North Carolina all Newspaper list | Top 10 Newspaper in North Carolina

North Carolina has always been a state that values the written word. From colonial broadsheets printed in New Bern to today’s hyper-local digital newsrooms in Asheville and Wilmington, North Carolina newspapers have chronicled everything from the Halifax Resolves to Hurricane Helene recovery. Whether you’re searching for the complete North Carolina newspaper list, want to understand their deep historical roots, or are curious about how print and digital journalism will survive in 2025 and beyond, this ultimate guide covers it all.

This comprehensive guide delves into the fascinating world of North Carolina newspapers, exploring their foundational history, their indispensable role in shaping civic life, their current performance in a challenging media environment, and the exciting, yet uncertain, future carved out by digitalization. This is your ultimate SEO-friendly resource for understanding the past, present, and future of journalism in the Old North State.

North Carolina Newspaper History: From 1749 to the Digital Age

The story of newspapers in North Carolina begins before the United States existed. The North-Carolina Gazette, launched in New Bern on November 15, 1751, by James Davis, was the state’s first newspaper and the first printed in the colony south of Virginia. Davis was also the official public printer for the colonial assembly, making New Bern the printing capital of early North Carolina.

The North-Carolina Journal (Halifax, 1792) and the Raleigh Register (1799) followed, playing pivotal roles in the lead-up to the American Revolution and the adoption of the Halifax Resolves on April 12, 1776 – the first official call for independence from Britain by any colony.

In the 19th century, newspapers exploded across the state:

• The Fayetteville Observer (founded 1816) is the oldest continuously published newspaper in North Carolina and one of the oldest in the South.

• The Charlotte Observer began as the Charlotte News in 1886 and merged into its current form in the early 20th century.

• The News & Observer in Raleigh (founded 1865 as The Sentinel) became the dominant voice of the capital after absorbing several rivals.

The early 20th century saw family dynasties dominate: the Daniels family (News & Observer), the Dowds (Charlotte Observer), and the Hoeys (Shelby and Cleveland County papers). These papers fiercely advocated for Progressive Era reforms – public education, good roads, and child labor laws – while also reflecting the era’s racial segregation.

Post-World War II growth brought dozens of daily and weekly papers. At its peak in the 1980s–1990s, North Carolina had 55 daily newspapers and more than 160 weeklies. Consolidation began in the 1990s: McClatchy bought the News & Observer (1995) and Charlotte Observer (via Knight-Ridder), while Gannett, Warren Buffett’s BH Media, and later Lee Enterprises expanded footprints.

Today, after waves of closures and mergers, North Carolina still supports 32 daily newspapers and over 140 non-daily publications (weeklies, semi-weeklies, and ethnic/community papers) – a remarkable survivor rate compared to many states.

Complete List of North Carolina Newspapers (2025 Active Publications)

Here is the most comprehensive and up-to-date North Carolina newspaper list as of December 2025, organized by region and frequency.

Major Daily Newspapers (32 active)

The Charlotte Observer

• City: Charlotte
• Founded: 1886
• Owner / Parent Company: McClatchy
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 140,000

The News & Observer

• City: Raleigh
• Founded: 1865
• Owner / Parent Company: McClatchy
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 115,000

The News & Record

• City: Greensboro
• Founded: 1890
• Owner / Parent Company: Lee Enterprises (via BH Media)
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 60,000

Winston-Salem Journal

• City: Winston-Salem
• Founded: 1897
• Owner / Parent Company: Lee Enterprises
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 55,000

The Fayetteville Observer

• City: Fayetteville
• Founded: 1816
• Owner / Parent Company: Gannett
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 38,000

The Herald-Sun

• City: urham
• Founded: 1893
• Owner / Parent Company: McClatchy (Paxton Media co-op)
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 32,000

The Daily Reflector

• City: Greenville
• Founded: 1882
• Owner / Parent Company: Adams Publishing Group
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 25,000

The Times-News

• City: Burlington
• Founded: 1887
• Owner / Parent Company: Gannett
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 22,000

The StarNews

• City: Wilmington
• Founded: 1867
• Owner / Parent Company: Gannett
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 30,000

The Citizen Times

• City: Asheville
• Founded: 1870
• Owner / Parent Company: Gannett
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 35,000

The Gaston Gazette

• City: Gastonia
• Founded: 1880
• Owner / Parent Company: Gannett
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 20,000

The Shelby Star

• City: Shelby
• Founded: 1895
• Owner / Parent Company: Gannett
• Circulation (Print + Digital): 15,000

Other Notable Dailies

• The Robesonian (Lumberton) – Paxton Media
• Jacksonville Daily News – Gannett
• The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City) – Adams Publishing
• The Free Press (Kinston) – Paxton Media
• Rocky Mount Telegram – Adams Publishing
• High Point Enterprise – Paxton Media
• The Sanford Herald – Paxton Media
• The Mount Airy News – Adams Publishing

