One of the oldest newspapers in North Carolina and an award-winning voice in Chatham County is changing ownership, as the Chatham News + Record announced its sale to North State Media on Monday.
The paper shared the acquisition as part-owner Bill Horner III also announced his immediate departure from the publisher and editor role. Horner and co-owners Chris Ehrenfeld and Kirk Bradley bought the News + Record from the Resch family in late 2018, and its sale includes all of the newspaper’s digital products.
North State Media, which is based out of Raleigh and owns the statewide North State Journal newspaper, will boost its local paper collection with the Chatham County publication — joining others in Forsyth, Hoke, Moore, Randolph, and Stanly counties. The group was created in 2016 by a group of former state government employees who were part of former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory’s administration.
“We are excited to add the Chatham News + Record to the North State Journal family,” said Neal Robbins, North State Media’s president and the publisher of the North State Journal, in a joint release. “We believe the long-term viability of North Carolina’s independent press lies in local ownership and strategic business planning. This acquisition furthers our goal to elevate the conversation across North Carolina while ensuring local communities are part of that conversation.”
Horner took charge of the Chatham News + Record after briefly retiring from 31 years at The Sanford Herald newspaper in his hometown. In a Facebook post about the sale and his decision to transition to new writing projects, the former editor cited his pride of the News + Record’s work over the last four years and his excitement of having more time to be a grandparent.
“North Carolinians are served across the state by more than 40 small weekly newspapers like ours,” said Horner in Monday’s release. “To be judged by our peers in the industry as the very best among those, and to have won more news awards than all but two of the state’s 150 news organizations, is a testament to our staff’s effort to bring Chatham County the very best newspaper and best news coverage available, whether in print or online.”
“Kirk, Chris and I have committed a lot of resources, time and work,” he added, “in providing Chatham County with what is widely considered to be the very best small weekly newspaper in North Carolina. The privilege of working with the staff in our Siler City office, and working with some incredibly talented young reporters and photographers over the last few years, has been immense.”
The Chatham Record was first published in 1878 and has provided local news coverage to the county for decades after merging with the Chatham News. Under Horner and the Chatham Media Group’s ownership, the paper expanded its output and embarked on projects like redesigning the paper, launching its website, creating two magazines, building a newsletter audience and printing Spanish-language editions. In recent years, the News + Record has earned significant recognition from the North Carolina Press Association — taking home first place among local newspapers in 2022 in the association’s annual contest.
North State Media said Chatham News + Record readers will eventually see “expanded content and new sections” in the newspaper under its ownership. Griffin Daughtry — presently the local editor for the North State Journal — will assume the publication’s editor role.
“I can’t wait to get started in Chatham County,” Daughtry said. “Our focus will be on delivering important news to every community while developing new beats and features that will highlight all Chatham County has to offer.”
Editor’s Note: The Chapel Hill Media Group has a partnership with the Chatham News + Record to help share some of its stories with Chapelboro.com readers. Additionally, Chris Ehrenfeld is an owner of the Chapel Hill Media Group.
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