The North State Journal launched in 2016 and at the time had 16 journalists and 10 business-side staff.[5]
In May 2023, the paper's parent company North State Media acquire The Chatham Record in Chatham County, N.C.[6]
In September 2023, McClatchy 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 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.[7]
Content
Founder Neal Robbins stated to the Charlotte Observer that North State Journal is not partisan, and that it aims for objectivity.[8]
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.[9] In 2017, the paper published two issues per week, on Sunday and Wednesday.[10]
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. [11]
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.[12] The paper won the General Excellence Award as the best small weekly in the state in 2018[13] and 2020[14] as well as second place in 2019.[15]
^Campbell, Colin (29 February 2016). "Former McCrory administration officials launch newspaper". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 30 July 2018. And he stresses that North State Journal isn't partisan and aims for objectivity. "There's no such thing as unbiased because human beings are human beings," Robbins said. "Our goal is to tell the truth."
