NC Local

Strengthening access to local news about statewide issues

We’re adding journalists, products and services to shine light on statewide issues and how they affect communities from Murphy to Manteo.

We’ve heard a clear need from people across North Carolina: they want to understand how statewide issues—especially decisions made in Raleigh—affect their communities. Our state is growing and changing rapidly, but the decline of local newsrooms and journalists has resulted in significant losses in statehouse coverage.

That’s why we’re launching a nonprofit organization that serves as a hub for new content, services and products in partnership with newsrooms and trusted messengers across the state. Building on our origins in capacity-building through the NC Local News Workshop, we’re creating a new model to add more journalism on state-level issues and launch new products and services that meet the needs of communities across our state. Our mission is simple: to help all North Carolinians stay informed, understand local impacts, and engage in the decisions shaping their futures.

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our mission

NC Local’s mission is to ensure all North Carolinians have access to trustworthy information about how statewide issues affect them.

We’ll do this by adding reporting, launching news products and supporting local news statewide through collaboration and initiatives that improve access to information.

Our Strategy

More than two years of community listening with hundreds of North Carolinians led us to our problem to solve: People across the state want to know more about how state government decisions affect their lives. News business models have evolved along with information needs, and we’ve lost reporters who used to cover statewide topics and others who reported on Raleigh for people in regions and towns across the state.

NC Local is a nonprofit news initiative that grew out of community listening and efforts to strengthen local journalism by the NC Local News Workshop, which has convened and coached news and information partners since 2020. NC Local will be the new home of the Workshop's initiatives as we evolve to serve communities with trusted information and boost the value and reach of our news partners. Here's what we'll do:

Launch a statewide hub

We’re launching a statewide news hub—a newsroom that provides new reporting available to partners, services to communities, and infrastructure to support the needs of collaborative projects that expand the reach of news and information to all of NC’s 100 counties.

Create new products

We’ll experiment and test ideas that meet the needs of communities across the state. News products, events, resources, podcasts, collaborative projects and more will be born out of our hub in partnership with news, information and community organizations.

Strengthen the ecosystem

We’ll catalyze and incubate new journalism initiatives and add capacity for existing newsrooms. We'll continue our origins as the NC Local News Workshop through a division of NC Local that offers coaching, a statewide news summit and programs that advance equitable journalism.

our leadership

Meet our Founder and CEO:

Shannan Bowen leads NC Local after serving as the NC Local News Workshop's executive director since 2021. Shannan began her career as a local news reporter before moving into roles focused on audience engagement, product development and business strategy. Shannan is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and has a Master's in Media Entrepreneurship from American University. She lives with her family in Wilmington, but is often seen traveling via I-40 to visit partners and communities across the state.

Read her welcome note here to learn more about how her background and passion led her to launch NC Local.

OUR BOARD

NC Local is in the process of onboarding additional governing board members and will introduce new members soon.

For inquiries and interest, please contact us.

Melanie Sill co-developed NC Local and will serve as its initial board chair.

She is a Pulitzer-Prize winning editor who held top roles at The News & Observer and other newsrooms. She also founded the NC Local News Workshop.

Orage Quarles III is the former publisher of The News & Observer and other local news outlets. He serves as the board chair for Journalism Funding Partners and on the boards of the Freedom Forum, North Carolina History Museum and Dorothea Dix Park Conservatory.

Una Kelley leads institutional philanthropy for The Associated Press. Prior to joining the journalism field, her career had been at philanthropic and nonprofit organizations including Oak Foundation, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Una also serves on several boards and advisory committees.

Daniel Williams is the Founder and CEO of BlueLena, which provides technology, strategy consulting and support for over 250 media organizations in the US. He previously served as CEO of LEAP and held executive roles at several national organizations, including McClatchy and The New York Times Co. Daniel also serves on several industry boards and advisory committees.

Dr. T. Kenn Gaither is the third dean of Elon University School of Communications. Gaither has held leadership positions at Elon University for two decades and also has significant professional experience in poublic relations and strategic communications.

Jed Williams is the chief operating officer and chief revenue officer for Lookout Local and has expansive experience leading growth and revenue for a variety of types of media brands.

Scott Manuel leads strategy and operations for H&R Block. He has global leadership experience at the intersection of product, revenue and tech and has served in executive roles for tech and media companies, including McClatchy and Thomson Reuters. (Strategic Advisor)

our Funding partners

NC Local is a 501c3 nonprofit. We are grateful for The Lenfest Institute, which served as our fiscal sponsor while we awaited our determination letter from the IRS. NC Local will be funded by philanthropic investments, sponsorships and other earned revenue.

NC Local is launching with significant support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which awarded NC Local with a $1.5 million grant. The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, a pooled fund established in 2017, has supported the NC Local News Workshop since 2020. NC Local will be the new home of the Workshop's programming and capacity-building services.

Local news initiatives are stronger with support from community partners, philanthropic organizations and business leaders. We’re seeking local and national funders to help us bring reporting and services to each region of our state.

our Partner Council

NC Local's content will be available for news outlets across NC to republish. We'll also work with partners on collaborative products, services and projects that go beyond content sharing. Our Partner Council represents various types of media outlets and regions of our state and will provide input on our initiatives. We're still adding to our council and welcome notes of interest. Read more about our partnership model.