The Charlotte Observer

The June 16, 2009 front page of
The Charlotte Observer
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) The McClatchy Company[1]
Publisher Ann Caulkins
Editor Sherry Chisenhall
Founded 1886
Headquarters 550 South Caldwell Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202  United States
Circulation 137,829 Daily
191,962 Sunday
(March 2013)[2]
ISSN 2331-7221
Website CharlotteObserver.com

The Charlotte Observer is a newspaper serving Charlotte and its metro area. It has the largest circulation in North Carolina[3] and South Carolina. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.

Overview

The Observer primarily serves Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and the surrounding counties of Iredell, Cabarrus, Union, Lancaster, York, Gaston, Catawba, and Lincoln. Home delivery service in outlying counties has declined in recent years, with delivery times growing later as the paper has outsourced circulation services outside the primary Charlotte area.

Circulation at The Charlotte Observer has been declining for many years. The most recent period (May 2011) showed that Charlotte Observer circulation totaled 155,497 daily and 212,318 Sunday.

The newspaper has an online presence[4] and its staff also oversees a NASCAR news website,[5] and a corresponding syndicated feature, That's Racin'. The paper's television partner is WBTV.

The Observer offices also include editors and designers that makeup the McClatchy NewsDesk-East, which is responsible for the production of The Charlotte Observer and McClatchy newspapers from across the region.

From 1927 to 2016, The Charlotte Observer was headquartered at 600 South Tryon Street. The facility included editorial offices, management offices, advertising offices, production, plus a large printing facility with a tunnel and underground railway system to feed paper to the presses. In 2016, the editorial offices moved to the NASCAR building on South Caldwell Street. The old facility was demolished and redeveloped into office space.[6]

History

The paper was founded in 1886. It was purchased by Knight Newspapers in 1955. Knight merged with Ridder Publications to form Knight Ridder in 1974. The Observer eventually became the fourth-largest newspaper in the Knight Ridder chain (behind The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, Detroit Free Press and Miami Herald). In 1959, The Observer purchased The Charlotte News, Charlotte's afternoon newspaper. All operations were merged except editorial content, which was fused in 1983. The Observer ended circulation of the afternoon News in 1985.

The paper has won five Pulitzer Prizes.

McClatchy purchased most of Knight Ridder's newspapers, including The Observer, in 2006. This made The Observer a sister publication of the state's second-largest paper, The News and Observer of Raleigh; and of The Herald of Rock Hill, the primary newspaper for the South Carolina side of the metro area. As of spring 2008, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in the McClatchy chain (behind The Kansas City Star, Miami Herald, Sacramento Bee and Fort Worth Star-Telegram). McClatchy's share value has been in decline since the purchase. The stock has lost over 95% of its value, far worse than many remaining newspaper companies.

Pulitzer Prizes

The Charlotte Observer headquarters (former)

Prices

The Charlotte Observer prices are: daily, $1.25 and Sunday/Thanksgiving Day, $3.00 Price is higher outside Mecklenburg and adjacent counties or states.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Our Markets". Sacramento, California: McClatchy Company. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Total Circ for US Newspapers". Alliance for Audited Media. March 31, 2013. Archived from the original on March 6, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ http://www.mondonewspapers.com/usa/circulation/northcarolina.html
  4. ↑ "Breaking News, Sports, Weather & More - The Charlotte Observer & CharlotteObserver.com The Charlotte Observer". charlotteobserver.com.
  5. ↑ "ThatsRacin". thatsracin.com.
  6. ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article166073002.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  • Official website
  • Charlotte Five
  • That's Racin'
  • Stepp, Carl Sessions (April–May 2007). "Caught in the Contradiction". American Journalism Review. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
  • The Charlotte Observer at McClatchy
  • McClatchy's falling stock price since purchasing The Charlotte Observer
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