1401 Shop Road Columbia, SC 29201 803-771-6161 www.TheState.com The Paper The Community

The Paper

Quality Journalism: The State newspaper's journalistic quality has been recognized repeatedly across the country and state, most recently as one of the top 10 in the country for sports, features and business sections. The paper also has won awards for watchdog journalism, including the Associated Press Managing Editors First Amendment award for articles detailing the unauthorized public spending for the excavation, recovery and preservation of a 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.

Founded: The State newspaper was founded on Feb. 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 a Cuban Revolutionary general and an aristocratic planter's daughter, the Gonzales brothers wanted to create a powerful voice and lead 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 with McClatchy's acquisition of Knight Ridder.

Henry Haitz III, President & Publisher
Mark Lett; Vice President and Executive Editor
Bernie Heller, Vice President of Advertising
Diane Frea, Vice President, Human Resources
Kelly Edwards, Vice President, Finance
Phillip Haggerty, Vice President, Operations
Warren Bolton, Associate Editor
Gary Ward, Online Editor

General Hiring Contact: Vice President, Human Resources Diane Frea at 803-771-8350 or e-mail dfrea@thestate.com

Distinction: South Carolina’s largest newspaper

Market: The State is a statewide capital city newspaper; Columbia is the state capital of South Carolina.

Circulation Area: The State circulates in 26 of 43 counties in South Carolina. Richland, Lexington and southern Kershaw counties make up the core market. The city of Columbia is in Richland County and contains the South Carolina State Capitol, The University of South Carolina and the Army's Fort Jackson. The city of Lexington is located in Lexington County.

Customers: Three-fourths of adults and two-thirds of 18- to 34-year-olds in the core market read The State in print or online over the course of a week. The Media Audit, which measures only website 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 10 daily newspapers with an 80 percent audience reach (print and online) over the course of a month.

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

Readership: Daily 268,374; Sunday 316,096; Past Week Print 461,047; Integrated Newspaper Audience (7 day print audience + 7 day online audience, unduplicated) 475,336 (Source: Fall 2009 Scarborough -- DMA Adults)

Circulation: 97,014 Monday through Friday; 102,692 Saturday; 125,149 Sundayy (Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations, Dec. 28, 2008)

Size: 44 pages daily; 100 pages Sunday

Single-Copy Sales: 17% of daily net paid; 29% of Sunday net paid

Production: 32 units of Goss Headliner Offset, installed in 1987; no upgrades since then except a web reduction from 54 inches to 48 inches

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

Website: www.TheState.com

Average Monthly Page Views/Unique Visitors: TheState.com attracts 1.2 million unique visitors per month and more than 12.8 million page views and is South Carolina's most highly trafficked news website (Source: Omniture, February 2010). TheState.com is an affiliate of CareerBuilder.com, Cars.com, Apartments.com, ShopLocal, Google and Yahoo.

Other Websites: In August of 2006, The State launched www.GoGamecocks.com, a website devoted to University of South Carolina sports. Some of the features include a daily after-practice report during football season; real-time scores and results; 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 www.GoGamecocks.com is the most viewed news section of www.TheState.com, second only to the homepage.

Employees: 456 full-time; 50 contract workers primarily in production and circulation

Newsroom Staff: Approximately 133 full-time employees; five part-time employees

Associated Press Managing Editors The State received the First Amendment Award for reporting on the cost of the Hunley submarine project.

South Carolina Press Association The State received top honors in 22 categories, more than any other South Carolina newspaper, and the Public Service and General Excellence awards for reporting on drunken driving and teen drinking in South Carolina. Society for News Design The State won six Awards of Excellence from the international Society for News Design. No other South Carolina newspaper was honored by the society. South Carolina News Photographers Association The State's Gerry Melendez was selected as Photographer of the Year in annual judging. 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. Associated Press Sports Editors The State was chosen among North America's Top 10 for Sunday and special sports sections in the annual competition. Staffers Kent Babb, Joseph Person, Bob Spear, Craig McHugh and Ron Morris were among the Top 10 for their work, as well. American Association of Sunday and Features Editors The State was selected as one of North America's Top 10 features sections. McClatchy President's Award The State received a President's award for its coverage of drunken driving and teen drinking. Society of Professional Journalists The State's Robert Ariail won top honors for editorial cartoons in the 2007 Green Eyeshade journalism contest conducted by the society. Ariail's work was judged best among competitors eligible from 11 southeastern states. Ariail is a five-time winner of the award. National Association of Real Estate Writers and Editors The State's Sunday real estate section -- Your Home -- won top honors in the newspaper competition. The section is coordinated by Kristy Rupon, The State's real estate reporter.

Major Advertisers: Dillard's, Belk, Bilo, JCPenney, Kohl's, Publix, Macy's, HH Gregg Appliances, Lowes, K-Mart, Home Depot, Target

Special Publications The State publishes two monthly specialty publications, "Jolie," a women's fashion magazine, and "Lake Murray Columbia," a local lifestyle magazine. The State publishes "Carolina Bride" twice yearly.

