STATE NEWSPAPER LAYOFFS THREATEN ART COVERAGE IN COLUMBIA, ARTISTS GET ANGRY

Like a swarm of angry, Venetian mask-wearing party-goers from Eyes Wide Shut, the local artists of Columbia are making their wrath known regarding the recent firings at The State newspaper.

The Columbia Free-Times, which, of course, has absolutely nothing to gain from the demise of The State, gleefully pushed the issue with a piece in this week’s issue.

Free Times has verified that arts and entertainment editor Mark Layman, veteran arts writer Jeffrey Day and features writer Natasha Derrick are among the victims of the cuts [...]

Many in the arts community have long felt that coverage in The State was already relatively scarce given the city’s position as the arts hub of the state, but that this shortcoming was at least somewhat offset by the paper having an experienced team specifically designated to the fine arts.

“We have to assume [now] that they won’t have a full-time arts writer at The State, raising issues of quality of coverage,” says Wim Roefs, owner of Columbia’s if ART Gallery. “Will it be consistent? Will the level of expertise be there?”

I can’t answer those questions for Mr. Roefs, but I can tell him that The Palmetto Scoop will be picking up where The State is leaving off.

And that includes arts. Of course, I don’t know a damn thing about the local arts and entertainment scene, so he’s more than welcome to send stuff my way and I’ll cover it.

Just send it to the Tip Line. The password is Fidelio.