Passing the pen

I had a hard time writing this column. 

 

The Daniel Island News has been my baby for 22 years, and giving her wings to fly feels a bit like when I dropped my children Ben and Carly off at college for the first time and when my son Jackson pulled away from the curb to launch into life on his own terms in Los Angeles. I knew they were ready, but I cried all the same.

 

It was time to let the children go then. And it’s time to let the newspaper go now. 

 

Like then, I’m experiencing a whirlwind of emotion: sadness, confidence for the paper’s future, gratitude, and a real sense of relief and joy!

 

The first edition of The Daniel Island News was delivered to local homes and businesses on Oct. 30, 2003. I got the idea to start the paper after seeing how important community news was to other towns and realizing that no other media outlet was telling our community’s stories or providing local advertising. 

 

We’ve been telling the community’s stories and promoting the area businesses ever since that first edition hit the pavement, and the paper will continue to tell the stories and support local businesses long into the future. 

 

GRATITUDE AND CONFIDENCE

The decision to move on from being “the newspaper lady” was made easier by knowing we’ve built an amazingly talented and committed staff and by selecting a new ownership team that values the paper’s people, respects the community, supports local businesses, and supports local journalism.

 

The core day-to-day staff of Patrick Villegas, Emma Slaven, and Ronda Schilling collectively are talented journalists with great judgment and strong business and marketing skills. The freelance writers, editors, graphics team, and carriers are all local and dedicated to quality and service.

 

This edition of the paper marks the first edition published without me as owner. That privilege goes to DI Media Group, also known as Kyle Osteen, Jack Osteen, and Vince Johnson.

 

I’ve known the Osteen brothers for 22 years. Together we’ve been members of the South Carolina Press Association, and apart, we’ve nurtured our own papers.

 

Their family has been publishing local South Carolina papers for over 100 years, having founded The Sumter Item in the 1890s! Together with Vince Johnson, they also publish The Bluffton Sun and The Hilton Head Sun, both Lowcountry weeklies.

 

They know that the paper is integral to the community, and they plan to continue producing the news each week with a staff they respect and will nurture. They also bring experience and talent in innovating in the changing news environment we now live in. 

 

I am confident that they and the amazing DI News team, and our supporting advertisers, will thrive!

 

Over the past 22 years, many people have contributed to the success of the paper. I am so grateful to everyone who has contributed, supported, influenced, and mentored the paper forward.

 

RELIEF

Publishing 1,136 editions has been a lot of work! I’ve always considered it a privilege to connect with the community each week and worked hard to produce a quality product that uplifted and informed the community.

 

The staff and my family might say that I’ve been hyper-vigilant and perhaps overly sensitive to getting it right. There’s been some tough times, sleepless nights, and intestinal difficulties.

 

And I’ve individually wrapped and delivered my share of newspapers as has every family member, many friends, and most of the staff.

 

So, it also brings a big sense of relief to relinquish the responsibility to the next generation and to let them fly with it.

 

SADNESS AND JOY

As I reflect on my past experiences with the paper, I feel the same sadness I felt when my kids took that first step to adulthood. A few tears are hitting my keyboard as I write this. 

 

Although I plan to stay in the community and to continue to work through the transition, I know I will miss working with the staff and community every day. 

 

When I started the paper, I was a young mother of three elementary-aged children. Today I am a grandmother to three. I enter this next phase with joyful anticipation of spending more time with Olive, Penelope, and Harper, my adult children, and with my husband, Tom, who has put his own time in at the paper as a writer, delivery person, and constant advisor.

 

See you around the island! Many thanks and much love, Sue.