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Saturday March 13, 2010
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Saturday March 13, 2010
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215 S. McDowell St., Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 829-4500 www.newsobserver.com |
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Key Executives:
Orage Quarles III, President and Publisher
John Drescher, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor
Al Autry, Senior Vice President of Advertising
Jim Puryear, Vice President of Circulation
Jim McClure, Vice President of Display of Advertising
Jackie Stark, Vice President of Human Resources
Gary Smith, Vice President of Interactive Media
Felicia Gressette, Vice President of Marketing
Richard Rinehart, Vice President of Operations
General Hiring Contact: Human Resources Recruitment Manager Terry Brown: 919-836-5652; fax 919-829-8990; email terry.brown@newsobserver.com
Distinction:The News & Observer is widely regarded as one of the nation's best regional newspapers. It's also one of a very few with increasing print circulation. In fact, in 2005, the N&O marked 10 consecutive years of daily circulation growth. In 1996, the paper was awarded the Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service for its work showing how commercial hog farms were affecting the environment and economy in Eastern North Carolina. In 1999, it was named one of the nation's 100 best newspapers by the Columbia Journalism Review and one of the 17 best-designed newspapers in the world by the Society of News Design.
Market: For more than 10 years, the booming Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina has been lauded as one of the best places in the United States to live and do business. As a result, Wake and Johnston counties have been among the nation's fastest-growing, drawing thousands of new residents attracted to the area's quality of life. From 2000 to 2005, the four-county Triangle region's population grew by 12.6 percent, from 1.09 million to 1.22 million. By 2010, population is projected to reach 1.37 million, an increase of 11.7 percent. The market boasts three major universities (North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University) and a robust, knowledge-driven economy. Raleigh is Wake County's seat and North Carolina's capital city..
Circulation Area: The News & Observer's circulation is concentrated in Wake County and three neighboring counties (Durham, Orange, Johnston) that make up the core Triangle. The paper also circulates into the "collar counties" of Chatham, Harnett and Franklin as well as in selected towns and cities in Eastern North Carolina and the coastal region.
Customers: News & Observer readers are noted for their high education levels, professional occupations and robust household incomes – they are prime consumers coveted by advertisers.
Site: The main editorial and administrative offices are in a 1950s-era building on McDowell Street in downtown Raleigh, with additional employees based in several nearby buildings. Presses are at the main site downtown; inserting and distribution are based at a large center in the nearby town of Garner.
Readership:
Circulation:
Size:
Single-Copy Sales:
Production: Two KBS Flexo (water-based ink) presses installed in 1995. Additional color units installed in 2006.
Color: 36 pages of process color for daily and Sunday editions
Web Site: www.newsobserver.com
Average Monthly Page Views/Unique Visitors:
Employees:
900 full-time employees
300 part-time employees
Newsroom Staff:
237 full-time journalists
23 part-time journalists
Bureaus: News and advertising staff members are based in Durham and Chapel Hill, N.C. Combined advertising staffs are also based at community paper offices in Cary, Smithfield and Zebulon.
Major Awards:
McClatchy President's Awards
2006:
2005:
N.C. Press Association, 2005:
Other 2005 Awards:
Advertising Awards:
Circulation Awards: 2006 NAA Adult Newspaper Carrier of the Year: Tabb Clements
Major Advertisers: Belk; Dillard's; Leith Automotive Group; Kohl's; Kroger; Lowe's Foods; Lowe's Home Improvement; Macy's; Rooms to Go; Sears; Verizon; Walgreen's
Creative Ventures: The News & Observer's direct marketing and database marketing staff offers turnkey service from creative design to targeted delivery. A combination of home delivery of The News & Observer, shared mail to non-subscribers and a free distribution model for its community newspapers (see below) allows advertisers to saturate or target their inserts to more than 535,000 households in 55 ZIP codes in the greater Triangle. The company creates special sections throughout the year to respond to major events (Stanley Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open golf, Monet in Giverny museum exhibit) and to market demand.
