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Greetings all, it’s Wednesday August 26th. From the hollers and mountain tops of Appalachia, stretching far across the country and globe, we are a community in mourning. “Legend” and “icon” don’t quite capture the enormity of Dolly Parton’s talent, vision, compassion, generosity, humor, inclusiveness and love that she shared with the world for decades.
WLOS captured the scene in West Asheville Tuesday, where people brought flowers, butterfly stickers, hand-drawn cards and Imagination Library books to a popular Dolly and RuPaul mural. WRAL remembered her impact across North Carolina. And countless artists, small businesses and nonprofits posted about Dolly’s model of kindness, connection and championing the issues you care about.
Born just across the WNC border in Sevier County, Dolly was much more than a beloved singer and songwriter. She was a human rights advocate who spoke early and openly about her support of marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights, saying “Of course I believe in gay marriage” in a 2005 interview published in QNotes.
Committed to education and literacy initiatives, she launched the Dollywood Foundation in the 1980s to improve education rates and offer scholarships to college. Her Imagination Library just marked its 30th anniversary, distributing 20+ million books in North Carolina alone and receiving a new round of funding in the recent state budget.
When disasters struck this region, Dolly raised about $9 million during a live telethon to support families affected by the 2016 fires in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, and donated about $2 million following Helene.
“Dolly was our collective mamaw and our queen. She was one of us. And no matter where she went, she never left us,” wrote Ryan Eller, executive director at Appalachia Funders Network, on LinkedIn. “She loved this place fiercely, but never made that love small or exclusive. She made the table bigger. She made room for all of us.”
If your shoulders are a bit slumped, your heart heavy, turn on your local radio station, look around for community sing-alongs and potlucks (there’s a few in WNC) and as Mars Hill United Methodist Church advises: “Do not shield your eyes from the glitter.”
“Dolly reminds us how it’s done. She feeds children books, she holds her guitar like a shield, and she tells us exactly who she is without apologizing to the rain. Look at your hands. What are they building today? Put your boots on. Sing louder than the engine of your car.”
Coming up in today’s edition:
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What we heard in Lee County: asset mapping, community questions and how to access trusted news and information.
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NC Local is growing! We have two new roles to build a development team and membership program, in addition to our Alamance Community reporter position.
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And the deadline is approaching 8/31 for grants to support your coverage of US Democracy.
Glad you’re here, let’s get started. |
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What we learned in Lee County |
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Community members engage in small group conversation at "Lee County Listens," hosted by NC Local in partnership with local and statewide news organizations. (Photo: Jaymie Baxley, NC Health News) |
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NC Local recently partnered with Sanford-based news organizations for “Lee County listens: a community conversation on local news and information." We welcomed an engaged group of about 40 community leaders to examine:
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What local issues are most important and what needs more priority and attention?
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What questions do you have about state and local policy issues?
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Where do people go for trusted news and information, and what formats do people find more helpful?
Before we jumped into those discussions we started with something that helped ground everyone in all the good work taking place in Lee County: an asset mapping exercise. Over lunch, groups chatted about the community’s resources and jotted down organizations and programs on colorful sticky notes. Within the span of about 20 minutes, we filled a wall with nearly 200 community resources falling under the categories of housing; jobs and economic development; education and lifelong learning; health and wellness; culture and celebration; civic engagement and more. |
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NC Local's Diara J. Townes shares back from the asset-mapping exercise. (Photo: Jaymie Baxley, NC Health News) |
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While most in the room were already familiar with these groups and programs, it was a valuable exercise to highlight all the existing ways Lee County residents can connect with services and more easily participate in civic life while also surfacing ideas for local news providers when covering these topics.
From our breakout discussions, some common themes emerged as top issues for Lee County.
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Economic development: while Lee County is seeing a lot of growth, poverty persists and affordable housing is a major issue for young people and seniors. Some see a proposed data center as an economic benefit, but many have questions and concerns.
