Will Folks
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| Will Folks | |
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| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | FITSNews Viewpolitik, LLC |
| Role: | Founding editor |
| Location: | Columbia, S.C. |
| Education: | University of South Carolina (B.A. History, Philosophy M.A., Mass Communication) |
Will Folks is president of Viewpolitik, LLC, a political public relations firm.[1] He founded Viewpolitik in 2003.[2] Folks is also founding editor of FITSNews, which is a member of the Washington Post political blog network.[3] He started FITSNews in December 2006.[4] Folks has been named among the best state political bloggers and tweeters by Chris Cilizza of the Washington Post.[5][6]
Career
From 2001 to 2002, Folks was communications director for Mark Sanford's (R) campaign for Governor of South Carolina. From 2003 to 2005, he was press secretary for Governor Sanford (R).[4] Folks resigned as communications director in August 2005 and returned to Viewpolitik, LLC. He said that he hoped for a "less intrusive chapter" in his life.[7] In September 2005, Folks pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal domestic violence.[8]
He has been named among the best state political bloggers and tweeters by Chris Cilizza of the Washington Post.[5][6] Erika Fry of the Columbia Journalism Review has called Folks "prolific" as well as "a consummate information broker, producing political scoops on a near daily basis."[9] The Columbia Journalism Review noted Folks' influence in South Carolina:[9]
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Over the last five years, Folks has turned his one-man web operation into a must-read for Palmetto State politicos...while much of his content is inside baseball, Folks says his audience—previously limited to the state’s lawmakers, lobbyists, reporters, and political activists—has been expanding to citizens who are interested in his efforts to hold the state’s politicians, especially Haley, accountable from a fiscal conservative’s perspective. The site now draws 1.5 million visitors per month, he says, who come to see the handful of new stories he publishes per day. [10] |
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Governor Nikki Haley
Folks claimed in a series of 2010 blog posts that he had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with former Representative Nikki Haley (R) during Haley's campaign for Governor.[11][12] He later released an affidavit about the relationship.[13] Haley denied the affair and called Folks' claims "categorically and totally false."[14][15]
| WYFF report on Will Folks and Nikki Haley |
Top influencers by state
Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect popular perceptions. They can take on many forms: politicians, lobbyists, advisors, donors, corporations, industry groups, labor unions, single-issue organizations, nonprofits, to name a few.
In 2015, Ballotpedia identified Will Folks as a top influencer by state. We identified top influencers across the country through several means, including the following:
- Local knowledge of our professional staff
- Surveys of activists, thought leaders and journalists from across the country and political spectrum
- Outreach to political journalists in each state who helped refine our lists
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Will Folks. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ FITSNews, "Who are these people," December 7, 2010
- ↑ South Carolina Secretary of State, "Viewpolitik, LLC," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "FITSNews," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Linkedin.com, "Profile: Will Folks," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Washington Post, "The Fix's best state-based political blogs 2011 edition," August 2, 2011
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Washington Post, "The best South Carolina political tweeters," January 17, 2012
- ↑ WISTV.com, "Sanford spokesman Will Folks to seek 'less intrusive chapter' in life," July 20, 2005
- ↑ WISTV.com, "Will Folks pleads guilty to criminal domestic violence," September 28, 2005
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Columbia Journalism Review, "A day in the life of South Carolina's 'Sic Willie,'" January 20, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ FITSNews, "Letting the chips fall," May 24, 2010
- ↑ FITSNews, "Haley-gate: the storm before the storm," May 26, 2010
- ↑ Charleston City Paper, "Will Folks releases affidavit detailing alleged Nikki Haley affair," October 12, 2010
- ↑ WISTV, "Haley denies affair with political blogger on WVOC," May 28, 2010
- ↑ Time Magazine, "South Carolina GOP: from the appalacian [sic] trail to 'inappropriate physical relationship,'" May 24, 2010
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