Community Newspapers: The News & Observer publishes five weekly or bi-weekly community papers that are distributed to subscribers and selected non-subscriber single-family households.
Community Involvement:
Market: Life in the Triangle is characterized by growth – people, houses, retail space. Over the past decade, career opportunities, excellent public schools and housing choices have drawn hundreds of thousands of new residents to the Triangle. It's a trend that shows no signs of slowing.
The Triangle is largely a knowledge-based economy with a population more highly educated than the state and nation on average and more likely to work in professional occupations. It is home to three world-class hospital systems and a thriving biotech and pharmaceutical sector. Research Triangle Park's 7,000 acres house more than 100 R&D facilities that employ almost 40,000 Triangle residents whose combined annual salaries are more than $1.2 billion. The population boom has created a retail boom, with more than 6 million square feet of shopping space added between 2002 and 2005.
While much of the region's residential growth has been suburban and influenced by construction of the I-540 Outer Loop, downtown Raleigh is experiencing a wave of corporate and residential redevelopment.
Of note:
Location: Raleigh lies midway between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. In just a few hours, Triangle residents can drive to North Carolina's beautiful beaches or mountains.
Transportation: The Triangle is home to Raleigh Durham International Airport and is served by Amtrak as well as the Triangle Transit Authority regional bus system. Interstate Highways 40, 85 and 95 offer easy access. Raleigh is encircled by "the Beltline," or I-440. As of summer 2006, some 17 miles of an Outer Loop, I-540, have been built, with 13.5 to open by mid-2007. Eventually the loop will comprise 59.8 miles.
Population: In 2005, Wake County had 746,336 residents. They comprise 59 % of the four-county region's overall population of 1,257,305. The balance of the population lives in Durham, Orange and Johnston counties, which had a total population of 510,969 in 2005.
Households: 278,7000 in Wake County in 2005
475,800 in four-county region in 2005
Household Growth Rate projections:
Education: 15 percent of adults in Wake County are high school graduates or have technical/vocational training; 29 percent have some college; 30 percent are college graduates; 22 percent have post-graduate degrees.
Ethnic Composition: In Wake County, the population is 70 percent white; 19 percent African-American; 6 percent Hispanic and 5 percent Asian or other.
Median Age: In Wake County, 42
Median Household Income: In Wake County, $60,700
Median Home Value: In Wake County, about $162,900
Source: 2000 census
Average Rent: For two-bedroom apartment in Wake County, $802.
Climate: The Triangle generally has a mild, temperate climate but our weather is notable for its variability; 30-degree temperature swings from one day to the next are not uncommon. We are subject to muggy Southern summers and the occasional winter ice storm or measurable snowfall.
Major Employers/Industries: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina; GlaxoSmithKline; IBM; N.C. state government; N.C. State University; Progress Energy; SAS Institute; University of North Carolina; UNC Hospitals; WakeMed Health and Hospitals
Major Retailers: Ace Hardware, Bed Bath & Beyond, Belk's, Best Buy, Circuit City, CVS, Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Eckerd Drug, The Gap, Harris Teeter, Home Depot, J C Penney, Kohl's, K mart, Kroger, Lowe's Foods, Lowe's Home Improvement, Macy's, Nordstrom, Rooms to Go , Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears, Target, Walgreen's, Wal-Mart
Higher Learning: The Triangle offers rich diversity in higher education – major research universities, historically black colleges and universities, traditionally female colleges and technical schools. Raleigh is home to North Carolina State University, Peace College, Meredith College, St. Augustine's University, Shaw University and Wake Tech Community College. Chapel Hill is home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Durham is home to Duke University, North Carolina Central University and Durham Tech.
