North Carolina Local News Workshop

03/13/2025

02/27/2025

News and information friends, we are thrilled to announce the launch of NC Local, a new nonprofit dedicated to strengthening access to local news about statewide issues in North Carolina.

NC Local emerges from the strong foundation of the NC Local News Workshop, founded by Melanie Sill in 2020 and led by Shannan Bowen for the last five years.

“NC Local is a statewide news hub. It’s a newsroom, but not in a traditional sense,” said Bowen. “We’ll hire reporters in regions across the state who will report for their communities and provide content for news partners to distribute. We’ll go beyond articles to get information out in formats and through products and services that reach different communities. Our mission is to ensure that all North Carolinians have access to trustworthy information about how statewide issues affect them.”

Shannan and Melanie spent the last two years listening, researching and strategizing about what kind of model could serve North Carolina’s diverse local new ecosystem. Now that vision is coming to life, thanks to the support and guidance of many people and the generous funding from philanthropic organizations.

“We are grateful to the Knight Foundation for supporting our model. We’re also grateful to Arnold Ventures, Dogwood Health Trust, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, Google News Initiative and North Carolina Local News Lab Fund for their support,” said Bowen. “The NC Local News Lab Fund, led by Lizzy Hazeltine and Jagmeet Mac, has funded the NC Local News Workshop each year since 2020, and we would not be able to enter into this new phase without their support.”

Hear more from Shannan in today’s newsletter and find a link to NC Local’s new home below.

02/12/2025

When Triad City Beat announced late last month that the time had come to shut down, readers weighed in on the role this scrappy news outlet played in the community over the last decade:

This is very sad news especially at this political moment.
I have appreciated y'all's integrity and willingness to hear feedback.
A huge loss to local news reporting.
Your presence made a difference.
You guys definitely made an impact.
Damnit
Damn

“I’m really proud that we were able to just do it at all,” said Co-Founder Brian Clarey. “That we were able to stake our territory, that we were able to speak truth to power for the time that we did and train up so many folks to go on and do things in this industry.”

For Managing Editor Sayaka Matsuoka, it’s bittersweet but she also has no regrets. She says TCB’s ethos of not adhering to the myth of objectivity, of calling out racism and bigotry, comes from a long tradition of movement journalists and organizers before them.

“Anywhere you look in your community, there are going to be people who are pushing back against the atrocities of the world, injustices big and small. So I’m heartened by that. That’s actually the thing that allows me to do this work. If I didn’t feel like there was some semblance of hope and resistance at all times, it would be impossible to do this job,” said Matsuoka.

As TCB prepares to sunset at the end of the month, we had the opportunity to chat with Brian and Sayaka about the role TCB has played in the local news ecosystem, lessons learned from a decade of publishing, what’s kept them going all these years and details on their "Last Anniversary" party happening February 28, from 6-9 pm, at Scuppernong Books.

Find a link to our Q&A in the comments.

01/13/2025

⏰Deadline alert! Get your pitches in today for workshops, panels, trainings & other types of sessions at the 2025 NC News & Info Summit, happening 3/12 in Durham and co-hosted with the Sunshine Center of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition. Don't have a fleshed out idea yet? That's ok! Organizers will help you refine your pitch.

Details: https://airtable.com/appP80Znvhp2jfo4E/shrWgwLYDxLAWgP6r

01/08/2025

Corinne Saunders wouldn’t let a layoff get in the way of providing Outer Banks audiences with accountability and service journalism. She’s four months into the launch of her new publication, Outer Banks Insider, publishing 80+ articles covering everything from dredging permits and federal subpoenas of county officials, to a community chorus going global and a group of kids making their first seafaring mini boat.

This week, we chat with Corinne about her winding journalism career, the people who’ve supported her along the way and what goes into building a new local news organization from the ground up. Learn more below!

01/07/2025

Pitch a session for the NC News & Information Summit, March 12 at NC Central University in Durham!

The annual Summit, hosted jointly by the NC Local News Workshop and the NC Open Government Coalition, coincides with Sunshine Week, a national initiative that promotes access to public information.

Our general themes include community-centered news and information; access to public records and open government; transparency and public institutions; collaboration; sustainability; and diversity, equity and inclusion.

