Monday, November 1, 2010

Twenty-five years ago today, The Charlotte News died

Have you lived here long enough to remember The Charlotte News? A quarter century ago today, Charlotte's afternoon daily published for the last time. For years, the News, a great, feisty publication, was the Carolinas' largest afternoon paper.
The News holds a special place in my heart: It was where I got my start as a journalist. I'd forgotten that 25 years had passed since its demise until I recently stumbled on the story now-retired News and Charlotte Observer writer John Vaughan wrote that last day, Nov. 1, 1985 . His first paragraph follows. Does it remind you of anything?

The Charlotte News, once the largest afternoon daily in the Carolinas and for many decades one of the South's best newspapers, ceases publication with this edition. A victim of social changes and economic forces beyond the control of its publishers and marketing strategists, The News passed into history shortly after 2 p.m. today, after almost 97 years, with a final press run of 67,003 copies. It was the largest press run in a decade or more, but 18,000 of those copies will go to souvenir collectors and former employees, not to subscribers. At its death The News had a circulation of only 34,700 -- half that of its peak period in 1972. The News was loved, but it wasn't loved by enough people to survive.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is 'The News' archived anywhere online?

Pam Kelley said...

Not that I know of, unfortunately. The Charlotte library has archives on microfilm, as does The Observer. But since it died before the Internet, I'm betting it's not online.