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Education: as the population grows, the school system needs investments too. Many aren’t aware of the very long process and sizable investments required to build new schools.
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Workforce development: free resources and community college tuition are available, but not enough students are taking advantage of the programs.
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Nonprofit funding: like elsewhere in the state, the organizations focusing on health care, housing, pathways out of poverty and responses to the opioid crisis are seeing funding cuts. With Medicaid changes on the horizon, additional strain on people and the groups who serve them are anticipated.
And many had questions about the impact of state policy locally:
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How is state funding allocated to Lee county vs. other areas of the state?
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How do state budget decisions affect local schools?
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What are long term local and state plans to respond to and manage growth?
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What policies from Raleigh help smaller communities like Lee County?
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What new legislation affects local government?
We wrapped up our gathering with a discussion of how to get people trusted news and information. Common responses included making news and information more accessible to those most affected, incorporating more visuals and graphics, and holding more events to help people understand how policies and issues affect them and develop solutions to shared challenges.
Thanks to all our participants in the event and our partners, including The Sanford Herald, The Rant, WFJA Radio and NC Health News. Special thanks to Bill Horner III and Diara J. Townes who were lead organizers on this event, to Fiona Morgan of Branchhead Consulting for facilitating the listening session, and to the fabulous staff at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic & Conference Center where we held the event. We'll continue to report back on what comes out of this listening session! |
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NC Local Opportunities!
Consider our open positions and share with your friends |
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Alamance Community Reporter: The Alamance Fabric is a weekly news initiative for Alamance County, a diverse and growing county in the central Piedmont region of North Carolina. We’re seeking a full time community reporter to report, write and publish our weekly newsletter, manage the Alamance Fabric website and social accounts, and convene community members to learn about their information needs. Priority deadline for applications is September 10.
Development Director: NC Local is looking for an experienced fundraiser and development strategist to lead and grow our philanthropic efforts. You'll build and direct our development team, own our fundraising strategy and work closely with our CEO to develop an individual donor program and cultivate our current and prospective institutional funders. Priority deadline for applications is September 20.
Membership Manager: NC Local is seeking a skilled audience strategist to develop our audience and build a membership program from the ground up. As a new brand, NC Local is on a fast-paced path to developing a loyal audience for our journalism, regional newsletters and across our growing partnership network. Our readers appreciate our work and are sending recurring donations. Now, it’s time to develop a membership program that charts pathways from reader to supporter. Priority deadline for applications is September 20. |
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The inaugural “Latino Voices” event kicks off September 9 in Durham with a theme of “North Carolina's Success Also Speaks Spanish.” Enlace Latino NC’s series aims to “create spaces for live conversation to highlight the role of journalism in telling the stories of Latino communities in North Carolina.”
Western Women's Business Center Director Zurilma Anuel kicks off the opening conversation, followed by a panel that includes:
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Manolo Betancur (Colombia): Founder and CEO of Manolo's Bakery, Artisen Gelato, Higher Grounds Café, and the By Immigrant Hands Foundation. Charlotte, NC.
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Mishell Thielen (Venezuela): Founder and CEO of Sunshine Cleaning & Painting, Sunshine Cleaning Club, and KLEENT. Raleigh, NC.
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Carlos Lopez (El Salvador): Founder and CEO of Delcid Erosion Control. Zebulon, NC.
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Manny Flores (El Salvador): Founder and CEO of Qué Hospitality, the restaurant group behind Que Onda, Catalú, and Que Fresa. Charlotte, NC.
The free event runs 8:30-11:00 am Wednesday September 9 and includes networking and breakfast, a featured interview, a panel discussion and wraps up with more space for making community connections.
The event will be held in Spanish, with simultaneous English interpretation available. Space is limited, register here.
