We’re committed to local reporting that provides context. Your donations can help.
The News & Observer’s Josh Shaffer and Martha Quillin are gifted reporters who know how to provide context even when the news is bewildering. Their most recent story, “As Moore County spent days in the dark, residents sought to share the light of hope,” showed how goodness responds to evil.
There is plenty of speculation on why two substations in Moore County were sabotaged, leaving a rural county without power and disrupting an otherwise peaceful community.
“But in the early hours of the crisis, coffee shops passed out steaming cups of java and plates of waffles for free, running the pots on 5-kilowatt generators. Churches formed committees to cook hot dogs and chicken strips, passing them out to all comers. The NC Baptist Men hauled in trailers with hot showers and laundry, and volunteers made beef stew in vats the size of hot tubs.,” Josh and Martha reported.
Josh and Martha joined a team of N&O journalists who swarmed the news from Moore County. The challenge, as always, is balancing resources with audience interests across the Triangle. There are college basketball games to cover, school issues that become public-policy debates and elected officials who make decisions that affect everyone’s lives. As a wise editor once counseled a younger me, “No matter the size of your newsroom, you’ll always be looking for a reporter to cover a story.”
Local, differentiated reporting requires a commitment to tell stories that go beyond the 5 p.m. broadcast.
Journalism with impact
That’s why The N&O’s Local Impact Journalism Fund was launched. To report on topics of public interest that may get overlooked otherwise. To do journalism with impact. To provide context and impact while engaging our community.
Thank you.
In this season of giving, your giving makes a difference.
Community donors and philanthropic organizations continue to show the importance of local journalism that matters.
Thanks to your generosity, The N&O and The Herald-Sun published more than 1,000 stories from community-supported journalists in the past year. The topics included important stories on health and life science, challenges facing single moms in a changing economy, diversity and equity issues, environmental justice, and the Triangle’s innovation and technology community.
Strategic partnerships with news organizations and funders allow us to devote resources for investigative reports that are independent and hold public institutions accountable. (In all cases, philanthropic funders don’t read the stories until you do.)
We’re proud of the work that you’ve supported. Among the numerous examples:
“Big Poultry,” an extensive investigation into how state officials have wrapped North Carolina’s poultry industry in secrecy. The series revealed numerous problems affecting homeowners, the state’s environment and small growers.
Reaction to stories on Walmart putting limits on dispensing a miscarriage drug. That prompted a congressional response and the company rescinding its policy.
Our commitment to tell the story of single moms and their families through the community-funded “Women and Children First?” project.
We’ve partnered with Journalism Funding Partners, a nonprofit that allows you to make tax-deductible contributions to support our journalism.
How you can help
You can visit newsobserver.com/donate to make a gift. (If you do, thanks.)
Or if you prefer to mail a donation, please make checks payable to Journalism Funding Partners. Include “The News & Observer” in the memo line and include your email address so we can send you an acknowledgment email. Mail the check to: McClatchy, 1601 Alhambra Blvd, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95816. (The money will return here.)
You understand the importance of local news.
How it shapes lives.
How it can chronicle hope.
Even when the lights go out.
We appreciate your ongoing support.
Bill Church is executive editor of The News Observer and The Herald-Sun. He and his wife, Darla, contribute to The N&O’s Local Impact Journalism Fund.
