Sumter Item’s Alaysha Maple wins historic SC Journalist of the Year award

When Alaysha Maple’s name was called on Friday afternoon, local and state history was made.

In one of the culminating, surprise announcements at South Carolina Press Association’s annual news contest, which awards journalists, designers and other newsroom staff for their work during the past year, Maple, The Sumter Item’s Next Gen news editor, was named Journalist of the Year.

The honor marks the first time an Item reporter has won the award in the family-owned newspaper’s 132-year history. Maple is also, according to SCPA records, the first Black female to be named Journalist of the Year in the history of the awards.

“As fifth-generation newspaper owners, we couldn’t be prouder of Alaysha being named Journalist of the Year by the South Carolina Press Association. This prestigious honor reflects her unwavering commitment to truth, her deep care for our community and her relentless pursuit of excellence,” co-owners Jack and Kyle Osteen said in a joint congratulations. “Alaysha represents the very best of what local journalism can and should be. We are fortunate to have her in our newsroom and proud to see her work recognized at the highest level in our state.”

Maple is a fitting candidate to be the first Item reporter to win this top mark not only on merit, but also because of her connection to the community she serves.

Born and raised in Sumter, Maple joined The Item’s newsroom in 2021 as a multimedia reporter to write about public safety and arts and entertainment after graduating from College of Charleston earlier that year with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication. She has since been promoted to editor of the paper’s Next Generation beat, for which she leads the Sumter’s Next Generation series as well as field trips and local programming with students.

“Hundreds of talented, dedicated journalists have worked at The Item over its 132-year history, and for Alaysha to be the first to receive this highest statewide recognition is a remarkable achievement,” Item Publisher Vince Johnson said. “She’s everything that’s right in local journalism – committed to her community, relentlessly thoughtful and trustworthy and willing to lead growth and innovation in an evolving industry.”

Her individual work that was awarded in this year’s contest included two first-place prizes – for best series, with video editor Zac Hooks, for Past is Present, and best government beat reporting – as well as a second-place nod for best arts and entertainment reporting for a story on Sumter Community Concert Band and a third-place recognition for her obituary of Wilson Hall matriarch Sarah Witherspoon Nash Wilson. She also contributed to staff wins for General Excellence, second place, and best special edition in Life is Good, second place.

Maple’s body of work that was submitted for the Journalist of the Year nomination spans a remarkable range of reporting, from the breaking news of crews finding the body of Tommy Brailey to feature storytelling about the history and modern renditions of Black cowboy trail ride field parties to holding public officials accountable through her reporting in Mayesville to investigative work into American Legion Post 15 and the fate of the county fair.

“She’s a breath of fresh air no matter what story she’s working on, new long-form project she’s mapping out or community engagement session she’s leading. Sources trust her because they know she approaches every story with empathy and fairness, whether it’s talking to the mother of a teenager killed by gun violence or Sumter’s first female fire marshal or the mayor of a town in turmoil,” Item Executive Editor Kayla Green wrote in Maple’s nomination. “Her ability to build relationships with community members, from everyday citizens to business owners to elected officials, makes her work stand out and signals to readers that what they read from Alaysha is unbiased, accurate and the full story.”

Maple was recognized not only for her reporting, but also for her work as Next Gen news editor and beyond.

“She also cares deeply about the Sumter community, her hometown that she returned to after college, and shows it in her service to both the community and the journalism industry,” Green wrote. “She leads field trips at our office for young student groups, engaging with them at their level by showing them the different types of jobs they can pursue in local news, always surprising them by teaching them it’s more than a printed newspaper.”

A highlight of her work with students was a partnership she led with Jane Hray’s fourth-grade class at Liberty STEAM Charter School. It started with a field trip and culminated in a seven-month project to produce a magazine that showed off the students’ skills, and the students presented the magazine to the charter board.

Maple is also the supervisor for two USC Sumter students who are interning in the newsroom this spring through a partnership with the college funded through a Williams-Brice-Edwards Charitable Trust grant.

During this contest period, she also graduated from America’s Newspapers’ Executive Development Program and has participated in other professional development cohorts, from which she brings new knowledge and skills to the paper. Maple has expanded her role in helping to host Best of Sumter and Best of Clarendon events and was on a three-person team that pitched, created, planned and launched JingleFest in December.

On top of all of that, she also mentors new and young hires at the paper, helping them to acclimate to the newsroom and the community she grew up in and now gives back to through her reporting and journalism.

“Busy as ever, she finds the time and strength to be patient with them and listens to their questions. They are undoubtedly better journalists because of her mentorship,” Green wrote. “Alaysha doesn’t just make the paper better by producing high-quality work. She makes journalism better by connecting it to younger generations, and she makes our community better by finding innovative and bright ways to tell their stories while never letting the core mission – of holding account to power and fairly, empathetically and fully representing the community – go.”

Maple’s win headlines another successful year for The Item’s newsroom in the contest in taking home 25 awards, including 10 first-place wins. The newspaper also won the President’s Cup, the first time it has done so back to back after winning it in 2025. More details on individual honors coming soon.