South County Newspapers

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South County Newspapers
Type	Private
Founded	October 16, 1997
Headquarters	10 High Street, Suite H, Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879 USA
Key people	Betty J. Cotter, managing editor
Industry	Newspapers
Products	Two weekly newspapers in Rhode Island
Website	scindependent.com

South County Newspapers is an independent publisher of two weekly newspapers, North East Independent and South County Independent, in Washington County, Rhode Island.

The company was founded by veteran newspaper publisher Frederick J. Wilson III in 1997, seeking to "produce a weekly newspaper that would not be beholden to corporate interests." Wilson is no longer involved with the company.

South County Newspapers shares advertising resources with The Newport Daily News and its sister weeklies (including the Ocean State Independent), although the Newport-based papers are owned separately.

Both Independents are published on Thursdays and are based in Wakefield, Rhode Island.

North East Independent: Launched in 1999, the North East paper takes its name from its two-town coverage area, North Kingstown and East Greenwich. The North East Independent won first place for general excellence from the New England Press Association in 2001 and 2005.

South County Independent: The first of Wilson's papers, founded in 1997, the South County Independent was a New England Newspaper Association Newspaper of the Year in 2000 and 2001, and an NEPA general excellence winner in 2004. The South County paper covers South Kingstown (including the villages of Kingston, Peace Dale and Wakefield), Narragansett and Charlestown, Rhode Island.