FITSNews explained

FITSNews
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Screenshot Alt:FITSNews front page as seen on December 16, 2020
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Type:News
Language:English
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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Num Employees:-->
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Commercial:Yes
Registration:Optional
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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.[1] [2] Folks announced he was reviving his political consulting company Viewpolitik in 2005 and founded FITSNews in 2006.[3] 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.[4] [5] 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."[6] [7]

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.[8] [9] Politico magazine compared the episode to the Bill Clinton sex scandal of the 1990s.[10]

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.[11] [12]

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.[13] After Folks refused to reveal the site's sources for the story, Bingham's attorney sought to have him held in contempt of court.[14] 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.[15]

"FITS" in the site's name, FITSNews, stands for "Faith in the Sound".[16]

Reporting

FITSNews covers news and events in South Carolina. The Columbia Journalism Review has described it as "a must-read for Palmetto State politicos".[17] In 2010, FITSNews was named to The Washington Posts list of the "best state political blogs" in the country.[18]

Notes and References

  1. News: Jordan . Jacob . S.C. governor's spokesman charged after incident . 19 September 2022 . Associated Press . https://web.archive.org/web/20220919221332/https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2005/07/25/sc-governors-spokesman-charged-after-incident/30789463007/ . 19 September 2022.
  2. Web site: Will Folks pleads guilty to criminal domestic violence . WIS-TV . 28 September 2005 . 19 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150221122500/https://www.wistv.com/story/3911359/will-folks-pleads-guilty-to-criminal-domestic-violence/ . 21 February 2015.
  3. News: Smith . Ben . The blogger who upended S.C. . November 5, 2020 . . June 10, 2010.
  4. Web site: 2021-12-16. The lawyer who tried faking his death, and the writer exposing his crime dynasty. 2021-12-16. The Guardian. en.
  5. News: Monk . John . Will Folks of Fits News dodges jail and fine in confidential-source dispute . November 5, 2020 . . September 25, 2017.
  6. News: Meares . Joel . FITSNews: Impolitic South Carolina political news . November 5, 2020 . . June 20, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302131115/https://www.cjr.org/news_startups_guide/2011/06/fitsnews.php/ . 2012-03-02 . dead.
  7. News: Dewan . Shaila . FITSNews: Scandal Rattles Politics in South Carolina, Again . July 16, 2024 . . May 25, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180225071130/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/us/politics/26haley.html . 2018-02-25 .
  8. News: Hutchins . Corey . Folks spills on Haley . 19 September 2022 . 10 November 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210121105706/https://www.postandcourier.com/free-times/archives/folks-spills-on-haley/article_62206aa4-1a21-50ee-bbb9-0356ab2dd525.html . 21 January 2021.
  9. News: Folks . Will . It's Not Tolstoy But … . FITSNews . 4 February 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110209065702/https://www.fitsnews.com/2011/02/04/its-not-tolstoy-but/ . 9 February 2011.
  10. News: Smith . Ben . The blogger who upended S.C. . 19 September 2022 . Politico . 10 June 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170622055708/https://www.politico.com/story/2010/06/the-blogger-who-upended-sc-038367 . 22 June 2017 . 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..
  11. News: Largen . Stephen . Ties to FITSNews a Campaign Issue for Graham Challenger . Free Times . The Post and Courier . August 7, 2013 . 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 . January 1, 2024 . live.
  12. News: Fry . Erika . 20 November 2023 . A Day in the Life of South Carolina's 'Sic Willie' . Columbia Journalism Review . https://web.archive.org/web/20171016072922/https://archives.cjr.org/campaign_desk/a_day_in_the_life_of_south_car.php . 16 October 2017 . 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..
  13. News: May . Charlie . South Carolina political blogger faces potential jail time for refusing to reveal his sources . November 5, 2020 . . June 28, 2017.
  14. News: Hutchins. Corey. January 6, 2017. Will a South Carolina political blogger go to jail to protect his sources?. Columbia Journalism Review. November 5, 2020.
  15. News: Monk . John. Lexington jury finds blogger libeled ex-Rep. Bingham; awards $1 . January 26, 2019 . December 30, 2021.
  16. News: Gray . Rosie . South Carolina Blog Co-Owner Could Primary Lindsay Graham . November 5, 2020 . . March 9, 2013.
  17. Web site: Will Folks . ballotpedia.org . . December 16, 2020.
  18. News: Cilliza . Chris . The Best State Political Blogs . December 16, 2020 . . May 13, 2010.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "FITSNews".

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