.svg) | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Gannett |
| News editor | Beth Hutson[1] |
| Opinion editor | Myron B. Pitts[1] |
| Founded | 1816 |
| Language | American English |
| Headquarters | 581 Executive Place Fayetteville, North Carolina 28305 USA |
| City | Fayetteville |
| Circulation | 19,427 (as of 2018)[2] |
| ISSN | 2155-9740 |
| OCLC number | 45115389 |
| Website | fayobserver |
The Fayetteville Observer is an American English-language dailynewspaper published inFayetteville, North Carolina. Founded in 1816, it is the oldest local newspaper published in North Carolina. The paper originally operated as theCarolina Observer before rebranding to the Fayetteville Observer in 1833.[3]
It was locally owned by the McMurray family from 1923 to 2016, when it was acquired byGateHouse Media, which becameGannett in an acquisition in 2019.[4]
TheFayetteville Observer is the oldest newspaper inNorth Carolina. It was founded in 1816 as theCarolina Observer. TheFayetteville Observer was not published between 1865 and 1883, so the WilmingtonStar-News (founded in 1867) is North Carolina's oldest continually published newspaper. The name was changed to theFayetteville Observer in 1833. TheObserver's offices were destroyed byWilliam T. Sherman's invading army in 1865.[5] It was refounded asThe Fayetteville Observer in 1883. W. J. McMurray bought the paper in 1923, and his family-owned Fayetteville Publishing Company ran the paper for four generations.[1][6][7]
Edward Jones Hale was the editor of the newspaper from 1825 to 1865. The paper was a leading supporter of theWhig party. The content of the paper during this time period included many historical articles about North Carolina and accounts of theCivil War. The Hale family moved to New York after the newspaper buildings were destroyed in the Civil War. His son,Edward Joseph 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. Originally an afternoon paper, it began publishing a morning paper,The Fayetteville Times, in 1973. The two papers published combined editions on Sunday, and from 1982 onward published a combined Saturday edition as well. In 1990, the McMurrays merged theObserver andTimes into a single morning paper,The Fayetteville Observer-Times. It dropped "Times" from its flag in 1999.[1] TheFayetteville Observer launched its first website in 1995 and it has a presence on Facebook for distribution of news and interaction with readers.[8]
The Fayetteville Observer is a member of theNorth Carolina Press Association. The newspaper has received the following awards:[9]
Media related toThe Fayetteville Observer at Wikimedia Commons