Presently The Post and Courier, The Charleston Courier was the earliest newspaper in the south (The Post and Courier, n.d.), founded by Aaron Smith Willington, Loring Andrews (both Federalists from Massachusetts) and Irishman Stephen Cullen in 1903 (South Carolina ETV, 2003). It started as a Federalist paper targeting local merchants in Charleston (Hawkins, 2010), covering subjects ranging from Congress and England, to issues concerning the Southern states such as tariffs (South Carolina ETV, 2003). Notably, it's first issue debated the question of Ohio's statehood (Hawkins, 2010).
Willington, the only surviving proprietor by 1806, shunned editorial controversy in favour of commerce. Due to its economic focus, the paper ran many advertisements which supported the slave trade. Amidst rising secessionist sentiments, however, The Courier encouraged moderation, accusing its rival The Charleston Mercury of sedition and encouraging rebellion. Furthermore, it condemned U.S. Vice President John Calhoun's pronouncement of the doctrine of nullification in 1822, calling it "an abomination [that] perpetuates the Union by calling for its dissolution" (South Carolina ETV, 2003).
However, The Courier would increasingly find itself on the defensive politically regarding the constitutional rights of Southern institutions. Lincoln would be elected in 1860, and would draw a hostile response from the paper that "the election of a sectional president [signals] the knell of the union". South Carolina would subsequently sign the ordinance of secession on December 20th that same year, to which the paper would report, "after long years of suffering and forbearance the people of South Carolina have thrown off the yoke of an odious and infamous Union. We now stand before the world, a glorious example for the brave and free." (South Carolina ETV, 2003)