April 23, 2026

April 9 was a celebratory national event called “Local News Day.” But the disruption of delivery of local news continues unabated.

On Thursday, Observer alum Glenn Burkins broke the story in QCity Metro that the Charlotte Observer’s editor was leaving and the paper’s position of managing editor had been eliminated. Burkins harvested the quote that termed editor Rena Cash’s departure effective in little more than a week as a “displacement.” Burkins reported that 30-year veteran Taylor Batten, the current managing editor whose position has been eliminated, would also leave May 1.

Observer alum Tony Mecia added additional context in the Charlotte Ledger. Managements of other McClatchy-owned legacy news outlets have been combined lately. The Raleigh and Durham outlets are under a single management, and if it’s good enough for Triangle “local” news, why not have Raleigh-Durham-Charlotte “local” news? Mecia wrote that McClatchy dodged questions about who was running the Observer now.

On Wednesday, Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) wrote about its recently released study of news in Charlotte: who’s publishing it, what they publish about; and the gaps that remain in coverage. The document may become a case study in the flaws created by early versions of AI: The software scanned thousands of news articles, identifying locations mentioned in the articles, and categorizing them in part by their “geolocations.” By geolocating crime news, for example, does Dilworth have a high interest in crime news or a high incidence of crime? More likely it is only because Atrium Health’s trauma emergency room operates there. Entertainment news? The report cites high interest in geolocations around sports and entertainment venues. Who knew?

Tuesday’s Forum discussion focused on people who live in neighborhoods and how they can learn what’s going on immediately around them or about public policy that is likely to affect their future. Geolocation of public policy issues like tax rates and early childhood education is a blunt instrument and even less easily justified. The study’s authors lay out ways that they hope to refine their use of AI in the future.

But the overall message from the CJR study appears to be that the expensive work of delivering local news, once dominated by legacy outlets like newspapers and well-staffed television stations, is increasingly falling to nonprofits, individuals and niche players focused on a narrow subject. And while the study mentions a variety of revenue sources sustaining current nonprofit efforts – among them “sponsored” content, gifts, grants, paywalls and subscriptions – it appears clear that the formula for financing the creation and delivery of local news in the future is far from settled.

The CJR study was financed in part by the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund. That Fund in 2025 agreed to support the work of CMalikArt LLC, which is beginning to absorb the costs related to the Tuesday Forum’s digital outreach through e-mail, social media, a website and livestreaming of meetings.

– Steve Johnston