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Screenshot  | |
Type of site | News |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Area served | South Carolina, United States |
| Key people | Will Folks (Founding Editor) Dylan Nolan (Director of Special Projects) |
| URL | fitsnews |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Current status | Active |
FITSNews is a United States-based news website that covers politics and current events in South Carolina.
FITSNews founder Will Folks worked as a campaign staffer and spokesman for Republican Gov. Mark Sanford until 2005. [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]
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. [7] [8] Politico magazine compared the episode to the Bill Clinton sex scandal of the 1990s. [9]
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. [10] After Folks refused to reveal the site's sources for the story, Bingham's attorney sought to have him held in contempt of court. [11] 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. [12]
"FITS" in the site's name, FITSNews, stands for "Faith in the Sound". [13]
FITSNews covers news and events in South Carolina. The Columbia Journalism Review has described it as "a must-read for Palmetto State politicos". [14] In 2010, FITSNews was named to The Washington Post's list of the "best state political blogs" in the country. [15] Some readers may find FITSnews to be biased in their reporting. Media Bias Fact Check lists FITSnews to be of medium credibility.
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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.