The Fayetteville Observer
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Gannett |
| Publisher | Mike Distelhorst[1] |
| News editor | Lorry Williams[2] |
| Opinion editor | Pat Noonan[2] |
| Founded | 1816 |
| Language | American English |
| Headquarters | 458 Whitfield Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28306 USA |
| City | Fayetteville |
| Circulation | 61,875 weekday 65,595 Sunday, 2008[3] |
| ISSN | 2155-9740 |
| OCLC number | 45115389 |
| Website | www |
The Fayetteville Observer is an American, English language daily newspaper published in Fayetteville, North Carolina. As the oldest North Carolina newspaper, the paper was founded in 1816 as the Carolina Observer. It was locally owned by the McMurray family from 1923 to 2016, when it was acquired by GateHouse Media, which became Gannett in an acquisition in 2019.[4]
History
The Fayetteville Observer is the oldest newspaper in North Carolina. It was founded in 1816 as the Carolina Observer. The Fayetteville Observer was not published between 1865 and 1883, so the Wilmington Star-News (founded in 1867) is North Carolina's oldest continually published newspaper. The name was changed to the Fayetteville Observer in 1833. The Observer's offices were destroyed by William T. Sherman's invading army in 1865.[5] It was refounded as The Fayetteville Observer in 1883. Originally an afternoon paper, it began publishing a morning paper, The Fayetteville Times, in 1973. The two papers merged as a single morning paper, The Fayetteville Observer-Times, in 1990. It dropped "Times" from its flag in 1999.[2][6][7]
Edward Jones Hale was the editor of the newspaper from 1825 to 1865. The paper was a leading supporter of the Whig party. The content of the paper during this time period included many historical articles about North Carolina and accounts of the Civil War. The Hale family moved to New York after the newspaper buildings were destroyed in the Civil War. His son, Edward Jospeh Hale returned to North Carolina in 1883 to revive the newspaper and continued ownership of the newspaper until 1919 when it was sold to a group of local businessmen.[5]
The Fayetteville Publishing Company was founded in 1923. A Sunday edition of the paper was started in 1957. The Fayetteville Times, which was established in 1973, was merged with the Fayetteville Observer in 1990. The Fayetteville Observer lauched its first website in 1995 and it has a presence on Facebook for distribution of news and interaction with readers.[8]
Awards
- 2002, recognized as one of the 50 best-printed papers in an international color-quality comptetition[2]
- 2010, 2011, 1st place in excellence for large newspapers, awarded by the North Carolina Press Association[2]
- 2018, Melissa Sue Gerrits, Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year, North Carolina Press Association[9]
See also
References
- ^ "Mike Distelhorst named publisher of The Fayetteville Observer". NC Press Association. August 15, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Fayetteville Observer, About Us". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ "Fayetteville Observer". Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
- ^ Tracy, Marc (November 14, 2019). "Gannett Gatehouse Merger". New York Times.
- ^ a b Parker, Roy (2006). "Fayetteville Observer". NCpedia. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Fayetteville Observer". Library of Congress. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Williams, Shane. "Fayetteville Observer". Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/fayobserver/. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ NC Press Association http://cdn1.creativecirclemedia.com/ncpress/files/20190426-114419-2018-Ed-Tab-print-singles-d2.pdf. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
External links
- "Issues of the Fayetteville Observer from 1851-1865". digitalnc.org.
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