Local couple purchases The Folly Current
Special to The Current
Six months ago, local journalist and newspaper publisher Lorne Chambers was hired as the editor of The Folly Current, the monthly newspaper for Folly Beach. Last week, he and his wife Lindsey’s company Drive-By Media, LLC purchased The Folly Current from its previous owners, Lucky Dog Publishing, LLC.
Lorne, who has been in the newspaper business for nearly two decades, is the editor and publisher of West Of. Lindsey handles advertising for the weekly newspaper that serves the West Ashley community.
In addition to West Of, Lorne also founded The James Island Messenger, which he sold in 2013.
Since 2009 the couple has called Folly Beach home. “We’re excited to apply our experience and knowledge of the newspaper business to the community where we live,” said Lorne. “Folly Beach deserves its own paper, one that provides a voice for people and keeps people informed of what’s really going on in our community.”
Lorne will continue handling the editorial side of things with The Current, while Lindsey will handle the advertising. She has worked in print advertising for nearly a decade. “How people advertise has changed a lot in recent years,” says Lindsey. “But community newspapers like The Folly Current remain an effective way for mom and pop businesses to reach the very community in which they live, work, and visit.”
The Folly Current was founded in 2008 by Lynn Pierotti, owner of Lucky Dog Publishing, LLC., who also publish The Island Eye News (Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms) and The Island Connection (Kiawah and Seabrook). Pierotti says he started The Folly Current after being approached by a group of Folly residents and business owners who had picked up a copy of The Island Eye News and urged him to start a similar newspaper for Folly Beach.
“They wanted something that was an alternative to The Sandspur,” says Pierotti. “There’s nothing wrong with The Sandspur. It’s good for what it is. But In my mind when you’re funded by a governmental agency, you’re not really a news source. And I just felt Folly deserved a real news source, a true independent voice.”
For several years The Folly Current was a bi-weekly newspaper, providing locals with information that was all about them every-other-week. After several years Pierotti decided to cease publishing despite its popularity. Advertising revenues dried up during the Great Recession and it became harder for him to juggle three publications.
After several years without a community newspaper on Folly Beach, last year Pierroti was again approached by a group of locals who wanted to see the paper return in some form. The Folly Current was reborn as a monthly newspaper. A little over a year after it’s return, Pierotti says he decided to sell it to Drive-By Media, LLC. because he just wants to see it continue and is afraid that he wasn’t able to personally give it the attention it deserved. “This was always a labor of love for me. Lorne and Lindsey live on Folly and can do a better job than I can being on Sulivan’s Island,” said Pierotti. “As a fellow small newspaper publisher, I’ve known Lorne for a long time. So I know he and Lindsey will do a good job with it.”
The Folly Current will continue to be published at the beginning of every month and mailed to every PO Box on Folly Beach. It will now also be available at both Harris Teeters on Folly Road and Wal-Mart on James Island, in addition to more than a dozen locations on the Folly Beach.