To pitch a session, fill out the form at bit.ly/NCNewsSummitPitch. Deadline extended to January 13th.

Don’t worry if you don’t have all the details finalized just yet. We’re most interested in learning about your proposed topic and purpose. We’ll help you finalize the description and format once selected.

Plus, up to two facilitators for each session will receive free access to the Summit.

12/19/2024

In the early days of Helene, one of the only places to get news and information was Blue Ridge Public Radio. With no cell or internet, community members pulled old radios out of storage and invited neighbors to gather around. Some transcribed what they heard on BPR on paper, then taped it to windows and utility polls. A local hamburger joint, Juicy Lucy’s, put BPR’s frequency on their marquee.

For weeks, BPR staff provided round the clock information on where to get water, food and other necessities. They alerted folks to the volunteer efforts, interviewed countless public officials, and made their way to some of the hardest hit communities. Seven days a week, they aired the Buncombe County press briefings, which staff recapped afterwards to highlight key information. They added Spanish language briefings and news, and packaged overnight programming.

Along the way, they stayed flexible, constantly asking their audience to send in questions and launching new products to serve them.

“Sometimes when you’re making newsroom decisions or strategic decisions about audience distribution, you can let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” said BPR News Director Laura Lee. “The one freeing possibility of something that is this horrible and chaotic is that you can just go ahead and try something.”

As we wrap up 2024, we chatted with Laura Lee to learn about how she and her team approached North Carolina’s biggest story of the year and the lessons learned that other local news and info orgs can use to prepare their own teams for when a disaster strikes. Find a link to our Q&A in the comments.

12/13/2024

Last night we celebrated our Western NC journalists, partners and supporters. We’ve all been working closely over the past couple of months in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and journalists here continue to cover essential information for WNC communities while still navigating changes to their hometowns. Recovery is not fully complete. The story is not over. We’ll continue our support for newsrooms and communities by working closely with this diverse, engaging collaborative of news and information partners.
To our WNC partners: we are so inspired by you! ❤️

.103.7 & more

12/06/2024

Pate McMichael, the new director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition, isn’t daunted by the erosion of government transparency in North Carolina. He sees the rollbacks as a call to action that motivates him everyday:

“Getting in here and being an advocate for open government is appealing, especially in these troubled times we’re in, because it gives us purpose.”

Originally from Georgia, McMichael’s worked as a journalist and educator in a number of swing states and finds that many communities are facing the same challenges in keeping public records public. He’s been digging into the history of public records law here in North Carolina, and has plans to use next year’s 90th anniversary of the measure to raise more awareness about its importance to a functioning democracy.

“It’s really interesting how they got it through the legislature and the fact that it didn’t seem to be all that controversial in its day. There was not a big fight over it. If anything it was viewed as a common sense solution to a long term problem of not having good record keeping.”

We had the chance to chat with Pate about his new role and the challenges and opportunities surrounding open government in North Carolina. Pate would also love to assist you in your public records questions, provide trainings to your newsrooms and highlight your stories using public records. Find our Q&A and ways to get in touch at link in bio.

11/27/2024

The news and information business has certainly felt non-stop the past few months so this week’s NC Local newsletter is all about pausing, reflecting and lifting each other up.

We collected your short stories of gratitude and, individually, they are testaments to the bosses that listened, coached and opened doors; the colleagues who offered support when we needed it most; the sources and subscribers at the center of what we do; and the funders who recognize the importance of this work.

Collectively, these tributes demonstrate how our efforts to serve and inform communities are woven together, the threads made stronger and more vibrant as we connect, convene and collaborate.

Thanks to all who contributed to this special edition of NC Local including , .high, , Lexi Solomon, , & .

Read their full gratitude stories at link in bio.

08/12/2022

We're thrilled to welcome six talented news professionals to our inaugural leadership development program for journalists of color in North Carolina. Read more about our vision for this program and the journalists participating:

https://www.elon.edu/u/nclnw/2022/08/09/a-focus-on-retaining-journalists-of-color-and-helping-them-succeed/

06/10/2021

What’s ahead for NC local news? Our founding executive director, Melanie Sill, shares thoughts as she passes the baton. Read her blog post via the link in our bio.