''The Fayetteville Observer'' is an American English-language daily

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

published in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

. Founded in 1816, it is the oldest local newspaper published in North Carolina. The paper originally operated as the ''Carolina Observer'' before rebranding to the Fayetteville Observer in 1833. It was locally owned by the McMurray family from 1923 to 2016, when it was acquired by

GateHouse Media GateHouse Media Inc. was an American publisher of locally based print and digital media. It published 144 daily newspapers, 684 community publications, and over 569 local-market websites in 38 states. Its parent company, New Media Investment Group ...

, which became

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...

in an acquisition in 2019.

History

The ''Fayetteville Observer'' is the oldest newspaper in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. It was founded in 1816 as the ''Carolina Observer''. The ''Fayetteville Observer'' was not published between 1865 and 1883, so the Wilmington ''

Star-News ''StarNews'' is an American, English language daily newspaper for Wilmington, North Carolina, and its surrounding area (known as the Lower Cape Fear (region), Cape Fear). It is North Carolina's oldest newspaper in continuous publication. It was ...

'' (founded in 1867) is North Carolina's oldest continually published newspaper. The name was changed to the ''Fayetteville Observer'' in 1833. The ''Observer''s offices were destroyed by

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

's invading army in 1865. It was refounded as ''The Fayetteville Observer'' in 1883. W. J. McMurray bought the paper in 1923, and his family-owned Fayetteville Publishing Company ran the paper for four generations. Edward Jones Hale was the editor of the newspaper from 1825 to 1865. The paper was a leading supporter of the Whig party. The content of the paper during this time period included many historical articles about North Carolina and accounts of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The Hale family moved to New York after the newspaper buildings were destroyed in the Civil War. His son, Edward Joseph Hale returned to North Carolina in 1883 to revive the newspaper and continued ownership of the newspaper until 1919 when it was sold to a group of local businessmen. The Fayetteville Publishing Company was founded in 1923. A Sunday edition of the paper was started in 1957. Originally an afternoon paper, it began publishing a morning paper, ''The Fayetteville Times'', in 1973. The two papers published combined editions on Sunday, and from 1982 onward published a combined Saturday edition as well. In 1990, the McMurrays merged the ''Observer'' and ''Times'' into a single morning paper, ''The Fayetteville Observer-Times.'' It dropped "Times" from its flag in 1999. The ''Fayetteville Observer'' launched its first website in 1995 and it has a presence on Facebook for distribution of news and interaction with readers.

Awards

''The Fayetteville Observer'' is a member of the

North Carolina Press Association The North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) is an American, nonprofit organization devoted to protecting and promoting newspapers and freedom of the press in the state of North Carolina. It was established in 1872 in Charlotte, North Carolina an ...

. The newspaper has received the following awards: * 2002, recognized as one of the 50 best-printed papers in an international color-quality competition * 2010, 2011, 1st place in excellence for large newspapers, awarded by the North Carolina Press Association * 2018, Melissa Sue Gerrits, Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year, North Carolina Press Association; 1st Place in General Excellence

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fayetteville Observer, The Mass media in Fayetteville, North Carolina Gannett publications Daily newspapers published in North Carolina 1816 establishments in North Carolina Publications established in 1816 Fayetteville, North Carolina

History

Awards

See also

References

External links