FITSNews
{{Short description|New website in South Carolina, United States}}
{{Infobox website
| name = FITSNews
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| screenshot_size = 300px
| screenshot_alt = FITSNews front page as seen on December 16, 2020
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| type = News
| language = English
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| founded = 2006
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| area_served = South Carolina, United States
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| key_people = Will Folks (Founding Editor)
Dylan Nolan (Director of Special Projects)
Jenn Wood (Director of Research)
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| url = {{URL|fitsnews.com}}
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| current_status = Active
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FITSNews is a United States–based news website that covers politics and current events in South Carolina.
History
FITSNews founder Will Folks worked as a campaign staffer and spokesman for Republican Gov. Mark Sanford until 2005, when Folks resigned and pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge.{{cite news |last1=Jordan |first1=Jacob |title=S.C. governor's spokesman charged after incident |url=https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2005/07/25/sc-governors-spokesman-charged-after-incident/30789463007/ |access-date=19 September 2022 |publisher=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220919221332/https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2005/07/25/sc-governors-spokesman-charged-after-incident/30789463007/ |archive-date=19 September 2022}}{{cite web |title=Will Folks pleads guilty to criminal domestic violence |url=https://www.wistv.com/story/3911359/will-folks-pleads-guilty-to-criminal-domestic-violence/ |website=WIS-TV |date=28 September 2005 |access-date=19 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221122500/https://www.wistv.com/story/3911359/will-folks-pleads-guilty-to-criminal-domestic-violence/ |archive-date=21 February 2015}} Folks announced he was reviving his political consulting company Viewpolitik in 2005 and founded FITSNews in 2006.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Ben |title=The blogger who upended S.C. |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2010/06/the-blogger-who-upended-sc-038367 |access-date=November 5, 2020 |work=Politico |date=June 10, 2010}} Folks has been called by The State the "bad boy of South Carolina journalism" and a "Palmetto State politico with a reputation as a hell raiser" by The Guardian.{{Cite web|date=2021-12-16|title=The lawyer who tried faking his death, and the writer exposing his crime dynasty|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/16/mandy-matney-alex-murdaugh-writer-crime-story|access-date=2021-12-16|website=The Guardian|language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Monk |first1=John |title=Will Folks of Fits News dodges jail and fine in confidential-source dispute |url=https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article175341951.html |access-date=November 5, 2020 |work=The State |date=September 25, 2017}} The Columbia Journalism Review called FITSNews a "conservative-libertarian website covering politics," and The New York Times said it is a "jarring mix of political scoops ... and photos of scantily clad women accompanied by off-color remarks."{{cite news |last1=Meares |first1=Joel |title=FITSNews: Impolitic South Carolina political news |url=https://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2011/06/fitsnews.php/ |access-date=November 5, 2020 |work=Columbia Journalism Review |date=June 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302131115/https://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2011/06/fitsnews.php/ |archive-date=2012-03-02 |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |last1=Dewan |first1=Shaila |title=FITSNews: Scandal Rattles Politics in South Carolina, Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/us/politics/26haley.html |access-date=July 16, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=May 25, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225071130/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/us/politics/26haley.html |archive-date=2018-02-25 }}
In 2010, as South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley campaigned in a Republican primary for governor, Folks published a series of blog posts claiming that Haley had engaged in an extramarital affair with him. Haley denied the allegations.{{cite news |last1=Hutchins |first1=Corey |title=Folks spills on Haley |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/free-times/archives/folks-spills-on-haley/article_62206aa4-1a21-50ee-bbb9-0356ab2dd525.html |access-date=19 September 2022 |date=10 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121105706/https://www.postandcourier.com/free-times/archives/folks-spills-on-haley/article_62206aa4-1a21-50ee-bbb9-0356ab2dd525.html |archive-date=21 January 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Folks |first1=Will |title=It's Not Tolstoy But … |url=https://www.fitsnews.com/2011/02/04/its-not-tolstoy-but/ |publisher=FITSNews |date=4 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209065702/https://www.fitsnews.com/2011/02/04/its-not-tolstoy-but/ |archive-date=9 February 2011}} Politico magazine compared the episode to the Bill Clinton sex scandal of the 1990s.