 The July 15, 2015 front page of The Post and Courier | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Evening Post Industries |
| Founded | Charleston Courier 1803 Charleston Daily News-1865 News & Courier 1873 The Evening Post 1894 The Post and Courier 1991 |
| Headquarters | 148 Williman Street Charleston,SC 29403 United States |
| Circulation | 83,483 Daily 90,168 Sunday (as of March 2013)[1] |
| ISSN | 2692-2592 |
| OCLC number | 52298458 |
| Website | postandcourier |
The Post and Courier is the main daily newspaper inCharleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers: theCharleston Courier, founded in 1803; theCharleston Daily News, founded 1865; andThe Evening Post, founded 1894. Through theCourier, it brands itself as the oldest daily newspaper in the South and one of the oldest continuously operating newspapers in the United States. It is the flagship newspaper ofEvening Post Industries, which is owned by the Manigault family of Charleston, descendants ofPeter Manigault.
It is the largest newspaper in South Carolina, followed byColumbia'sThe State andThe Greenville News.[1] It has newsrooms in Greenville, Columbia, Spartanburg, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head Island, and elsewhere in the state.
TheCharleston Courier was founded in 1803. The founder of theCourier,Aaron Smith Willington, came fromMassachusetts with newspaper experience. In the early 19th century, he was known to row out to meet ships fromLondon,Liverpool,Havre, andNew York City to get the news earlier than other Charleston papers. He also had a translator working for him, so he could copy items from theHavana newspapers.Rudolph Septimus Siegling also served as editor during the 1800s. TheCharleston Daily News, founded in 1865, merged with it to form theNews and Courier in 1873.
TheEvening Post was founded in 1894, but quickly ran into financial trouble. In 1896, rice planter Arthur Manigault stepped in to rescue the paper. The paper and its successors have been in the hands of the Manigault family for four generations. In 1926, Manigault's son, Robert, boughtThe News and Courier.[2]
During theCivil Rights era, theNews and Courier was virulentlysegregationist, to the extent thatTime described it asthe most segregationist newspaper in the South.[3] Its editor, Thomas R. Waring Jr., was a staunch segregationist, as was staffer W. D. Workman Jr., who ran for public office in a campaign that united South Carolina's divided racial and economic conservatives.[4]
By 1991, it was apparent Charleston could no longer support two newspapers; theNews and Courier andEvening Post had shared their editorial staff since the 1980s.[citation needed] They were merged into a single morning newspaper,The Post and Courier.[citation needed]
The paper acquired several sisters in the 1990s when its parent bought other newspapers and television stations.
In 2008 and 2009, newspaper officials reacted to declines in revenue with cost-cutting efforts. In 2008, they offered a buyout to employees, a bid to streamline the company and reduce expenses. 64 full-time employees left, shrinking the workforce to 381 by the start of 2009. This was deemed insufficient, so on February 6, 2009, the company laid off 25 employees[5] and on March 23, Evening Post Publishing Co., the parent company of the paper, announced a company-widefurlough that would force all employees to take five days' unpaid leave in the second quarter of 2009. The newspaper said the move was necessary to reduce expenses "because of the continued weakness of the economy and the impact on advertising".
In July 2021, thePost and Courier began moving its offices to 148 Williman Street.[6]
In February 2025, the paper eliminated its Monday and Tuesday print days.[7]
The newspaper has won a number of awards. In 2015, the newspaper won thePulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage ofdomestic violence.[citation needed] In 2019, Tony Bartelme won the inauguralVictor K. McElhenyKnight Science Journalism Award for a story aboutclimate change and theGulf Stream.[citation needed] In 2016, a team of reporters won aScripps Howard Foundation Award for an investigation into police shootings.[citation needed] In 2018, the newspaper won theAmerican Society of News Editors Deborah Howell Award for a story about the demise of thePiggly Wiggly Carolina grocery chain.[citation needed] In 2017, theAmerican Geophysical Union awarded Tony Bartelme its Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism for "Every Other Breath," a series about climate change.[citation needed] In 2008, the newspaper won national awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and American Society of Newspaper Editors for coverage of theCharleston Sofa Super Store fire.[8] In 2008, ReporterTony Bartelme also won the Gerald Loeb Award for a story about the effect of China's growth on local economies.[9]
The newspaper works to expose corruption and shrink localnews deserts with its Uncovered project, a partnership with more than 18 South Carolina newspapers. The project won the South Carolina Press Association's top award for Public Service in 2021.[citation needed]
The reported numbers forThe Post and Courier's circulation as of the six months ended September 30, 2009, were 86,084 daily and 94,940 on Sundays. This is down some 13% from the period ended March 31, 2008, which were 99,459 daily and 110,289 on Sunday.
At the start of 2009, The Post and Courier's circulation figures were down to 94,647 for dailies and 97,549 for Sundays, 4.8% down from the previous year's figures. By the end of 2012, the circulation figures (including paid and non-paid) had declined to 82,266 for dailies and 92,062 for Sundays.
For the 4th quarter of 2015, paid circulation had dropped to 68,400 for Sundays and 56,000-57,000 for dailies as reported by the Alliance for Audited Media. In the first quarter of 2020, audited daily and Sunday circulation totals were at 45,016 and 51,190, respectively.
The newspaper includesCharleston Scene, a Thursday section with entertainment, music and food reviews for the local area. Founded asPreview, it received its current name with the issue of March 11, 2010.[10]
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