Ask us anything: Meet new Charlotte Observer reporters answering readers’ questions

The Charlotte Observer is anchored in accountability reporting. As an institutional watchdog, our staff digs into issues impacting lives of residents and reports on solutions to those often-complicated issues.

Now the Observer has expanded our connections with Charlotte-area residents with the launch of our Service Journalism Desk. Our team of service journalists is answering the questions you have about everyday life and sharing information that makes it easier for you to be active participants in our city and neighborhoods.

Whether it’s something you’ve always been curious about in Charlotte and the region, or you need answers to pressing concerns, the service journalism team is ready to respond.

Do you need to know where to find N95 and KN95 masks in Charlotte, and how to distinguish a real one from a fake? Perhaps you want to know why your mail is running slow, or how to figure out how much rent you can afford in Charlotte, or which North Carolina colleges require SAT scores and what the changes are in the standardized tests.

Could a new COVID variant identified in North Carolina spread faster than omicron? Should you buy travel insurance in this COVID era? Or maybe you’ve been wondering what that Wordle game you’ve seen on social media is really all about.

You ask. We answer. If you’re curious about it, we want to know. Chances are, we’ve wondered about the same things. If you have specific ideas about what we can answer for you, let us know in our poll (https://tinyurl.com/2p8t923r).

In addition to articles you’ll find in our Reimagined Print sections — now twice a week, on Sundays and Fridays — and on charlotteobserver.com, we’ll also have videos explaining the news and answering your questions. Print readers will be able to access those videos and more using the QR codes found in the Reimagined Print newspapers.

Why QR codes?

The Observer, a digitally transformative news organization, is now frequently using QR codes in print and the e-edition to complement our coverage with easier and faster access to our digital products.

The number of smartphone users in the U.S. in 2020 reached 300 million. According to Pew Research, 86% of adults in the country say they get their news from a phone, computer or tablet “often” or “sometimes.” Of those, 60% said they get their news digitally “often.”

By opening a path for our loyal print readers to also seamlessly access the Observer’s digital offerings, we’re able to serve our audience no matter how they consume news.

In recent weeks, QR codes have taken readers of our deeply-reported print articles directly to interactive maps that showed by specific location where the greatest percentage of tree canopy loss in Charlotte has occurred, and where in Charlotte the most dangerous intersections are located. The scannable codes in the paper open on cellphones to databases, video interviews, podcasts, photo galleries and polls — things only available online. And we’ve included easy-to-follow instructions on how to use the QR codes on all mobile devices.

In addition to explaining topics such as the future of COVID in Charlotte, introducing readers to people who’ll greatly influence our city for years to come, and exploring the dangers of guns on our school campuses and solutions to stop it, the Observer is adding to the coverage with the types of stories that can be produced only in a digital environment. The evolution hasn’t stopped there.

A bigger and growing Charlotte Observer

We’re doing it all with a larger and more sophisticated staff. In the past year, the Charlotte Observer has added nearly two dozen journalists to its staff, including reporters, visual journalists, editors and digital audience experts.

Among those journalists are those making up the service team.

The group is led by editor Kendrick Marshall, who joined the Charlotte Observer from the Tulsa World, where he was an assistant news editor and former reporter. kmarshall@charlotteobserver.com Twitter: KD_Marshall

Evan Moore, a graduate of UNC Charlotte, is a reporter on the team. Moore most recently was a reporter for the Lake Norman Media Group, where he covered local communities in the Charlotte region. emoore@charlotteobserver.com Twitter: @evaninclt

Mary Ramsey, a native of Myrtle Beach, S.C. and a graduate of the University of South Carolina, joins the Observer from the Louisville Courier Journal where she was a breaking news reporter. Ramsey worked previously as a digital producer for the Courier Journal and spent time as a fellow at the Arizona Republic. mramsey@charlotteobserver.com Twitter: @mcolleen1996

Evan Santiago will join the service journalism desk in February. He is a graduate of Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. In addition to his work with the student newspaper, Santiago brings a wealth of marketing, audio and multimedia skills to the team. esantiago@charlotteobserver.com Twitter: @EvanJSantiago

Together they’ll have an ear to the community, seeking to know what’s on your minds and with your help, helping our community live better, safer and more informed lives. The news cycle can be fast and overwhelming. The Service Journalism Desk is here to help Charlotte make sense of it all.

This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 2:12 PM.