 | |
 Front page on April 29, 2024 | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Chatham Asset Management[1] |
| Editor | Rana Cash |
| Founded | 1886; 139 years ago (1886) |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 550 South Caldwell Street Charlotte,North Carolina 28202  United States |
| Circulation |
|
| ISSN | 2331-7221 |
| OCLC number | 9554626 |
| Website | charlotteobserver |
The Charlotte Observer is an American newspaper servingCharlotte, North Carolina, andits metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020,[update] it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. It is owned byChatham Asset Management.[1]
The Observer primarily serves Charlotte andMecklenburg County and the surrounding counties ofIredell,Cabarrus,Union,Lancaster,York,Gaston,Catawba, andLincoln. 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 atThe Charlotte Observer has been declining for many years. The period of May 2011 showed thatCharlotte Observer circulation totaled 155,497 daily and 212,318 Sunday. 2017 Print Circulation Daily: 69,987 and Sunday: 106,434.[3][4]
The newspaper has an online presence[5] and its staff also oversees aNASCAR news website,[6] and a corresponding syndicated feature,That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer also operates a food, drink and lifestyle vertical calledCharlotteFive. The paper's television partner isWBTV.
The Observer offices also include editors and designers that makeup theMcClatchy NewsDesk-East, which is responsible for the production ofThe Charlotte Observer andMcClatchy 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.[7]
The paper was founded in 1886 as the Charlotte Chronicle. The Chronicle was sold to Joseph Caldwell in 1892, and began appearing as the Charlotte Daily Observer on March 13, 1892.[8] It was purchased by Knight Newspapers in 1955. Knight merged with Ridder Publications to formKnight Ridder in 1974.[9]The Observer eventually became the fourth-largest newspaper in the Knight Ridder chain (behindThe Philadelphia Inquirer andDaily News,Detroit Free Press andMiami Herald). In 1959,The Observer purchasedThe Charlotte News, Charlotte's afternoon newspaper. All operations were merged except editorial content, which was fused in 1983.The Observer ended circulation of the afternoonNews in 1985.
McClatchy purchased most of Knight Ridder's newspapers, includingThe Observer, in 2006. This madeThe Observer a sister publication of the state's largest paper,The News & Observer ofRaleigh; and ofThe 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 (behindThe Kansas City Star,Miami Herald,Sacramento Bee andFort 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.
On February 13, 2020, The McClatchy Company and 54 affiliated companies filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection in theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The company cited pension obligations and excessive debt as the primary reasons for the filing.[10][11][12]
On March 7, 2020, theObserver made the Saturday edition digital only.[13] In July 2024, the newspaper announced it will decrease the number of print editions to three a week: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The paper will also be delivered by the postal service instead of by carrier.[14]
TheCharlotte Observer has won fivePulitzer Prizes:
TheCharlotte Observer prices are: daily, $2 and Sunday/Thanksgiving Day, $3. Price is higher outside Mecklenburg & adjacent counties/states. As of 2020, an annual digital subscription is $15.99 per month.[15]
Media related toThe Charlotte Observer at Wikimedia Commons
35°13′15″N80°50′36″W / 35.220831°N 80.843422°W /35.220831; -80.843422 (Charlotte Observere)
Pulitzer Prize for Public Service (1976–2000) | ||
|---|---|---|
| .png) | |
