The State (newspaper)

History

The newspaper, first published on February 18, 1891. was founded by two brothers, N.G. Gonzales and A.E. Gonzales. In 1903, N. G. Gonzales was fatally shot by lieutenant governor James H. Tillman, who was later acquitted of murder charges.

In 1945, The State bought its rival, the Columbia Record, with the parent company becoming The State-Record Company. The paper's owners diversified in 1971 by founding "State Telecasting Company". State Telecasting purchased two television stations in New Mexico and Texas, along with a station in South Carolina. KCBD in Lubbock, Texas, and its full-time satellite KSWS in Roswell, New Mexico, were acquired in 1971 for $6 million from the Joe Bryant estate. WUSN-TV in nearby Charleston, South Carolina, was acquired and the call letters changed to WCBD-TV to conform with those of KCBD. The paper remained in the hands of the Gonzales family until 1986, when Knight Ridder purchased the State-Record Company and six subsidiaries (including the Sun Herald and The Sun News) for $311 million. In 2006, Knight Ridder was purchased by McClatchy.

In 2020, McClatchy filed for bankruptcy and was purchased by hedge fund, Chatham Asset Management for $312 million.

On April 22, 2024 The State started printing Sunday, Wednesday and Friday only and delivering through the mail.

Background

Its news staff was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in general news reporting for its Hurricane Hugo coverage in 1989. Its cartoonist, Robert Ariail, was a Pulitzer finalist in 1995 and 2000. Reporter Gina Smith and current projects editor broke the Mark Sanford scandal story on June 24, 2009, when she interviewed Sanford at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport as he returned from Argentina.

According to the newspaper's Web site, it has 440 full-time employees and another 31 who work part-time, not including an on-premises "McClatchy Customer Care Center for subscriber assistance." The State has a 260000 sqft building completed in 1988, 3 mi south of downtown. By 2021, the newsroom staff was estimated to be between 30-45 employees based on the bargaining unit size of "The State News Guild. McClatchy voluntarily recognized the union in April, 2021.

In 2017, the McClatchy Company listed the State's Columbia headquarters building for sale for $17,000,000. The building was unoccupied beginning in 2020. In 2025, it was announced that the site would be converted to host 200 new rental properties.

References

References

1. (2022-02-14). "McClatchy {{!}} Markets".
2. (May 27, 2020). "The State to add newsroom jobs, move printing to Charlotte".
3. "Contact Us". The State.
4. "The McClatchy Company Newspapers: The State". The McClatchy Company.
5. "Contact Us: About The State". The State.
6. (2007-04-18). "The State {{!}} About".
7. Hall, Kevin G.. (2020-09-08). "Hedge fund Chatham completes purchase of McClatchy, names two independent board members". McClatchyDC.
8. Tolley, Brian. (February 16, 2024). "The State to change print publication days, delivery method in next step of digital push". The State.
9. (2009-06-26). "Sanford admits affair: 'I've let down a lot of people' - Sanford - The State".
10. (April 19, 2021). "We won voluntary recognition!".
11. "CBRE, Inc. - 1401 Shop Rd, Columbia, SC".
12. Hughes, Morgan. (March 4, 2025). "200 rentals planned for spot near USC stadium. Residents concerned about lack of sidewalks.".