By Nate Abraham Jr.
Welcome to 2025! We are looking forward to a great year, and hope that you will have a very good year as well.
This year marks our 39th year in business. Over the past four decades, we have faced many challenges, but we are dedicated to fulfilling our mission of providing our readers news and information to educate and uplift our community – news you cannot get anywhere else.
As the current president of the SC Press Association, I am keenly aware of the challenges faced by the newspaper industry. Many of our member newspapers, especially the daily newspapers, are facing unprecedented headwinds. In the upstate, one of the oldest daily newspapers in South Carolina closed its doors in 2024 after serving its community for over a century. Locally, I don’t know what is going on with The State newspaper, but we get constant calls from people asking us how to reach them or where they are located. It is now printed only three days a week. The other four days, readers must get The State online.
We will continue to print our newspapers as long as possible. But for those people who want to access our newspapers online, an e-edition is available on our websites. If you prefer to listen to the news, you can click on any article on our websites and have the news read to you. Our website is mobile friendly, so you can get the news on any device – no matter if you are using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
Like our daily counterparts, weekly newspapers are also facing challenges. Many of us were slow to adapt to new competition sparked by the rise of social media and digital advertising platforms. We were one of them, but we are changing course and adapting.
In addition to advertising, every newspaper in America has added a donation campaign to its revenue sources. Many newspapers are hosting fundraisers similar to public television stations. Large daily newspapers often raise millions of dollars annually through donations.
In honor of our 39th year, we are launching “Campaign 39.” Our modest goal is to raise $39,000 in contributions to help fund our operations and train the next generation of community journalists. Your donation will help us keep the doors open. Visit www.carolinapanorama.com/contribute/ or www.lowcountrypanorama.com/site/forms/online_services/donations/ to make your donation today. You can also donate in person or mail a check to P.O. Box 11205, Columbia, SC 29211-1205. Contributors who donate over $100 will receive a Carolina Panorama T-Shirt.
As we adapt to this new media landscape, we need your feedback. What types of news and information would you like for us to report on? What areas can we improve on? What are we missing?
Let us know how we can better serve you. Call us at (803) 256-4015 or e-mail your suggestions to NateAbraham@CarolinaPanorama.com.We appreciate any feedback you can give that will enable us to serve you better.
And thank you for your support.