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Ben |title=The blogger who upended S.C. |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2010/06/the-blogger-who-upended-sc-038367 |access-date=19 September 2022 |publisher=Politico |date=10 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622055708/https://www.politico.com/story/2010/06/the-blogger-who-upended-sc-038367 |archive-date=22 June 2017 |quote=Folks says he admires Matt Drudge, who made his name breaking news about the sex scandal that almost got Bill Clinton thrown out of office. But Folks has established a new model of sex scandal for the new-media age. In South Carolina’s latest circus, Folks isn’t just Drudge; he’s also Monica Lewinsky.}}
Nancy Mace, who has served in both the South Carolina and United States House of Representatives, was a onetime co-owner of the site, but sold her stake in 2013. She began working for Folks in 2007 by providing marketing and technical support for the site.{{cite news |last1=Largen |first1=Stephen |title=Ties to FITSNews a Campaign Issue for Graham Challenger |url=https://www.postandcourier.com/free-times/blogs/ties-to-fitsnews-a-campaign-issue-for-graham-challenger/article_0d214009-14ce-5c42-bf33-6a1b6990f850.html |work=Free Times |publisher=The Post and Courier |date=August 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101040545/https://www.postandcourier.com/free-times/blogs/ties-to-fitsnews-a-campaign-issue-for-graham-challenger/article_0d214009-14ce-5c42-bf33-6a1b6990f850.html |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Fry |first1=Erika |date=20 November 2023 |title=A Day in the Life of South Carolina's 'Sic Willie' |publisher=Columbia Journalism Review |url=https://archives.cjr.org/campaign_desk/a_day_in_the_life_of_south_car.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016072922/https://archives.cjr.org/campaign_desk/a_day_in_the_life_of_south_car.php |archive-date=16 October 2017 |quote=He also has a business partner, Nancy Mace—Folks notes that she is the first woman to graduate from The Citadel—who built the site and works as his promoter and occasional editor.}}
In 2017 FITSNews was sued for libel by former South Carolina legislator Kenny Bingham over a story it published which cited anonymous sources alleging ethics violations by Bingham.{{cite news |last1=May |first1=Charlie |title=South Carolina political blogger faces potential jail time for refusing to reveal his sources |url=https://www.salon.com/2017/06/28/south-carolina-political-blogger-faces-potential-jail-time-for-refusing-to-reveal-his-sources/ |access-date=November 5, 2020 |work=Salon |date=June 28, 2017}} After Folks refused to reveal the site's sources for the story, Bingham's attorney sought to have him held in contempt of court.{{cite news|last1=Hutchins|first1=Corey|date=January 6, 2017|title=Will a South Carolina political blogger go to jail to protect his sources?|work=Columbia Journalism Review|url=https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/blogger_journalist_politics_jail.php|accessdate=November 5, 2020}} The South Carolina Press Association supported FITSNews' defense against the potential contempt citation, which judge William P. Keesley declined to impose. A jury ultimately ruled in favor of Bingham, and imposed nominal damages of $1 on FITSNews.{{cite news |last1=Monk |first1=John|title=Lexington jury finds blogger libeled ex-Rep. Bingham; awards $1 |url=https://www.thestate.com/news/local/crime/article225094945.html|date=January 26, 2019 |access-date=December 30, 2021}}
"FITS" in the site's name, FITSNews, stands for "Faith in the Sound".{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Rosie |title=South Carolina Blog Co-Owner Could Primary Lindsay Graham |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/south-carolina-blog-publisher-could-primary-lindsay-graham |access-date=November 5, 2020 |work=BuzzFeed |date=March 9, 2013}}
Reporting
FITSNews covers news and events in South Carolina. The Columbia Journalism Review has described it as "a must-read for Palmetto State politicos".{{cite web |title=Will Folks |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Will_Folks |website=ballotpedia.org |publisher=Ballotpedia |access-date=December 16, 2020}} In 2010, FITSNews was named to The Washington Post's list of the "best state political blogs" in the country.{{cite news |last1=Cilliza |first1=Chris |title=The Best State Political Blogs |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/fix-notes/the-best-state-political-blogs-2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709131308/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/fix-notes/the-best-state-political-blogs-2.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 9, 2009 |access-date=December 16, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 13, 2010}}
References
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{{Template:Regional politics}}
Category:2006 establishments in South CarolinaCategory:Mass media in Columbia, South Carolina