By Nate Abraham Jr. COMMENTARY
I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and well-wishes after I was elected president of the South Carolina Press Assocation. I give special thanks for the large number of people who attended the ceremony. I had no idea that my wife invited that many people. There were people there that I hadn’t
seen in years.
I am honored to be the first African-American to hold this position. I don’t take it likely, and I am keen to do a good job representing South Carolina’s 1 0 0 + newspapers
and media outlets. During the ceremony, one thing that struck me was that in a weird sort of way, I was created for this position. Let me explain.
My grandparents were sharecroppers in Orangeburg County. Even though they were of limited means, they loved newspapers. Every Saturday when they went to town, my grandparents purchased copies of the AFRO American and the Pittsburgh Courier, two of the leading African-American newspapers at that time. My father and his siblings developed a love for newspaper at an early age.
In 1963, my father was fresh out of the army. He was a student at South Carolina State with a wife and daughter to support. He sold newspapers in Orangeburg to earn extra money. One day he sat down and realized that if he could earn $100 a day, he could live well and support his family.
My father drove to Columbia to meet the newspaper’s owner. He asked the owner how he could make money in the newspaper industry. The owner told him that the money was made in selling advertising. He gave my father a sales sheet and contracts, and told him to go out and sell some ads. That was the extent of his training.
When my father returned at the end of the day, he told the owner, “I am not sure how I did, but I did my best.” He put a stack of contracts and checks on the owner’s desk. The newspaper’s owner looked at it, then called his wife into
the office.
“Look what this kid did,” he told her.
“It’s a miracle,” she replied.
The owner reached into his pocket, pulled out two $ 50 bills and handed them to my father. “What’s this,” my
ather asked.
“That’s the sales commission that you earned today,” the owner replied.
My father realized that he had found an opportunity to earn $100 a day. The next semester, he transferred to Benedict College and moved his family to Columbia. He then began his career as an advertising salesman in the newspaper industry. During the excitement of the move to Columbia and the new job, my parents made me.
During the 1960s and 1970s, my father has worked for or owned several newspapers. He founded this newspaper in 1986.
I had a similar journey into this industry. I grew up with newspapers in the house. My parents subscribed to The State newspaper and the Columbia Record afternoon daily newspaper, I as a kid, I read them daily.
In the 1970s, I realized that my father didn’t believe in allowances. When I wanted money, he told me to sell newspapers in the neighborhood or at local shopping centers. In the 1980s, I paid my tuition at USC by working in the mailroom at a bank. Several of the executives subscribed to popular business magazines Fortune and Forbes. I always read the magazines before sending them to their final destinations. One day, I read an article that stated that a well-run newspaper should have gross margins of 40 percent. My father has just started a newspaper, so I figured that if we could generate 40 percent margins, I could have a decent life. So I joined the company upon graduation.
Ironically, my father achieved his goal of $100 a day. I am still trying to generate 40 percent margins.
Anyway, my life has always revolved around newspapers. It is an honor to represent an industry that has dominated my life.
And once again, thank you for the outpouring show of support.