Newspapers

This winter, waves of journalists across the country lost their jobs as major media organizations made significant cut backs. Among them, media giant Gannett cut an estimated 400 people, and The McClatchy Company offered voluntary buyouts to about 450 people. The mass layoffs follow years of staff cuts at newspapers and media outlets across the country. 

Cash Michaels is known for sharing the African-American perspective on news stories around North Carolina. He has been a newspaper journalist since the 1980s and writes for six African-American papers around the state. 

News deserts are cropping up across America. A new report shows nearly 1,800 papers have shuttered or merged since 2004, and 171 counties across the U.S. have no local newspaper. This decline has deep implications for civic participation and government accountability, which become even more critical around election time.

The Trump Administration tariffs on paper are forcing the Robesonianan newspaper to cut its 8-page Sunday color comics section. Editor Donnie Douglas wrote an editorial explaining that the cost of Canadian newsprint has become too expensive to keep printing that section.

Robyn Tomlin oversees eight newspapers across two states. In January, she was appointed the first regional McClatchy editor for the Carolinas. But her relationship with newspapers started far from a bustling newsroom. As a 19-year-old mom running a daycare inside her apartment, Tomlin became an avid reader of The News & Observer. The paper was her lifeline to a world outside of dirty diapers and wailing children.

For the majority of libel claims, the case never goes before a jury. However, in cases where the libel claim goes through to trial, juries tend to give big awards, something the Raleigh News & Observer found out this week when a jury delivered a verdict that could run north of $6 million.

The advent of the internet forced many industries to adjust, and newspapers were no exception. To deal with new competition and the changing face of advertising, community papers are reaching across platforms. A new book, "Saving Community Journalism: The Path to Profitability" (The University of North Carolina Press/2014) seeks to assist local papers in that transition.

 Joe Hudson's weekly column in the Statesville Record & Landmark entertains readers with its stories about family, friendship, and Southern culture.  

  The Rhino Times has been the signature conservative newspaper in the Triad since January of 1992. But it’s recently announced its closing, after 21 years of service. In other news, today marks the centennial anniversary of the joining of Winston and Salem, to become Winston-Salem.