavy focus on recruiting. A free membership website, more than 40,000 adults have registered for content access, and GoGamecocks.com is the most viewed news section of TheState.com, second only to our home page.

The State publishes two monthly specialty publications, Jolie – a women’s fashion magazine, and Lake Murray Columbia, a local lifestyle magazine. We also publish Carolina Bride twice yearly.

Our weekly Total Market Coverage allows advertisers full market penetration, and we also have Target Market capabilities.

Reach:
McClatchy Company, our parent company, owns four other newspapers in SC (Rock Hill, Myrtle Beach, Beaufort and Hilton Head). McClatchy also owns the Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News and Observer in North Carolina, as well as newspapers across the country from Anchorage to Miami. McClatchy newspapers account for one-fourth the circulation of all daily newspapers in the state and with 245,000 daily circulation, McClatchy-owned papers make-up 35% of the total daily circulation in the state. On Sunday, McClatchy newspapers account for 31% of Sunday newspaper circulation, and with 288,000 Sunday circulation, make-up 37% of total Sunday circulation in the state.

Customers:
Three fourths of adults in our core market read The State in print or online over the course of a week, and two thirds of 18-34 year olds. The Media Audit, which measures only web site visitors from the immediate market area and is an arm of 35-year-old market research firm International Demographics, Inc., recently reported that TheState.com is one of just ten daily newspapers with an 80% audience reach (print and online) over the course of a month.

Source: Urban & Associates, Columbia SC Media & Market Study, 2006




Site:
A 260,000-square-foot building, completed in 1988, three miles south of downtown. The State also serves as a printing site for USA Today.

Readership:
285,800 daily; 353,400 Sunday
Source: Urban & Associates, Columbia SC Media & Market Study, 2006

Circulation:
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations, 12/2006
Monday - Saturday: 107,149
Monday - Friday: 106,538
Saturday: 110,209
Sunday: 139,519

Color:
Full-color capability; all daily and Sunday section fronts are color

Honors

Our journalistic quality has been recognized repeatedly across the country and state, most recently as one of the top ten in the country for Sports, Features and Business sections. We also have won awards for watchdog journalism, like the APME First Amendment award for articles detailing the unauthorized public spending for the excavation, recovery and preservation of sunken Confederate submarine, the H. L. Hunley.

Our strengths are in our outstanding journalism covering local news, University of South Carolina and Clemson athletics, and state and local politics.

Recent Awards

First Amendment Award -- by the Associated Press Managing Editors for reporting on the cost of the Hunley submarine project.

Public Service and General Excellence -- South Carolina Press Association for reporting on drunken driving and teen drinking in South Carolina. The State received top honors in 22 categories, more than any other South Carolina newspaper.

Newspaper Design -- The State won six Awards of Excellence from the international Society for News Design. No other South Carolina newspaper was honored by SND.

Photography -- The State's Gerry Melendez was selected as "Photographer of the Year" in annual judging for the South Carolina News Photographers Association. The State's C. Aluka Berry won "Best in Show" and State photographers won top honors in six categories, more than any other South Carolina newspaper.

Sports -- The State was chosen among North America's "Top 10" for Sunday and special sports sections in annual competition hosted by the Associated Press Sports Editors. Staffers Kent Babb, Joseph Person, Bob Spear, Craig McHugh and Ron Morris were among "Top 10" for their work, as well.

Features -- The State was selected as one of North America's "Top 10" features sections in judging by the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors.

McClatchy President's Award -- The State received a President's award for its coverage of drunken driving and teen drinking in semi-annual competition among some 30 newspapers operated by The McClatchy Company. In the Carolinas, McClatchy operates newspapers based in Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Beaufort, Hilton Head, Charlotte and Raleigh.

Editorial Cartoons -- The State's Robert Ariail won top honors for editorial cartoons in the 2007 Green Eyeshade journalism contest conducted by the Society of Professional Journalists. Ariail's work was judged best among competitors eligible from 11 southeastern states. Ariail is a five-time winner of the award.

Real Estate -- The State's Sunday real estate section -- Your Home -- won top honors in the newspaper competition conducted by the National Association of Real Estate Writers and Editors. The section is coordinated by Kristy Rupon, The State's real estate reporter.

Community Involvement

The State is involved in a wide variety of community events through sponsorships and participation in board membership, including support of The United Way, Palmetto Health Foundation Walk for Life - Steps Against Breast Cancer and the Festival of Food and Wines supporting the Central Carolina Community Foundation.

About The Community

Columbia, The State Capital:
Geographically, Columbia is in the center of the state, with a two-hour drive from either the Atlantic coast or the Blue Ridge Mountains, and about halfway between New York City and Miami, with easy access to Interstate highways. Not just the center of state government, Columbia is also home to the main campus of the University of South Carolina (27,000 students) and to Fort Jackson, the largest Army training base in the country.

Area Population: 576,557

Area Households: 223,500

Household Growth Rate: 7.45% (projected 2006-2011)

Households with Children: less than 18: 36.8%

% Households Owned: 69.1%

Median Value of Owned Homes: $121,762

Average Household Income: $62,501

Median Household Income: $47,821

Culture:
Koger Center for the Arts, a $15 million complex; The Columbia Museum of Art; South Carolina State Museum; Carolina Coliseum; the new Colonial Center; 11 theater groups including professional theater; professional ballet troupe and numerous other dance companies; opera; symphony; The Township, which has hosted cultural events in Columbia since 1929.