The ''North State Journal'' is a statewide newspaper in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

founded in 2016 by Neal Robbins. The

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

is headquartered in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. ''North State Journal'' is owned by North State Media, LLC and is published by Neal Robbins, formerly of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (now DEQ). Robbins credited DENR Secretary John Skvarla as the inspiration for the newspaper being in print.

History

The ''North State Journal'' launched in 2016 and at the time had 16 journalists and 10 business-side staff. In May 2023, the paper's parent company North State Media acquire '' The Chatham Record'' in Chatham County, N.C. In September 2023,

McClatchy McClatchy Media Company, or simply McClatchy and MCC, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law. Originally based in Sacramento, California, United States, and known as The McClatchy Company, it b ...

sold its Charlotte printing plant to North State Media for $4.65 million. The sale was publicly announced in August. The plant was developed by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' in 1982 and sold to the ''Charlotte Observer''’s parent company in 2013. Following the sale, the plant's 30-member staff will stay on at the newly established Charlotte Publishing Company.

Content

Founder Neal Robbins stated to the ''

Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned by Chatham Asset ...

'' that ''North State Journal'' is not partisan, and that it aims for objectivity. The ''North State Journal''s opinion section consists only of bylined columns emphasizes "free markets and individual liberty" compared with "center-left" leaning opinion sections of North Carolina’s other major papers. In 2017, the paper published two issues per week, on Sunday and Wednesday.

Awards

In 2024, North State Journal received 16 awards from the North Carolina Press Association, including seven first place awards and First Place for General Excellence in Division B. North State Journal collected 19 awards from the North Carolina Press Association in 2022, including third place for General Excellence in the small weekly category. The paper won the General Excellence Award as the best small weekly in the state in 2018 and 2020 as well as second place in 2019.

References

{{Reflist Newspapers published in North Carolina Mass media in Raleigh, North Carolina Newspapers established in 2016 2016 establishments in North Carolina