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.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

 

Related Stories
‹
Chatham Probation Officer Reacts to Recent News Reports, Claims of Bias
By Zachary Horner, Chatham News + Record Staff Kevin Stone said he knew the news reports were coming. So he prepared his family and friends “as best I could,” he said. Stone, a Chatham County probation officer and owner of a country store in Moncure, was recently the focus of two news reports on Raleigh […]
Abandoned Cougar Makes Journey From Washington to Chatham
By Casey Mann, Chatham News + Record Staff   Imagine being a child, lost in the woods, without your mother. You haven’t yet developed the skills needed to survive and there’s a chance that if you’re caught, you could be killed. That’s the story of a four-month old cougar named Beau. Last month, Beau was discovered […]
Contention Arises Over Chatham Park Tree Plan
By Chatham News + Record Staff With a couple of Chatham Park’s major planning elements down, the Town of Pittsboro will next tackle tree protection. The discussion began in earnest at a town board meeting on Jan. 14, and it started with Jeff Jones, the town’s planning director, expressing audible doubt over Chatham Park’s stated goals. […]
For Too Many Chatham Families, There Are Too Few Housing Options
By Casey Mann, Chatham News + Record Staff Sharon Gillette worked two jobs, six days a week. She has 30 years of experience in the service industry. But not being able to find a roommate meant she had to leave Chatham County because living here was too expensive for her. After paying her rent and […]
Pittsboro, Chatham Push on With Parks Plans
By Zachary Horner, Chatham News + Record Staff Not long ago, Ashley Lux watched as her daughter Haley, 7, held onto her sister Grace, 2, as they went down a slide at North- west District Park in Siler City. The two children then ran off to the pretend “store” — where currency was mulch and […]
Chatham N+R: Effects of Shutdown Ripple Through Chatham
By Randall Rigsbee, Chatham News + Record Staff SILER CITY – The U.S. government’s partial shutdown, which has halted the work of some government agencies since Dec. 22, hasn’t had a broad effect in Chatham County, but local shock waves have hit. Just ask John Sich, owner of Floorazzo Tile, which manufactures Terrazzo flooring tiles […]
Three New Projects Aim to Expand High-Speed Internet Access in Chatham County
Three new high-speed internet projects are coming to Chatham County thanks to grant awards from NCDIT.
On the Porch: A Conversation with Dr. Jim Crawford
This Week: Born into a blue collar and agricultural clan in rural Pennsylvania, Jim Crawford was the first in his family to graduate from college. Earning his PhD from UNC, he taught US and World History at several universities in piedmont North Carolina for several decades. He served as chairman of the Chatham County board of commissioners, and currently serves as trustee for Central Carolina Community College. He is a firm believer in American democracy and trusts that the constitution will hold firm now as it has in past crises despite the broken, distempered electorate.
On the Porch: A Conversation with Elana Etten
This Week: Host Randy Voller, welcomes Elana Etten, the digital marketing expert on a mission to help small businesses and nonprofits ‘Streamline. Strategize. Simplify.’ As the owner of Identity Marketing US, Elana uses powerful tools like AI and automation to take the work out of marketing and business processes, saving business owners valuable time and helping them reach more customers. Since 2015, her clients have seen game-changing results, like surviving the pandemic, increasing their customer base, and cutting their business process hours in half. Elana’s motto is simple: ‘It’s time to automate your business’ so you can focus on what matters most. Let Identity Marketing help you leave your mark today.
Chatham News + Record Sells to North State Journal, Shakes Up Leadership
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 […]
›