After the 2018 election cycle ended with a solid defeat for CHALT’s clerk of court candidate, CHALT’s post-election newsletter recap noted that they were interested in launching a local newspaper. Several months later, the non-profit newspaper The Local Reporter launched with a board entirely made up of CHALT leaders. Over the years, we have covered […]
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Posted inAmerican Legion, CHALT, Election 2023, Journalism
Fact checking The Local Reporter’s candidate questionnaire
It’s Chapel Hill tradition for nearly a dozen local organizations to distribute questionnaires to candidates before local elections. And, typically, it’s the answers that need fact-checking. But The Local Reporter’s candidate questionnaire turns that on its head. Here, it’s the questions that need fact-checking. We have written before about The Local Reporter’s close relationship with […]
Posted inCHALT, Chapel Hill, Journalism
The Local Reporter’s strange pond coverage
Last month, we reported that The Local Reporter was looking for an editor after their 6th editor abruptly left the paper days after our deep dive into the paper’s problematic political coverage. They’ve since hired Julia Runk Jones, previously the paper’s dog columnist, to temporarily lead the organization. But issues with the paper’s coverage persist. […]
Posted inJournalism
The Local Reporter is looking for their 7th editor
Carl Blankenship, who served as The Local Reporter’s 6th editor for approximately four months, is no longer listed on the paper’s masthead, and the paper has once again posted a job announcement for the top editorial position on JournalismJobs.com. Blankenship’s LinkedIn profile shows that he is no longer employed by the paper. This switch comes […]
Posted inChapel Hill, Chapel Hill Town Council, Journalism
The Local Reporter’s problematic political coverage
If you were to search The Local Reporter for Carrboro Town Council member Eliazar Posada, you would find a brief mention that he ran for town council in the May 17, 2022 special election to replace Damon Seils. Posada won that election to serve out Seils’ term, as well as the November 2022 regular election. […]
Posted inCHALT, Chapel Hill, Journalism
Advice for The Local Reporter’s sixth editor
It remains problematic that the entire board of The Local Reporter has close ties to CHALT, an organization with a PAC that recruits and runs candidates in local elections.