William (Bill) Hawkins

Publisher and Executive Editor

Bill Hawkins came to The Post and Courier as executive editor in 2005, from Durham, North Carolina, where he spent 17 years as executive editor and vice president of The Herald-Sun. He was named publisher of The Post and Courier in 2009 and in that capacity is also responsible for advertising, circulation and the Web.

Hawkins is a graduate of Cornell University and earned a Bronze Star as an intelligence officer with the 11th Infantry Brigade in Vietnam.

[SC 0101] - Part 1: Intro and Contribution (5:10)

Bill Hawkins, editor & publisher, The Post and Courier, says with 90 people in the newsroom the Post and Courier’s news staff is “bigger than the other media in Charleston combined.” Hawkins says part of the Courier’s mission is to report “what went wrong and why it went wrong.”

[SC 0102] - Part 2: Ethics & Content (6:12)

Bill Hawkins, editor & publisher, The Post and Courier, says he depends on an experienced newsroom to keep his newspaper within ethical boundaries. “Our reporters know pretty much what would get them in trouble,” says Hawkins. But like many editors, Hawkins says managing anonymous reader online comments, on the newspaper’s website, has “tormented me more than anything.”

[SC 0103] - Part 3: Strategic Changes (7:17)

Bill Hawkins, editor & publisher, The Post and Courier, says his newsroom is making a major push to become a digital-first operation. “We can’t afford to be analog players in a digital world,” says Hawkins. “Immediacy is the word of the day and everybody will have to thrive in a digital environment.” But despite this new emphasis, Hawkins says, “For the next five years print will remain king.”

[SC 0104] - Part 4: Adaptation & the Future (9:15)

Bill Hawkins, editor & publisher, The Post and Courier, says in the next five years, “the biggest change will be the continued rapid move to mobile [news delivery].” Hawkins is also looking for more ways to generate income from its digital news products. “It’s insanity to spend all the money we spend on gathering and archiving this news and then giving it away,” says Hawkins.

[SC 0105] - Part 5: Prospects and Preparation (2:16)

Bill Hawkins, editor & publisher, The Post and Courier, says working at a newspaper “is still a calling.” “It’s still about serving a community,” says Hawkins.