The mission of The Local Reporter is to provide the residents of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and southern Orange County an engaging and rigorously-reported local newspaper. Taking its cues from issues of concern to local community, The Local Reporter will offer a civil forum of public debate, nurture local business, peer into local mysteries, but above all, build community engagement and enrich local identity through the telling of an ever-evolving public narrative of life in our region of coverage.
The Local Reporter will contain a robust offering of guest columns and letters-to-the-editor (signed and edited; no anonymous screeds), airing the lively but civil views of our diverse readership. Our political coverage will examine responsibly the doings of local government, the university, law enforcement, development and the schools. Our features and lifecycle coverage will reflect and celebrate the rich mosaic of life as it is lived in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and southern Orange County, covering sports, dining, music, theater, as well as the births, marriages and deaths of our neighbors and friends.
Guest authors, letters to the editor, and volunteers are all welcome.
The Local Reporter is published by Friends of Local Journalism, a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax-deductible.
EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE POLICY
The Local Reporter subscribes to the standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News. Decisions about choice or content of material published by TLR will not be influenced by consideration of present or future financial support.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY
The Local Reporter is committed to avoiding possible financial or personal conflicts of interest among its Board or Staff. Thus, TLR subscribes to the conflict of interest policies found at https://inn.org/sample-conflict-of-interest-policies.
DONOR POLICY
The Local Reporter is committed to transparency. Thus donations of $5000 or more will be posted on our website while smaller donations are listed at the donor’s discretion. TLR maintains a firewall between its news coverage decisions and its sources of funding. Contributors to FLJ do not have any voice in the editorial decisions of TLR While FLJ is pleased to accept donations from individuals, foundations or businesses, acceptance of those funds does not imply any endorsement by TLR or FLJ of the views or activities of the donor.
Board of Directors of Friends of Local Journalism:
Del Snow, Chair, Board of Directors
Before her retirement Ms. Snow had extensive experience in management in NY-based private industry. She has also been very active in community affairs including serving as Chair of the Chapel Hill Planning Board and serving on a variety of Town advisory groups such as the Horace Williams Committee, Board of Adjustment, The Sustaining Community Visioning Task Force, and Chapel Hill 2020. She was a member of the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town and was an active member of C.U.R.B. (Citizens United for Responsible Building) and NRG (Neighborhoods for Responsible Growth). Additionally, Ms. Snow worked on Mayor Kevin Foy’s re-election campaign as a communication adviser.
Fred Lampe, Director
Mr. Lampe is both an MBA and a systems engineer and has held multiple product management and marketing positions in communications systems with Northern Telecom. He has been very active on committees that deal with local affairs. This includes work on the Coker Hills Neighborhood Conservation District, the 2020 Chapel Hill Comprehensive Plan, and the Central West Small Area Plan. He has served as Treasurer of the Coker Hills Neighborhood Association and of the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town. He played an important role in convincing the Town of Chapel Hill to purchase electric buses and to engage in town-wide traffic modeling.
Rudy Juliano, Director
Dr. Juliano is a biomedical scientist with experience in academia and industry. He has been active in community affairs and currently serves on the Chapel Hill Transportation and Connectivity Advisory Board. Previously, in 2003, he was a candidate for Chapel Hill Town Council. He has volunteered extensively for the Orange Co. Democratic Party and was formerly a member of the Chapel Hill Alliance for a Livable Town. Juliano also volunteers with the Trail Crew of The Triangle Land Conservancy. He also has served as President and Board member of the Coker Hills Neighborhood Association.
TLR Advisory Board:
Tony Blake
Neil Offen
TLR Editorial Team:
Julia Runk Jones – Editor
Ms. Jones has worked in editing for nearly 40 years for book publishers such as Random House and Doubleday. She also has worked for periodicals and newspapers in Colorado, New York and Massachusetts. Jones is also a published author. She is lending her talents in this interim position as TLR continues a search for a permanent local editor. Jones resides in Chapel Hill on a large property with her son and five beloved Rhodesian Ridgebacks. She is also a contributing columnist about dogs with TLR.
Michelle V. Cassell, Managing Editor
Ms. Cassell is a writer, editor and photojournalist who has covered everything from crime to hurricanes and local politics to human interest over the course of 35 years. Prior to her work with TLR, she wrote articles for daily, weekly, and bi-weekly publications in North Carolina’s Outer Banks; Annapolis, Maryland; and throughout Delaware. After studies at the University of Maryland-College Park School of Journalism, she obtained a B.A. in Psychology/Sociology with a minor in Communications from Salisbury University. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Michelle Cassell
Pamir Kiciman
Tyria McCray-Bourda
Gregory DL Morris
Diana Newton
Adam Powell
Fraser Sherman
Kit Flynn
Jock Lauterer
Glenn MacDonald
Gary Miller
Neil Offen
Laurie Paolicelli
Michael Schwalbe
Clark Troy
John Wortman