The Pilot

• City / County: Southern Pines
• Frequency: 2x weekly
• Owner: Independent

Mountain Xpress

• City / County: Asheville
• Frequency: Weekly
• Owner: Independent

The Laurel of Asheville

• City / County: Asheville
• Frequency: Monthly
• Owner: Independent

The Rhinoceros Times

• City / County: Greensboro
• Frequency: Weekly
• Owner: Independent

Triad City Beat

• City / County: Greensboro/Winston-Salem
• Frequency: Weekly
• Owner: Independent

Yes! Weekly

• City / County: Greensboro
• Frequency: Weekly
• Owner: Independent

The Wake Weekly

• City / County: Wake Forest
• Frequency: Weekly
• Owner: Restoration News Media

The Enterprise

• City / County: Williamston
• Frequency: Weekly
• Owner: Cooke Communications

The Outer Banks Sentinel

• City / County: Nags Head
• Frequency: Weekly
• Owner: Independent

The Coastland Times

• City / County: Manteo
• Frequency: Weekly
• Owner: Cooke Communications

Port City Daily

• City / County: Wilmington
• Frequency: Daily online
• Owner: Local independent

Ethnic & Language-Specific Papers

Even in 2025, newspapers remain deeply woven into daily routines across North Carolina. In rural counties where broadband penetration is still below 70%, the physical newspaper is often the most reliable source of local information. A 2024 NC Press Association study found that 68% of North Carolinians over age 45 still read a print newspaper at least once a week, and 82% read some form of local news (print or digital) daily.

Newspapers serve practical daily functions:

• High school sports scores and honor rolls

• Legal notices, obituaries, and church announcements

• Grocery ads and local business promotions

• Weather forecasts and emergency alerts

• City council and school board coverage

In small towns like Mount Airy or Washington, the local paper is often the only consistent record of community life. As one Beaufort County resident told researchers, “If it’s not in The Washington Daily News, it didn’t happen.”

The Importance of Newspapers in Political and Social Life

North Carolina has always been a politically purple state, and newspapers have been at the center of every major debate:

• 1898 Wilmington Coup – White supremacy campaign fueled by The Wilmington Messenger and News & Observer’s inflammatory coverage

• 1950s–60s Civil Rights – The Charlotte Observer’s moderate stance helped calm tensions during school integration

• 1971 school busing battles – Winston-Salem Journal’s Pulitzer-winning coverage

• 2016 HB2 “bathroom bill” – statewide papers split along urban/rural lines

• 2020 election and 2024 Senate/Governor races – record ad spending ($180M+ in 2024)

Practical Information: Newspapers provide crucial day-to-day information, from local weather forecasts, traffic updates, and public notices to obituaries, community calendars, and local sports scores. This seemingly mundane information is the glue that binds a community.

Consumer Guide: They serve as an important marketplace through classifieds and local advertisements, connecting consumers with local businesses, job opportunities, and housing.

Knowledge and Enrichment: Beyond hard news, papers offer articles on culture, lifestyle, food, and science, contributing to the development of public knowledge, reasoning power, and a more enriched perspective on the world.

The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer consistently rank among the top 10 most influential newspapers in national politics because North Carolina is a perennial battleground.

Socially, newspapers have been platforms for reform:

• The Fayetteville Observer’s decades-long crusade against Fort Bragg training accidents

• The Citizen Times’ investigation into Buncombe County opioid deaths

• Mountain Xpress’s coverage of Asheville’s housing and gentrification crisis

Government Watchdog: The most vital role is holding power accountable. Investigative journalists in North Carolina papers uncover corruption, scrutinize public spending, and track the actions of state and local government officials, from the General Assembly in Raleigh to the county commissioners.

Informed Electorate: Newspapers provide the depth and context necessary for citizens to make informed political decisions. They publish detailed reports on candidates' platforms, analyze complex policy issues, and offer different perspectives through opinion pieces, which is particularly crucial in a swing state like North Carolina.

Shaping Public Opinion: Through editorials and commentary, the press consolidates and enriches public opinion, acting as a "mouthpiece of the nation" at the local level. They provide a vital public forum for debate.

Community Building: By covering local events, triumphs, and tragedies, newspapers foster a sense of shared identity and communal cohesion, especially in the state's smaller towns. They connect citizens who might be physically distant but share a common local experience.

In an age of misinformation, local newspapers remain the most trusted source of information – 74% of North Carolinians trust their local paper vs. only 34% who trust national news (2025 Edelman Trust Barometer).

Present Newspaper Performance in North Carolina (2025)

Despite national decline, North Carolina’s newspaper industry shows remarkable resilience:

• Total weekly print circulation: ~1.8 million (down only 8% since 2019)

• Digital-only subscribers: 650,000+ across major chains

• Combined print + digital reach: 4.2 million unique readers monthly

• 94% of NC counties still have at least one local news outlet (one of the highest rates in the U.S.)

