Overview
The Observer primarily serves Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and the surrounding counties of Iredell, Cabarrus, Union, Lancaster, York, Gaston, Catawba, and Lincoln. It publishes local sections for each of these outlying counties and for specific neighborhoods within Mecklenburg. The newspaper's circulation covers over 40 counties in North and South Carolina. Home delivery service in outlying counties has declined in recent years, with delivery times growing later as the paper has outsourced circulation services outside the primary Charlotte area.
Circulation at The Charlotte Observer has been declining for many years. The most recent period (May 2011) showed that Charlotte Observer circulation totaled 155,497 daily and 212,318 Sunday.
In addition to its main bureau in Charlotte, the paper operates six regional bureaus in Hickory, Gastonia, Concord, Monroe, and Cornelius, and Fort Mill, South Carolina. It has offices in the state capitals of North and South Carolina: Raleigh and Columbia, respectively. The Observer also has an office in Washington, D.C.
The newspaper has an online presence at charlotteobserver.com, and its staff also oversees a popular NASCAR news website, ThatsRacin.com, and a corresponding syndicated feature, That's Racin'. The paper's television partner is WCNC-TV.
The Observer employs approximately 700 employees, down from over 1,200 at its peak, mostly in its downtown Charlotte office.
This include a staff of about 60 talented editors and designers that makeup the McClatchy Southeast Publishing Center, which is responsible for the production of The Charlotte Observer, The News & Observer (Raleigh) and the The (Rock Hill) Herald.
Read more about this topic: The Charlotte Observer