Carolina Journal took home an impressive haul in the 2025 North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) Awards, earning 15 accolades across multiple categories for its excellence in investigative journalism, editorial commentary, multimedia storytelling, and innovative digital strategy.
SB 299 and HB 322 are litmus tests. Passing them would signal that the people's representatives value trust over convenience, reversing a legacy of secrecy that’s left us lagging behind other states.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has rejected a lawsuit alleging that Pinehurst officials broke the state’s open-meetings law in 2021 by conducting business via email. Major state media outlets had filed paperwork earlier this year supporting plaintiffs in the case.
Major North Carolina media outlets support a lawsuit accusing Pinehurst officials of skirting open-meetings requirements by conducting public business through email. A media coalition filed paperwork Friday to submit a friend-of-the-court brief to the state’s second-highest court.
To qualify for the award, an institution must show an egregious violation of open government law that impacts the general public.
The State Board of Elections has launched a voter ID awareness campaign.
On Friday, Sept. 22, the General Assembly passed a budget which contains a new provision that would allow lawmakers total discretion over destroying records. Many in the media and even some lawmakers have taken issue with the provision; however, the John Locke Foundation has proposed a "fix" for lawmakers to consider when making technical corrections to the state budget.
The NC Court of Appeals questioned Tuesday whether Charlotte city government should have turned over records of city council surveys more quickly when WBTV requested those records. The city’s obligation to produce those survey results makes up the heart of the debate in Gray Media Group v. City of Charlotte.
A coalition of media groups is taking interest in a public records dispute at the N.C. Court of Appeals. The case involves WBTV’s request for surveys completed by members of the Charlotte City Council in late 2020. The coalition filed paperwork Thursday seeking permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case.
Editor’s note: This story was updated March 30 to correctly identify Phil Lucey, N.C. Press Association executive director. A growing number of senators are signing on to a bill that would make more information available to the public on government employee performance. Under Senate Bill 355, a description of the reasons for personnel actions like...
For the second straight year, the N.C. Press Association acknowledged Carolina Journal’s reporting and commentary in its annual awards. CJ won in the Online Division for articles published in 2018 on carolinajournal.com. CJ Editor-in-Chief Rick Henderson won first place in Editorials, giving him two consecutive first-place finishes in the category. Associate Editor Kari Travis also...
