''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset Management.

Overview

''The Observer'' primarily serves Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and the surrounding counties of Iredell, Cabarrus, Union, Lancaster,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

, Gaston, Catawba, and Lincoln. Home delivery service in outlying counties has declined in recent years, with delivery times growing later as the paper has outsourced circulation services outside the primary Charlotte area. Circulation at ''The Charlotte Observer'' has been declining for many years. The period of May 2011 showed that ''Charlotte Observer'' circulation totaled 155,497 daily and 212,318 Sunday. 2017 Print Circulation Daily: 69,987 and Sunday: 106,434. The newspaper has an online presence and its staff also oversees a NASCAR news website, and a corresponding syndicated feature, ''That's Racin. The Charlotte Observer also operates a food, drink and lifestyle vertical calle
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The paper's television partner is WBTV. ''The Observer'' offices also include editors and designers that makeup the ''McClatchy NewsDesk-East'', which is responsible for the production of ''The Charlotte Observer'' and ''McClatchy'' newspapers from across the region. From 1927 to 2016, ''The Charlotte Observer'' was headquartered at 600 South Tryon Street. The facility included editorial offices, management offices, advertising offices, production, plus a large printing facility with a tunnel and underground railway system to feed paper to the presses. In 2016, the editorial offices moved to the NASCAR building on South Caldwell Street. The old facility was demolished and redeveloped into office space.

History

The paper was founded in 1886 as the Charlotte Chronicle. The Chronicle was sold to Joseph Caldwell in 1892, and began appearing as the Charlotte Daily Observer on March 13, 1892. It was purchased by Knight Newspapers in 1955. Knight merged with Ridder Publications to form Knight Ridder in 1974. ''The Observer'' eventually became the fourth-largest newspaper in the Knight Ridder chain (behind ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Penns ...

'' and '' Daily News,'' '' Detroit Free Press'' and '' Miami Herald''). In 1959, ''The Observer'' purchased '' The Charlotte News'', Charlotte's afternoon newspaper. All operations were merged except editorial content, which was fused in 1983. ''The Observer'' ended circulation of the afternoon ''News'' in 1985. McClatchy purchased most of Knight Ridder's newspapers, including ''The Observer'', in 2006. This made ''The Observer'' a sister publication of the state's largest paper, '' The News and Observer'' of Raleigh; and of '' The Herald'' of Rock Hill, the primary newspaper for the South Carolina side of the metro area. As of spring 2008, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in the McClatchy chain (behind ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

'', '' Miami Herald'', '' Sacramento Bee'' and '' Fort Worth Star-Telegram''). McClatchy's share value has been in decline since the purchase. The stock has lost over 95% of its value, far worse than many remaining newspaper companies. On March 7, 2020, the ''Observer'' made the Saturday edition digital only.

Pulitzer Prizes

The ''Charlotte Observer'' has won five Pulitzer Prizes: *

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

– Editorial cartooning,

Eugene Payne Eugene Gray Payne (January 29, 1919 – October 14, 2010) was an American political cartoonist and writer. He attended Syracuse University on an art scholarship. After college he served in the Army Air Forces as a weather scout. In 1958 Payne beg ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

– Meritorious public service, staff; "For ''Brown Lung: A Case of Deadly Neglect'', a hard-hitting look at the terrible health consequences workers suffered from cotton dust produced in the region's textile mills." * 1988 – Editorial cartooning, Doug Marlette (shared with the '' Atlanta Constitution'') *1988 – Meritorious public service, staff; "For its investigation into the misuse of funds by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and their PTL ministries." *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

– Editorial cartooning, Kevin Siers

Prices

To date, the ''Charlotte Observer'' prices are: daily, $2 and Sunday/Thanksgiving Day, $3. Price is higher outside Mecklenburg & adjacent counties/states. As of 2020, an annual digital subscription is $15.99 per month.

References

External links