FITSNews is a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

–based

news website An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...

that covers politics and current events in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

History

FITSNews founder Will Folks worked as a campaign staffer and spokesman for Republican Gov.

Mark Sanford Marshall Clement "Mark" Sanford Jr. (born May 28, 1960) is an American politician and author who served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 1995 to 2001 and from 2013 to 2019, and as the 115th govern ...

until 2005, when Folks resigned and pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge. Folks announced he was reviving his political consulting company Viewpolitik in 2005 and founded FITSNews in 2006. Folks has been called by ''

The State A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states. A country often has a single state, with various administrat ...

'' the "bad boy of South Carolina journalism" and a "Palmetto State politico with a reputation as a hell raiser" by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

. The ''

Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its original purpose was "to assess the performance ...

'' called FITSNews a "conservative-libertarian website covering politics," and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said it is a "jarring mix of political scoops ... and photos of scantily clad women accompanied by off-color remarks." In 2010, as South Carolina state Rep.

Nikki Haley Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...

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. ''Politico'' magazine compared the episode to the Bill Clinton sex scandal of the 1990s.

Nancy Mace Nancy Ruth Mace (born December 4, 1977) is an American politician who has been the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2021. She is a member of the Republican Party (U ...

, 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. In 2017 FITSNews was sued for

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

by former South Carolina legislator Kenny Bingham over a story it published which cited anonymous sources alleging ethics violations by Bingham. After Folks refused to reveal the site's sources for the story, Bingham's attorney sought to have him held in

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

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

Reporting

FITSNews covers news and events in South Carolina. The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' has described it as "a must-read for Palmetto State politicos". In 2010, FITSNews was named to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

s list of the "best state political blogs" in the country.

References

{{Template:Regional politics 2006 establishments in South Carolina Mass media in Columbia, South Carolina American news websites