Culture: The Triangle hosts several state museums – the North Carolina Museum of Art; North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences; North Carolina Museum of History – as well as professional arts organizations – the North Carolina Symphony, Carolina Ballet; North Carolina Theatre. Durham boasts the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, opened in October 2005, and the Museum of Life + Science. Chapel Hill is home to the Morehead Planetarium.
Lovers of the performing arts have many choices in venues – the Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts in Raleigh; Memorial Auditorium in Chapel Hill; Regency Park outdoor amphitheatre in Cary; the historic Carolina Theater in Durham; Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek in Raleigh.
Sports: Raleigh's professional sports franchise is the Carolina Hurricanes NHL hockey team. The region also is home to two minor league baseball teams, the AAA Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) and AA Carolina Mudcats (Florida Marlins). For college sports fans, the region is a mecca; all three major universities have won NCAA national titles in men's basketball. Football and women's college basketball also draw crowds. Raleigh is host to the annual Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball tournament in the spring.
Major Annual Events: For 10 days in October, the state fairgrounds in Raleigh offer livestock exhibits and shows, midway rides, games of chance and food galore to crowds that can top 100,000 per day. The North Carolina State Fair is a tradition that draws fairgoers to Raleigh from across the state. It's the biggest single event in the market. The Tournament Players Club at Wakefield Plantation hosts a Nationwide Tour event, the Rex Hospital Open, in June, and in the fall, Prestonwood Country Club hosts the SAS Championship, a PGA Champions tour event.
Tourist Attractions: The Triangle is filled with historic sites that range from the Old Capitol in downtown Raleigh to Staggville Plantation in Durham County. It's also a museum mecca, with choices that range from the N.C. Museum of Art to the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, one of the largest in the Southeast. Visitors seeking "retail therapy" can choose from several mega-malls – Crabtree Valley Mall and Triangle Town Center in Wake County and the Streets at Southpoint in Durham County.
Recreation: Water lovers enjoy boating, swimming and fishing on Falls Lake and Jordan Lake, both created as regional water sources. Hikers, trail riders and runners flock to Umstead State Park to explore its 5,577 acres, 13 miles of bridal trails and 20 miles of hiking trails. Golfers can choose from dozens of public and semi-private courses.
Night Life: Raleigh's Glenwood South entertainment district draws crowds of young professionals to its lively bars and restaurants. In Chapel Hill, beer drinkers and music fans flock to Franklin Street. In Durham, the American Tobacco Historic District is a popular spot for music and dining. For four- and five-star dining, Triangle residents head to Second Empire in Raleigh, the Magnolia Grill in Durham, Fearrington House in Pittsboro and Il Palio Ristorante in the Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill.
Claim to Fame: Each of the Triangle's Division I universities has won the NCAA men's basketball championship: NC State in 1974 and 1983; UNC in 1957, 1982, 1993 and 2005; and Duke in 1991, 1992 and 2001. The UNC women's basketball team were NCAA champions in 1994.
Famous Citizens: "American Idol" singer Clay Aiken is from Raleigh; so are actresses Sharon Lawrence and Evan Rachel Wood. On the political scene, 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee John Edwards is from Raleigh, and so is longtime U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, who retired from office in 2002. Novelist Charles Frasier wrote his National Book Award-winning novel "Cold Mountain" while living in Raleigh. Essayist David Sedaris grew up in Raleigh. Movie star Ava Gardner was from Smithfield, in Johnston County. Figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi lives in North Raleigh with her husband, NHL hockey player Bret Hedican. Coaching icons Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams all call the Triangle home.
Trivia: The 1988 movie "Bull Durham," starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, was filmed in part at the old Durham Bulls ballpark in downtown Durham. When the team moved into a new park, they took along the famous bull from the scoreboard. He still snorts smoke and waves his tail to celebrate a home run.
Area Information:
www.visitraleigh.com
www.raleighchamber.org
www.durham-nc.com
www.chocvb.org
Recent Issues of the Newspaper: Back issues are available for the past 90 days; call (919) 829-4700.
The McClatchy Company