Russ McKinney

Reporter, Producer

Russ McKinney has 30 years of experience in radio news and public affairs.  He is a former broadcast news reporter in Spartanburg, Columbia and Atlanta.  He served as Press Secretary to former S.C. Governor Dick Riley for two terms, and for 20 years was the chief public affairs officer for the University of South Carolina.

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Stories

  • Gov. Henry McMaster gives his State of the State address on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, in Columbia, S.C.

    Recent SC Supreme Court ruling on abortion reverberates through State House

    The State Supreme Court’s overturning of the state’s six-week, heartbeat abortion law earlier this month is still reverberating through the State House. This week Gov. Henry McMaster again criticized the court’s decision as did some conservative legislators, and a proposed...
  •  Rep. David Hiott, R-Pickens and members of the SC House Republican Caucus during a Statehouse news conference on January 19, 2023.

    SC House GOP super-majority roiled by House Freedom Caucus

    Republicans have controlled the South Carolina House of Representatives for almost thirty years. Following last November’s election, they achieved a super-majority with 88 of the 124 house seats held by Republicans. That super-majority means the GOP caucus can pass pretty...
  •  Justices of the SC Supreme Court

    SC Supreme Court abortion ruling dominates opening week of General Assembly

    A new two-year session of the General Assembly began this week, and as it got underway the overriding issue quickly became the same issue that ended last year’s session: abortion. Last week the SC Supreme Court ruled the state’s six-week Fetal Heartbeat Law unconstitutional...
  • FILE - South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster listens as Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corp. CEO Lou Kennedy speaks during the rollout of her new company, Nephron Nitrile, which Kennedy says will manufacture medical gloves as part of an effort to shore up the U.S. medical supply chain, Thursday, July 15, 2021, in West Columbia, S.C.

    Henry McMaster to begin second full term as SC Governor

    When Henry McMaster takes the oath of office as Governor this week, he’ll become the first person in state history to be formally sworn into office for a third time. His new four-year term will, in all likelihood, be the capstone of a public service career that will span...
  • News police standards law in effect

    Law enforcement across the country has seen significant changes recently stemming from the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, MN at the hands of police on May 25, 2020. A jury later convicted an officer in the death of George Floyd, and the event triggered...
  • South Carolina Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-West Columbia, left, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, center, and Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla, right, give the highlights of the compromise plan for the state's $13.8 billion budget on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

    SC general assembly approves record-setting budget

    State lawmakers finalized next year’s record setting state budget this week. The spending plan now goes to the Governor. Thanks to a booming economy, and federal pandemic money pumped into the state, revenue from tax collections over the past two years has been at record...