The Sun News to expand local news coverage, hiring South Strand, business reporters

Twelve new reporting positions will be added in South Carolina this summer, including three at The Sun News, The McClatchy Co. announced Wednesday.

The Sun News will create new positions to provide expanded local news to the South Strand area and restore previously lost business coverage, particularly with the tourism and entertainment industries, according to general manager and executive editor Stephanie Pedersen.

The investment in local journalism is significant given the core financial challenges the newspaper industry has battled in its digital transformation and new pressures from massive advertising revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The third new position, a Report for America fellow who will focus on homelessness and affordability as the community deals with COVID-19 recovery efforts, was announced previously and will start June 1.

“We’ve heard loud and clear from our South Strand readers who desire more reporting from their area,” Pedersen said. “I’m excited we can give our subscribers more coverage not just here on the Grand Strand but across the state.”

The new jobs, which includes multiple positions at The State in Columbia and new reporting presences in Greenville and Charleston, will be paid for with savings expected from a consolidation of McClatchy’s printing facilities in the Carolinas.

The Sun News is currently printed in Columbia but will be printed in Raleigh by mid-July, when Columbia’s printing facility is expected to close.

The change will not affect the time readers receive their paper at home, nor will it affect the current six-day publishing cycle, Pedersen said.

“The only change our subscribers will notice is expanded and deeper coverage,” she said.

In addition to Myrtle Beach, McClatchy has newsrooms in Columbia, Hilton Head and Rock Hill and reporters on the ground in Clemson and Beaufort. Adding Greenville and Charleston to the mix will create new opportunities for coverage, according to The State’s executive editor, Brian Tolley.

Earlier this month, the Charleston Post and Courier announced they will be hiring reporters in Greenville and Myrtle Beach. “It’s a win all around for news consumers,” Tolley said.

This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 4:50 PM.