South Carolina Magazines Focus On Interests And Issues In Your World

Magazines published in South Carolina offer a look at many different areas of interest and provide constant coverage of the workings of the business world in the Palmetto State’s economy. Most South Carolina magazines cover everything from the arts to social activities to certain occupations. Some magazines simply handle feature articles that look at life from a South Carolina perspective. Usually published no more than once a month, magazines in South Carolina appeal to specific niche audiences, whether it’s people who live in a particular area (Lake Murray Magazine, YC Magazine, The Sandlapper, etc.) or for those who enjoy hunting and fishing. Either way, the South Carolina magazine scene is being made easier for start-up publications with the advent of desktop publishing. Below are the many different magazines that are published in South Carolina and their targeted readers.

South Carolina business magazines

Since different areas of South Carolina are experiencing more business activity and business re-locations or openings, various magazines dedicated to the economic scene and the opportunities it presents are popular now. One of the largest covers that part of the Upstate along the I-85 corridor where business, both domestic and international, is booming. That is the GSA Business Journal, covering Greenville, Spartanburg and Anderson.

GSA Business Journal is focused on one of the fastest-growing economic development regions in South Carolina. Some of the issues the magazine deals with include: driving the area economy upwards with new job creation by the entrepreneurs and existing companies already located in the area; the continuously changing fortunes of the textile industry, once a very powerful player that has seen harder times; dealing with new infrastructure needs of new and growing businesses and the new research collaborations in various industries with help from area businesses. Another business report from this same Upstate area is the Spartanburg Business Report, which focuses more specifically on the immediate area of Spartanburg County and its surrounding communities.

Another business magazine that deals with the Piedmont area of the Upstate of South Carolina is the Charlotte Business Journal. This magazine, while it deals primarily with the Charlotte metro area north of the North Carolina state line, also features prominent coverage of the Rock Hill-Fort Mill-Tega Cay and Lancaster areas. Much of the focus of the Charlotte Business Journal is on business matters and trends south of the border deal with the friendly business climate in South Carolina and other quality of life issues (no schools portion of personal property taxes, development incentives, a better cost of living). These positives are drawing some Charlotte businesses to relocate their headquarters in York and Lancaster counties. The Charlotte Business Journal has also dealt with the various ozone and air pollution concerns that could hold back a steadily growing region.

A more statewide publication gauging business is the Business & Economic Review of the University of South Carolina in Columbia. The Business & Economic Review is published four times a year by the Division of Research of the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. Its purpose is to inform the business professional of new and existing trends and techniques that will improve the management of business organizations. The magazine discusses current business and economic topics of particular interest to South Carolina and the Southeast. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Division of Research or the university.

Other South Carolina specific business publications include: The Carolina Explorer, published in Myrtle Beach for tourism and travel industry professionals and distributed internationally and throughout the United States and Canada at no charge to professional tour operators, tour planners, motorcoach operators, meeting planners, travel agents, bank travel managers, and group leaders specializing in group travel.

South Carolina arts and social scene magazines

Some of the hottest magazines anywhere in South Carolina deal with the social scenes in the various urban centers of the state. These are usually greatly expanded and more reader-friendly versions of the typical weekend sections found in most South Carolina daily newspapers. As the economy of South Carolina continues to draw more single professionals and college-age students from out-of-state, the lifestyle and social scene magazines remain popular.

Magazines like The Beat in Greenville and Free Times in Columbia (other similar magazines are also found in Charleston and Myrtle Beach) cover everything from the local club, music and performance arts scene to sporting social commentary features and news articles from an alternative platform. Other general areas like books and sports are also dealt with in a similar fashion.

South Carolina women’s magazines

Although there may not be as many women’s magazines in South Carolina as in other areas of the country, the women’s magazines that do publish in the Palmetto State are not afraid to be assertive on any issue. Apart from dealing with topics of interest to most women (beauty, fashion, family, home), Skirt of Charleston shows an attitude that women should be spirited, outspoken, controversial, playful and irreverent but always passionate about their work, health and wealth, bodies and souls.

