Written by
Lauren Eleazer
Manning, SC (WLTX) -- Barry Moore seems very happy while speaking to him on the phone. Though Moore, the owner of The Manning Times, has plenty to be unhappy about.
His entire staff decided to walk out on him, apparently quitting to start their own paper. But don't let the word "entire" fool you. It may sound big, but Moore says his is a small paper.
"About five or six folks left," Moore said. He says their plan is to start their own competing newspaper in Manning called the Clarendon Citizen. Moore says there's plenty of room for more than one newspaper in a community of just 4,000 citizens.
"We're a small community paper, but competition is good for Americans," you can still hear the cheerfulness in his voice as he paused to chuckle. Moore told us his newspaper has been based in Manning for 125 years, and he's owned the paper since 1988.
"I hate it, but people are going to do what they're going to do," Moore said. But the good attitude faded away as the questions continued. He declined to do an on camera interview and wouldn't comment on how large his circulation is.
"I'm not going to answer any more questions about that," he said, "I think I've given you more than enough to run with this."
We talked to several former staff members who walked out, they also declined on camera comment. However, former Manning Times employee Cleve Dowell had nothing negative to say about his former employer, and would only discuss the future.
Dowell sent News19 this statement:
"We wanted the opportunity to better serve our county. The Clarendon Citizen will be a locally owned newspaper that will provide comprehensive coverage throughout the county. We wish the Manning Times continued success."
Moore did say that members of the community have stepped up to help him out with the day-to-day operation of the paper. He added that he's already got a number of resumes on his desk to fill the five or six vacant positions.
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