Well-Known Newsroom Personalities: Robert Ariail, cartoonist; Ron Morris, sports columnist; Bob Spear, sports columnist; Joseph Person, sportswriter; Lezlie Patterson, parenting columnist; Otis Taylor, music writer; Grant Jackson, business columnist; Neil White, lifestyle columnist; Allison Askins, food writer

Community Involvement: The State is involved in a wide variety of community events through sponsorship and participation in board memberships, 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.

The Community

The Market: Geographically, Columbia -- the state capital -- 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 also is home to the main campus of the University of South Carolina (with 27,000 students) and its developing research park, Innovista, 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 2006-20011)

Households with Children: (Younger than age 18) 36.8%

Households Owned: 69.1%

Median Value of Owned Homes: $121,762

Average Household Income: $62,501

Median Household Income: $47,821

Education: (Columbia Metro, which includes Richland and Lexington counties)
25.6% have high school degrees
21.7% have some college education
27.2% have associate or bachelor's degrees
10.2% have advanced degrees

Ethnic Makeup: 61.9% white; 33.3% African American; 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Nat.; 1.6% Asian; 0.1% Nat. Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander; 1.3% other; 1.6% two or more races

Median Age: 35.3 years

Average Rent: $826

Climate: A temperate climate year-round, averaging 82 degrees in summer, 53 degrees in winter; average annual rainfall 50 inches

Major Employers/Industries: Palmetto Health, 7,500 employees; Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, 5,100 employees; University of South Carolina, 1,621 employees; Richland School District #1, 5,000 employees; SCE&G, 4,000 employees; UPS, 3,528 employees; Wachovia Bank, N.A., 3,422 employees; Richland School District #2, 2,500 employees; Fort Jackson, 4,200 employees; South Carolina State Government, 30,753 employees

College Programs University of South Carolina; Clemson; South Carolina State; Benedict; Wofford; Furman; Winthrop; Coastal Carolina; North Greenville; College of Charleston; Charleston Southern; and The Citadel Minor Sports Teams Columbia Inferno (ECHL) NASCAR Darlington Golf The Masters; Verizon Heritage Tennis Family Circle Cup

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.

Parks Two of Columbia's most popular parks are Sesquicentennial State Park and Saluda Shoals Park -- both have miles of nature trails and play areas for kids. "Sesqui" has a large lake for fishing and boating. Saluda Shoals has the Saluda River for fishing and boating. Finley Park in Columbia is the spot for Frisbee tossing and picnics in the park. Lakes Lake Murray is the spot for boating and fishing. Lake Wateree is less crowded but equally as good for boating and fishing. Monticello Reservoir is even less crowded and skinny enough that it's good for fishing and flat-water kayaking. Outdoor Recreation Three Rivers Greenway in downtown Columbia is ideal for hiking and jogging. Harbison State Forest is a magnet for mountain bikers. The Saluda River offers rare whitewater kayaking in an urban area. And Congaree National Park is great for long-distance hiking through one of the last remaining old-growth, flood-plain forests in the country. Golf Golfers consider this region a paradise. Great weather allows for golf year-round. There are more than 20 golf courses in the midlands area. The rates are reasonable and tee times are easy to reserve. Columbia is a short drive away from famous golf

Nightlife: To experience Columbia's nightlife, the Vista is the place to go. Dining, shopping, bars and, maybe most important, hotels are within walking distance of all the Vista establishments. Steaks, oysters, shrimp and exotic beer can be found on the strip of Gervais Street between Harden and Assembly streets.

Another popular spot is Five Points, which has a village atmosphere dotted with numerous clubs and restaurants that cater to the college and young professional adult crowd.

Major Community Events: First Ladies' Walk for Life: Steps Against Breast Cancer; Summer Concert Series; Central Carolina Community Foundation's International Festival of Food and Wine; South Carolina State Fair; Palmetto Health Children's Hospital's Festival of Trees; Junior League of Columbia's Clean Sweep Sale; Columbia Festival of the Arts; Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia's Home and Garden Show; Black Expo

Famous Citizens: Coach Steve Spurrier; anchor Rita Cosby; Leeza Gibbons; astronaut Charles Bolden; the late novelist and poet James Dickey; novelist William Price Fox; the late Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater; Miss America Kimberly Aiken; Hootie and the Blowfish; actress Kristen Davis; Strom Thurmond; Jesse Jackson; the late James Brown; comedian Steven Colbert

Trivia: Columbia is the home of Donna Rice, whose trip to Bimini with Gary Hart caused him to drop his presidential bid.

Columbia Visitors Bureau: www.columbiacvb.com
Columbia Chamber of Commerce: www.columbiachamber.com
City of Columbia: www.columbiasc.net
SC Chamber of Commerce: www.scchamber.net
University of South Carolina: www.sc.edu
Innovista: www.innovista.sc.edu/news_parks.asp
South Carolina State Government: www.sc.gov
Fort Jackson: www.jackson.army.mil
www.jackson.army.mil

The State
803-255-1386
www.TheState.com

(This profile was last updated on March 2, 2011)

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