Sasee in Myrtle Beach comes at the feminine experience from more of a traditional Southern woman viewpoint—but that’s where convention stops. Although Sasee deals more with the family and personal issues of women, it also helps debunk the old antebellum notions of "Southern womanhood" with a smart and concise writing style that appeals to different ages.

South Carolina tourism magazines

As one might imagine, most of the magazines dealing with tourism features are located along the Grand Strand in the Myrtle Beach area. These include everything from On The Beach magazine in North Myrtle Beach to Strand magazine and Bluffton Breeze magazine in Bluffton. These magazines, however, rather than appealing strictly to the tourist and summer vacationer also include poignant stories and features about the quality of life in the area and how it is improving. Tourism magazines in South Carolina at one time were virtually coupon clipping books for area merchants in the business of attracting tourists. However, magazines like those mentioned above also appeal to the local citizen and feature information on local schools and real estate—perfect for those visitors that come to South Carolina for a getaway—and end up getting away from home, permanently.

South Carolina community magazines

Many of the larger or more exclusive communities in South Carolina now have magazines that strictly address and feature local interests for their readers. These magazines are myriad—from Greenville Magazine in Greenville to Lexington Life Magazine in Lexington; Lake Murray Magazine in the Chapin-Irmo area; Upstate Lakes Magazine in Greenville (focusing on the Blue Ridge area in the northwestern corner of South Carolina) plus Charleston Magazine, Columbia Metro Magazine and Easy Street Magazine in Aiken.

These magazines not only help to introduce newcomers to the area they now call home but also to keep the community abreast of business and entertainment opportunities mixed with a good deal of features about the general vicinity. Such community magazines can help to build a strong community identity for the readers.

South Carolina specialty topic magazines

There are a number of specialty topic magazines in South Carolina that appeal to smaller niche audiences, either from a trade, occupation or area of interest standpoint. Hunting and fishing and the outdoors plus wildlife to parenting magazines are available in this particular category.

The first of these involves parenting in South Carolina. This topic is handled by Palmetto Parent of Columbia, Lowcountry Parent in Charleston and Upstate Parent in Greenville. All three magazines deal with issues that are family- and parent-oriented. Everything from divorce to second marriages to stories about pertinent family features and calendars for family events are covered in their pages.

An interesting publication is the Lowcounty Dog magazine in Charleston. This magazine has numerous articles focused entirely on the dog lover in the Lowcountry. Since Charlestonians have always been people that like to pamper its pets, Lowcounty Dog follows in the footsteps (pawsteps?) of that long tradition. Even dog-friendly events and entertainment venues are covered in the pages of Lowcountry Dog.

Perhaps the other popular pastime for South Carolinians whose ancestors can be traced back to the origins of the colony will be drawn to The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research. This genealogical publication discovers the many ways to trace one’s past and that of your family tree. With a number of "first families" in South Carolina who even be further traced back to Great Britain, The South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research can be fascinating reading.

South Carolina statewide magazines

Perhaps the most famous of these is The Sandlapper magazine, printed in Lexington since 1968. Over the last 40 years Sandlapper has become one of the definitive words on all things of a Palmetto State nature. Known for its color photography and well-written feature articles about all avenues of South Carolina life, the magazine now publishes four times a year.

The South Carolina Magazine follows in much the same vein but also includes features about individual areas and businesses, plus it acts as a promoter of South Carolina tourism with more features and ratings on golf courses, restaurants, hotels and motels and resorts.

The South Carolina-based magazines listed here are but a tip of the proverbial iceberg in terms of the varied topics of interested handled within the pages of various publications. Finding a South Carolina magazine that fits your tastes is easy; just log onto www.magazines.sc for links to magazine publications across the Palmetto State.