The Pilot (North Carolina newspaper)

Last updated
The Pilot
Type Biweekly newspaper
PublisherDavid Woronoff
EditorJohn Nagy
Founded1920
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters145 W Pennsylvania Ave, Southern Pines, N.C.
Circulation 15,000
Website thepilot.com

The Pilot is an American newspaper established in 1920. It is published Wednesdays and Sundays in Southern Pines, North Carolina and covers Moore County, North Carolina. Its estimated circulation was 15,000 in 2018; its website has over 1.4 million views and 335,000 visitors. [1]

Contents

Ownership history

The first issue of The Pilot was published on November 26, 1920 by Stacy Brewer in Vass, North Carolina. Brewer sold the paper on September 7, 1928 to Nelson C. Hyde of Southern Pines. [2] The Pilot opened a branch office in the Patch Building in Southern Pines for its editorial and advertising staff. The newspaper also opened similar offices in Pinehurst and Aberdeen and moved to Aberdeen in 1929. [3] Nelson Hyde sold The Pilot to James Boyd on May 23, 1941. [4] Nelson Hyde resigned as editor and Carl Thompson took his position. James Boyd died in February 1944 and his wife, Katharine Boyd, took over the role as publisher and editor. [5] In October 1968, Katherine Boyd sold The Pilot to Sam and Marjorie Ragan. [6]

In January 1986, The Pilot became a semi-weekly paper and was published on Monday and Thursday. In July 1996, Frank Daniels Jr., Frank Daniels III, David Woronoff, Jack Andrews and Lee Drinks purchased The Pilot. [7] On July 23, 1998, The Pilot launched its website, and in October 1999, The Pilot began publishing three days a week – Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In May 2013, The Pilot began to print twice weekly – Wednesday and Sunday. [8]

Circulation

Awards

The Pilot won Best Community Newspaper in the United States in 2015, 2016, and 2017 from the National Newspaper Association. [11] In their comments about the 2015 award for General Excellence in the Non-daily Division, with circulation over 10,000, the NNA wrote:

"of all the entries, this one said 'community' loudest to us. Human interest stories and local issue coverage abound. Just as important, The Pilot’s Opinion pages contain insightful, vigorous debate. This is a well-packaged paper with solid photography. The people of Southern Pines, NC, are fortunate to have this strong news source." [12]

In 2017, Pilot photographer Ted Fitzgerald won the Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year award for a community newspaper by the North Carolina Press Association. The paper won numerous awards in the category of community newspapers with over 10,000 circulation, including first place in the following categories: Feature Writing, Arts and Entertainment Reporting, Best Niche Publication, and Best Video among others. [13]

Quotes from the Paper

A long time ago, a wise old editor said,

the function of a newspaper

Is “to print the news and raise hell.”

I haven’t been able to improve upon that definition.

-Sam Ragan, Editor and Publisher, 1968-1996 [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Pines, North Carolina</span> Town in North Carolina, United States

Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 12,334 as of the 2010 United States Census.

<i>The News & Observer</i> American newspaper

The News & Observer is an American regional daily newspaper that serves the greater Triangle area based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The paper is the largest in circulation in the state. The paper has been awarded three Pulitzer Prizes; the most recent of which was in 1996 for a series on the health and environmental impact of North Carolina's booming hog industry. The paper was one of the first in the world to launch an online version of the publication, Nando.net in 1994.

Samuel Talmadge Ragan was an American journalist, author, poet, and arts advocate from North Carolina.

The State Port Pilot is a weekly newspaper based in Southport, North Carolina. It was founded in 1928 by Bill Keziah and has been owned and operated by the Harper family since the Great Depression. It covers the towns of Southport, Oak Island, Caswell Beach, Boiling Spring Lakes, Bald Head Island, and St. James. It is published on Wednesdays.

<i>Winston-Salem Journal</i> Daily newspaper in Forsyth County, North Carolina

The Winston-Salem Journal is an American, English language daily newspaper primarily serving Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also covers Northwestern North Carolina.

The Review was a bi-weekly newspaper based in Reidsville North Carolina, based in Rockingham County, North Carolina. It was published under that name between 1899 - 2017. In 2017, it merged with two other newspapers in Rockingham County ; all three papers publish under the name Rockingham Now.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paxton Media Group</span> American newspaper company

Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Kentucky, is a privately held media company with holdings that include newspapers and a TV station, WPSD-TV in Paducah. David M. Paxton is president and CEO.

The Tribune is a weekly newspaper published in Elkin, North Carolina. It has covered the tri-county area of Surry, Wilkes, and Yadkin counties since 1911.

<i>News & Record</i> American newspaper based in Greensboro, North Carolina

The News & Record is an American, English language newspaper with the largest circulation serving Guilford County, North Carolina, and the surrounding region. It is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and produces local sections for Greensboro and Rockingham County, North Carolina.

