''Our State'' (full title: ''Our State: Celebrating North Carolina'') is a monthly
magazine
A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
based in
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...
, featuring
travel
Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...
and history articles and photographs about
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 ...
people, places and events. First published in 1933 as ''The State'' magazine, the publication has become "the oldest regional publication of its kind in the country," according to the Associated Press.
It is a member of the
City and Regional Magazine Association
The City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1978 that facilitates professional development and training for member magazines and methods for exchanging information and ideas.
Activities
The ...
(CRMA).
History
Carl Goerch, a
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
known for his newspaper work as well as "Doings of the
Legislature
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
" on
WPTF radio, told potential advertisers for his new publication that they could drop their ads after the first month if they were not worth the money. On June 3, 1933, ''The State'' printed its first issue, with 2500 copies sold at ten cents each. Goerch said that from the first issue, his magazine "met a very favorable impression and kept right on growing."
[ ]Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
John C. B. Ehringhaus appeared on the earliest cover. Among those first advertisers who did not leave the weekly magazine were Wachovia
Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asset ...
and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.
Bill Sharpe succeeded Goerch as publisher in 1951, and W.B. Wright took over in 1970. Shaw Publishing of Charlotte, later the owner of Business Journal Associates, became publisher in 1986 [ and sold the magazine to Mann Media in 1996.]["Executive Completes Magazine Purchase," ''Greensboro News & Record'', March 16, 1996.] At the time, ''The State'' had 20,000 subscribers and published in black and white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
, with about 40 pages per issue. However, new publisher Bernard Mann,[ former owner of WGLD-AM and WGLD-FM in High Point,][ made a variety of changes, such including color and increasing the page count by six times. By 2008, the number of subscribers had jumped to 156,000.][ The name changed to ''Our State'' in order "to reflect the inclusive nature of the magazine," Mann said.] In March 2018, Mann planned an employee buyout that will reward magazine employees with an employee stock ownership plan. Mann is retiring and he and his heirs will be bought out by the employees in 7–8 years.
Founded as a weekly publication in 1933, ''The State'' switched to biweekly issues in May 1954 (published every two weeks), and then to monthly issues starting in January 1973. Contributors over the years have included writer Billy Arthur, photographer Aycock Brown, and photographer Hugh Morton.
As of 2008, ''Our State'' had readers in all 50 states, as well as in 50 countries. Most were well-educated and over 40 years old. In an era when print publications were giving way to the Internet, Mann said his readers preferred seeing the magazine's photos on paper.[
In 2012, ''Our State'' introduced an app called Travel North Carolina. In addition to great photography and entertaining stories, the magazine also has a store featuring handmade jewelry and pottery as well as local foods from across the state.
In 2018, owner Bernard Mann sold ''Our State'' to an ]Employee Stock Ownership Plan
Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...
.
TV series
UNC-TV airs a monthly TV series called ''Our State,'' which is based on the magazine. Started in 2004, the show won an Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
in 2008 from The Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
/Midsouth Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), also known as the National Television Academy until 2007, is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of televisio ...
for Best Magazine Series.[
]
Podcast
''Our State'' has a podcast available at NPR
National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
member station WUNC in Chapel Hill.
References
External links
*
Bucharest Tours
Travel Destinations Information
Online Archive of ''The State'' and ''Our State''
between 1933 and three years ago, from the State Library of North Carolina.
{{Authority control
Tourism magazines
Magazines established in 1933
Monthly magazines published in the United States
Magazines published in North Carolina