Charlotte is growing. The Observer’s coverage will grow with it.
When I returned to Charlotte in October, five years after leaving for an out-of-state career opportunity, I found the Queen City seemingly bursting at the seams. High-rise glass buildings had risen from the dust of previously vacated lots. New restaurants had opened their doors to patrons eager to distance themselves from pandemic doldrums. There was a palpable energy coursing through rapidly changing neighborhoods.
Those sorts of dramatic shifts don’t happen in a vacuum, though. Downwind are the results not as immediately evident: an affordable housing crisis, historic communities disappearing in the shadows of immense development, and a health care industry that continues to stare down the COVID fallout.
Meanwhile, as children return to classrooms, too many campuses are confronting frightening safety concerns.
I found a city growing and grappling. The duality of Charlotte drew me to the Charlotte Observer, with a chance to lead dynamic news coverage that the city wants and needs. It is as critical now as ever that the Charlotte Observer be relevant in helping our newcomers and life-long residents navigate the familiar and the unknown.
It is why on Sunday, Dec. 19, we’re debuting a reimagined Charlotte Observer with expanded content offerings that deepen our coverage of the biggest issues in our backyards. Accountability and investigative reporting have always been bedrocks of the Charlotte Observer. Asking hard questions and demanding answers and digging through public records and databases is what we do. Now we’ll do even more of it.
Cover packages, complete with stunning, full-page photography and illustrations, will explore topics through multiple angles and bring deeper understanding to often complex subjects.
Whether the issue is about local government spending, law enforcement, politics, transportation, economic equity or marginalized communities, it promises to reach beneath the surface for meaningful journalism. The features could also shine a light on our food and dining, arts and sports scene in Charlotte — all of which serve to make the city culturally rich.
We aren’t taking anything away to provide this expanded coverage. You’ve asked for more, and we’ve heard you. In the newspaper you’ll also have QR codes — just like those we’ve become accustomed to in restaurants to view menus — that you can use to direct you straight to our website for even more complementary content related to the cover story. Videos, databases, interactive maps, audio, polls and other illuminating digital-only offerings will be a simple phone scan away.
Additionally, you’ll find more journalism that you can use to help make life easier. We’ll answer questions you have every day, about traffic and events; and about serious topics like evictions, vaccines and real estate. We are expanding our staff in the process, as well.
As Charlotte grows, so does the need for reliable, trustworthy and smart reporting. The reimagined Observer will deliver on that front, while also making it easier than ever for print readers to access our full suite of digital content.
I invite you to let us know what you think of the expanded paper. You may email me at rcash@charlotteobserver.com.
Thank you for your continued support and for pushing us to greater heights.
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