<i>Q-Notes</i>

Q-Notes is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper serving North Carolina and South Carolina. It is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Published every other week, it has a circulation of 11,000 print copies and is the largest print publication serving the LGBT community in the American Southeast. The paper traces its origins to the monthly newsletter of the Queen City Quordinators, a Charlotte LGBT organization, which they began publishing in 1983. In 1986, Qnotes changed to a monthly tabloid. In 2006, it merged with the Raleigh, N.C. LGBT newspaper The Front Page.

<i>Cherokee Scout</i> Weekly newspaper in Murphy, North Carolina

The Cherokee Scout is a weekly newspaper in Murphy, North Carolina, and Cherokee County. It is one of the largest newspapers in far-west North Carolina.

The Alamance Gleaner was a weekly newspaper based in Graham, North Carolina. The newspaper was published from February 9, 1875, through May 10, 1956. The first editor was E. S. Parker. Before it ceased publication, it was published by Parker & Johnson through 1881 and then by Eldridge & Kernodle until its closing.

<i>The Wilson Times</i>

The Wilson Times is an American, English language semiweekly newspaper based in Wilson, North Carolina covering Wilson County. The newspaper is owned by Wilson Times Co. The paper began as Zion's Landmark, established in 1867 by the pastor of the Wilson Primitive Baptist Church, Elder P.D. Gold. In 1896 that pastor founded The Wilson Times, a weekly newspaper. In 1902 the paper began daily publication as The Wilson Daily Times. The newspaper previously offered commercial job print services, book and catalog printing, as well as ruling and bonding services. It also prints the Wilson County Phone Directory, Money Mailer, and Xpress Marketing publications. While initially occupying only a small brick corner store, the Wilson Times upgraded and moved to a custom-built, 30,000-square-foot office building in 1983. The Wilson Times joined the internet in 1997 under the domain wilsondaily.com. The newspaper relocated to its current downtown Wilson office in June 2017. In February 2021, the Times celebrated its 125th anniversary of continuous publication. The first edition of The Wilson Times was printed in February 1896.

The Anson Record is an American newspaper based in Wadesboro, North Carolina, covering Anson County, N.C. The Anson Record traces its heritage back to 1881, as the Messenger and Intelligencer, but the modern Anson Record was first published on Jan. 20, 1955.

The Wake Weekly is an American weekly newspaper based in Wake Forest, North Carolina, primarily covering the North Carolina counties of Wake and Franklin.

The Daily News is an American, English language daily newspaper headquartered in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It has served the city of Jacksonville, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, and the surrounding parts of Onslow County including, Richlands, Swansboro, Sneads Ferry, Holly Ridge, and North Topsail since 1953.

Wednesday Journal, Inc. is a newspaper publisher based in Oak Park, Illinois. It publishes a free weekly community newspaper in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, paid weekly newspapers in the city's western suburbs and parenting magazines in the Chicago metropolitan area.

The Carolina Times was an American English-language weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina and founded in 1919 or 1921. It ceased publication in 2020.

<i>Carolina Watchman</i>

The Carolina Watchman was an American weekly newspaper published in Salisbury, North Carolina, from 1832 to 1937. It variously supported the Whig, Democratic, and Populist parties, as well as the Confederacy during the Civil War. For a few years, it was mostly politically independent and known as the Watchman & Old North State.

References

  1. 1 2 Editor & Publisher DataBook. Vol. Weeklies. 2018. p. 290.
  2. ↑ "The Pilot (Southern Pines, N.C.)". DigitalNC. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  3. 1 2 "About Us". The Pilot Newspaper. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  4. ↑ Whisnant, David (1979). "Boyd, James". NCpedia. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  5. ↑ Browell, Robyn (2018). "James Boyd". Pennsylvania Center for the Book. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  6. 1 2 Case, Bill (2018-02-01). "Our Katharine". PineStraw Magazine. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  7. ↑ Abernathy, Penny (2019-09-09). "Diversifying: How a Newspaper Publisher Branched Out". Local News Initiative / Medill News Leaders Project, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  8. ↑ "About Us". The Pilot Newspaper. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  9. ↑ Editor & Publisher International Year Book. 1978. p. 286.
  10. ↑ Editor & Publisher International Year Book. 1998. pp. II, 63.
  11. ↑ Lipman, Rachel (2019-03-25). "Charlotte Observer sells SouthPark Magazine for undisclosed amount". NC Business News Wire. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
  12. ↑ "2015 BNEC, BNAC & NAE" (PDF). National Newspaper Association. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  13. ↑ "Editorial Contest Winners for 2017" (PDF). North Carolina Press Association. 2017. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.