Victoria Hansen

Victoria Hansen is our Lowcountry connection covering the Charleston community, a city she knows well. She grew up in newspaper newsrooms and has worked as a broadcast journalist for more than 20 years. Her first reporting job brought her to Charleston where she covered local and national stories like the Susan Smith murder trial and the arrival of the Citadel’s first female cadet.

An opportunity to anchor the news for an ABC affiliate took her to Nashville, Tennessee. But summer vacations were always spent in Charleston. She moved back in 2006 to the city she calls home to anchor and report again at the tv station where she began.

Victoria has volunteered and served as a spokesperson for numerous nonprofits. She has been honored with multiple Emmys as well as a Community Service Award from the South Carolina Broadcasters Association. It is her passion for community service that brings her to South Carolina Public Radio.

Intimate portraits of a hospital COVID unit from a photojournalist-turned-nurse

Victoria Hansen

Alan Hawes hopes his photos of health care workers and COVID patients will show the toll of this pandemic — and persuade the unvaccinated to get their COVID shots.
Despite higher COVID risk, most pregnant Americans remain unvaccinated

Victoria Hansen

Only a third of pregnant Americans are vaccinated for COVID-19, despite being at far higher risk for complications and death.
Death Row Inmates Sue After They're Asked To Pick Firing Squad Or Electric Chair

Victoria Hansen

South Carolina is now asking death-row inmates to choose between the electric chair and firing squad, citing a lack of lethal injection drugs. Critics say the move is more about conservative politics.
Equality Act Would Extend Civil Rights Laws To LGBTQ People Throughout U.S.

Victoria Hansen

South Carolina is one of about two dozen states that have few or no statewide LGBTQ protections. The federal Equality Act would change that, but some in the state say the bill goes too far.
Who Are The Lawyers Defending Trump In His 2nd Impeachment Trial?

Victoria Hansen

Among the fairly unknown team from South Carolina is Butch Bowers, who represents public officials in ethics cases. A first for him, he has to defend the former president in a trial unlike any other.
South Carolina Sheriff's Candidate: I Wore Blackface 10 Years Ago

Victoria Hansen

In a political ad, Craig Stivender, a Republican candidate for sheriff in Colleton County, S.C., says he wanted to share his past mistakes before opponents tried to use them to disparage him.
Retailers Plan To Clear Deadly Paint Removers From Shelves, As EPA Delays Ban

Rebecca Hersher

A chemical in common paint removal products is implicated in more than 50 deaths. Even though a federal ban has been delayed, some major retailers are voluntarily taking the products off shelves.
FBI To Start Using A 2nd Database For Gun Background Checks

Victoria Hansen

Dylann Roof was able to buy a gun two months before the Charleston church massacre because of a background check error. A new plan by the FBI aims to fix what critics call the "Charleston Loophole."
National Politics Plays A Role In South Carolina Election

Victoria Hansen

In South Carolina, a former Trump campaign staffer won a seat in the statehouse this week. Nancy Mace is also the first woman to graduate from what was once an all-male military school.
Former South Carolina Officer Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison

Victoria Hansen

A white former South Carolina police officer received a 20-year prison sentence for killing an unarmed black man. Michael Slager fired eight times as Walter Scott ran away following a traffic stop.