• Top performers (2025 digital + print):

• Charlotte Observer – 420K monthly uniques

• News & Observer (Raleigh) – 380K

• Citizen Times (Asheville) – 210K

• StarNews (Wilmington) – 180K

• News & Record (Greensboro) – 165K

The Independent Local Model: Locally and independently owned papers, such as The Pilot in Southern Pines, have shown resilience. Their success is often attributed to deep community ties and a vibrant local business ecosystem that supports local advertising.

The Long-Form Digital Outlet: New digital-first organizations, like The Assembly, have emerged, focusing on deep backstories and investigative journalism rather than "what happened today." They use subscription-based newsletters and long-form reporting to fill the gaps left by reduced legacy reporting, indicating a market for high-quality, in-depth state coverage.

Niche and Political Coverage: There's a growing market for specialized political newsletters and outlets, providing essential, impartial coverage of the State Government, often filling the void for the "why did that happen and what’s coming next" stories.

Independent weeklies like Mountain Xpress (Asheville) and The Pilot (Southern Pines) often outperform larger dailies in reader engagement per capita.

Revenue is shifting dramatically: digital advertising now accounts for 58% of total newspaper revenue in NC (up from 22% in 2018).

The Future of Newspapers in North Carolina

The next decade will be make-or-break, but there are strong signs of adaptation:

• Nonprofit models: The N.C. Local News Lab (Duke University) and American Journalism Project are funding conversions (e.g., potential nonprofit status for some weeklies)

• Cooperative ownership: Paxton Media and Adams Publishing are stabilizing rural papers

• Hyper-local digital startups: Port City Daily (Wilmington), Cardinal & Pine (statewide progressive), The Assembly (long-form narrative)

• State-level support: The 2025 NC Press Protection Act proposes tax credits for local journalism jobs and subscriptions

The Rise of Non-Profit and Mission-Driven Journalism: As commercial models struggle, non-profit newsrooms and organizations focused on mission-driven, public-interest journalism are likely to play a much larger role, securing funding through grants, foundations, and tax-deductible donations.

Hyper-Local and Niche Specialization: The outlets that thrive will be those that specialize—either by geography (covering a specific town or county in depth) or by topic (e.g., state politics, business, or environmental issues). They will provide information readers cannot get anywhere else.

The Newsletter Economy: Direct-to-consumer delivery via email newsletters will continue to be a primary tool for engaging subscribers and driving revenue, allowing publishers to better understand their audience and their needs.

Community and Collaborative Models: The future will involve more collaboration between news organizations, libraries, and universities (like the DigitalNC project), sharing resources to cover the entire state and combat "news deserts."

Focus on the "Why" and "What's Next": Instead of competing with television and social media on breaking news ("what happened"), successful newspapers will focus on deep-dive explanatory journalism ("why did it happen and what does it mean"), offering a higher value proposition to paying subscribers.

Experts predict that by 2030:

• Print dailies will drop to ~20 statewide

• Digital-first and nonprofit models will dominate

• Community-funded journalism will fill gaps in 30–40 currently underserved counties

Digitalization in North Carolina Newspapers

The shift to digital has been dramatic and ongoing:

• 2005: <5% of revenue digital

• 2015: ~25%

• 2025: 58% digital, 42% print

Success stories:

• The News & Observer’s paywall (2018) now has 85,000 digital-only subscribers

• Charlotte Observer’s mobile app sees 2.1 million downloads

• Mountain Xpress went fully digital-first in 2023 and increased revenue 18%

• The Assembly NC (launched 2021) is digital-only and already profitable through memberships

Challenges remain:

• Rural broadband gaps (25 counties still <60% high-speed access)

• Ad-block usage (41% of NC adults)

• Competition from Facebook groups and Nextdoor

Yet innovations abound: QR codes in print editions, podcast networks (e.g., Charlotte Observer’s “SouthBound”), TikTok news teams (StarNews), and AI-assisted moderation of comments.

Why North Carolina Newspapers Still Matter in 2025 and Beyond

From the colonial print shop in New Bern to the smartphone in your hand, North Carolina newspapers have been the state’s memory, conscience, and daily companion for 274 years. While the ink-on-paper era is fading, the mission – to inform, connect, and hold power accountable – burns as brightly as ever.

Whether you pick up The Pilot in Moore County, scroll Port City Daily on the beach, or dive into a Charlotte Observer investigation, you’re part of a tradition that helped birth a nation and continues to shape one of America’s most dynamic states.

While the delivery method shifts from the driveway to the smartphone, the importance of newspapers in everyday, political, and social life remains absolute. As North Carolina continues to grow and change, its newspapers—digital, print, and non-profit—will be there to write the first rough draft of history. Support your local paper; you are not just buying news, you are investing in the democracy of the Old North State.

North Carolina’s newspapers aren’t dying – they’re evolving. And in a state this diverse, divided, and full of stories, we need them more than ever.