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This week marks a new chapter in the history of community journalism in Stanly County. With an appreciation for the history of newspapers in this county and optimism for the future, I am honored to introduce you to the Stanly News Journal, unifying a pair of publications that have supplemented each other for the last eight years. The Stanly News & Press and Stanly County Journal are combining into Stanly News Journal, a local edition of the North State Journal.

We launched Stanly County Journal in 2017 with a simple goal: to provide Stanly County with a strong local newspaper rooted in truth, clarity and an appreciation of the unique communities that make up this remarkable place. From Richfield to Stanfield, Norwood to New London and throughout the county, we sought to offer a new voice — one that respected local traditions while expanding access to information and ideas.

I wrote Stanly County Journal would aim to “elevate the conversation,” reflect the entirety of the county and mark the moments that define this community. Nearly eight years later, I believe we made good on that promise.

Yet alongside us, and for 137 years before, another newspaper has strived to do that same work. The Stanly News & Press, affectionately known as “The SNAP,” has been a cornerstone of this community since its founding on December 3, 1929. Its lineage stretches back even further, to a newspaper called The Second Century, first published on June 10, 1880, when Stanly County was still forging its identity and Albemarle was little more than a crossroads town with big ambitions.

Across mergers and name changes — Stanly Enterprise, Albemarle Press, News-Herald, The News & Press — Stanly County’s newspapering tradition has endured. Editors like J.D. Bivins, John B. Harris and others helped shape that legacy, building institutions that outlived printers, publishers and even the buildings in which they were printed.

Today, we inherit that tradition and do not take it lightly.

By combining the staff, resources and editorial vision of North State Journal and the Stanly News & Press, we are building a stronger, broader publication that is better equipped to serve readers over the next 145 years. The nameplate may be new, but our mission remains: report the news, establish the public record, mark the milestones and reflect the values of Stanly County.

Recently, we launched North State Journal News Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to strengthening local newspapers across North Carolina. Through the foundation, we will be able to provide expanded investigative coverage, civic education resources and more statewide features. This includes the new North State Viewfinders initiative, focusing on photography from around the state, and our faith and art feature “The Word.” This initiative will bring more regional and statewide content, as well as additional journalism resources to cover stories in Stanly and surrounding counties.

When we talk about elevating the conversation, we aim to inform and empower readers, so you can better engage with business, government and community.

I respect and appreciate the care given by Boone Newspapers and Carpenter Media Group to The Stanly News & Press. I discussed the importance of this newspaper with Jim Boone and later Todd Carpenter, Tim Prince and John Carr. Carpenter Media has been a wonderful counterpart in this deal, and I look forward to a continued relationship with them.

As with any transition, there will be bumps in the road. I hope you will be patient as we navigate the complexity of moving offices, changing names, delivery logistics, expanding newsgathering and servicing advertising. All subscribers to both newspapers will receive the newly combined paper, and active subscriptions will be honored. Subscribers to both newspapers will have their subscription renewal date extended based on the combined time periods already paid.

I hope you enjoy the new design that blends The SNAP’s recognizable heritage with the clean, modern presentation of North State Journal — artfully and skillfully assembled by our award-winning design editor, Lauren Rose.

Familiar faces will still greet you in our offices, though the office location has changed to 1548 Highway 24/27 Bypass West, Albemarle, NC 28001. Debbie Holt, our office manager, will remain the smiling face that greets you when you walk into the office. Charles Curcio, longtime writer for the SNAP, will continue to tackle the Herculean task of reporting news and sports, and he will have more opportunities to cover prep sports as he welcomes Jesse Deal, North State Journal’s longtime Stanly County reporter, as a colleague. Our longtime freelancers will also continue to contribute essential stories from communities across the county.

Kateland Treece and the Carpenter advertising staff, along with David Guy, advertising director, and Jim Sills, vice president of local newspapers for North State Journal, will support our wonderful advertising partners as we transition.

Jordan Golson, our innovative and energetic local news editor; Shawn Krest, the dean of sports editors in North Carolina; Dan Reeves, business and features editor and the nicest guy in newspapers; and Cory Lavalette, the best newspaper editor in America, will supply local, experienced, and disciplined oversight and support for the entire operation. If you really want to dive deep into the conversation, we are hiring an additional reporter and advertising sales representative (check our ad on page B6 to apply).

Our reporters will cover Stanly County from the inside out — not as outsiders parachuting in, but as neighbors invested in the same schools, churches, businesses, teams and civic groups as our readers.

To our longtime SNAP readers, thank you for your loyalty and trust. To our Stanly County Journal readers, thank you for growing with us. And to Stanly County, we hope you will join the conversation. Send us your letters, tips and advertising. We promise to send you the best newspaper we can produce, printed just up the road in Charlotte at a historic printing press owned and operated by our company.

It is a great privilege to publish this next chapter in the county’s media history. I hope you’ll stay with us — and engage with us — as we continue this journey together.

Neal Robbins is publisher of North State Journal.