The Lake Wylie Pilot is a free newspaper that serves all the lakefront communities of Lake Wylie, including River Hills, Tega Cay, Steele Creek, lower Belmont and more. The Pilot's debut issue hit newspaper racks on January 1, 2002. During the previous 18 years, the paper was a magazine-style publication called Lake Wylie Magazine, which was founded by former editor Leonard Short in 1984. Lake Wylie Magazine was distributed once a month until 1990, when the paper became a twice-monthly publication during the summer months. In March 1992, the paper became a twice-monthly for the entire year, and in April 1999, Lake Wylie Magazine expanded again to full-time weekly status. In 2001, the newspaper's current owners-The McClatchy Co., based in Sacramento, Calif.-decided to reinvent the newspaper as a full-size newspaper with new features and expanded coverage of the lakefront communities. With the reinvention came a new name, the Lake Wylie Pilot.