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Bulletin Board |
Jobs |
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📌 Development Director, NC Local (Remote in NC)
📌 Membership Manager, NC Local (Remote in NC)
📌 Alamance County Community Reporter, NC Local, Alamance County 💰
📌 Senior Enterprise Editor, The Assembly (Remote in NC)
📌 Due South Producer, WUNC, Chapel Hill & Durham 💰
📌 Podcast Producer, WFDD, Winston-Salem
📌 Reporter, The Mountaineer, Waynesville 💰
📌 Sports Editor, The Franklin Press
📌 Editor, The Sylva Herald
📌 Assistant Editor, Mount Airy News
📌 News Editor, The Graham Star, Robbinsville
📌 Reporter, The Gaston Gazette, USA Today, Gastonia
📌 Investigative Reporter, WRAL, Raleigh
📌 Story Desk Editor , WFMY News 2, Greensboro
📌 Product Manager, Membership Growth and Development, ProPublica (Remote)💰
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Resources, opportunities & events |
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🧰 C-SPAN's Road to the Capitol: Check out our recent Q&A with C-SPAN's Rachel Katz about a new partnership they have with NC Local and local news organizations across the state. They're offering free video coverage of US House, Senate and the gubernatorial races to local newsrooms. Use for your reporting, publish on your sites and take advantage of transcripts and pre-produced video clips. If you're interested, send a note to Rachel at rkatz@c-span.org. She'll schedule a short conversation with you to learn about your news organization, answer any questions and get you set up with their portal.
🌱 WNC Health Network Community Health Assessment: WNC media are invited to participate in a data gap survey to help inform WNC Health Network’s Community Health Assessment (CHA). The CHA is a primary source of data used by media across WNC to develop stories related to resident/community health. This cycle, WNC Health Network has specifically invited WNC media to participate in the data gap survey to help identify priority topics and associated data gaps. Feedback from this survey directly impacts the CHA questions; so taking this survey is an easy way to make a big impact. Please complete the survey by Friday, September 4th.
📅 Launch Events for Covering Climate Now: South Atlantic Climate Journalism Hub: Covering Climate Now is hosting a series of happy hours for journalists across the region as it kicks off its new South Atlantic Climate Journalism Hub. Join local environmental and climate journalists and experts for free drinks, conversation and networking: NC stops:
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Charlotte: Protagonist Beer–LoSo, Wed Aug 26, 5:30–8 p.m. (open networking with CCNow staff)
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Asheville: Riverside Rhapsody, Thu Aug 27, 5:30–8 p.m. (Katie Myers & Adam Smith on the cost of climate disasters and the Helene anniversary)
🌱 Call for Applications for U.S. Democracy Reporting Grants: The Pulitzer Center is offering special grants for reporting on U.S. democracy. They’re open to ambitious story ideas from a big-picture story or a series of stories. Top themes include voting rights, civil and free-speech rights, election transparency, and investigations into how federal and state government agencies are carrying out their work. The application is open to newsroom staff reporters and editors, and freelancers who would work closely with a newsroom committed to editing and publishing a text, multimedia, or broadcast project. Application deadline: August 31.
🌱 IRE Journalist of Color Investigative Reporting Fellowship: IRE is accepting applications for this fellowship supporting journalists of color pursuing investigative reporting projects. Over the course of the year, fellows receive IRE training, mentorship, data services and support, with the goal of producing an investigative reporting project to help their community. Application deadline: September 1.
🌱IRE Freelance Fellowship: IRE's fellowship for freelance investigative journalists are awarded for nonfiction project proposals which demonstrate impact, breadth and significance. Proposals for books, documentaries, cable series and other long-form projects are eligible. Application deadline: September 1.
📅 The Rise of Private News: Using SMS and Messaging for Deeper Engagement in Journalism. Looking for new ways to connect with your audience? Join the Knight Center’s free asynchronous court to learn how messaging platforms can help you build stronger, more direct relationships with the people you serve. No technical experience required. The course will review platforms, content strategy and legal, ethical, safety, and operational risks. September 14–27, 2026.
🌱 2027 Alicia Patterson Fellowships: Alicia Patterson Fellowships support significant, in-depth written reporting on subjects of public interest. Six-month fellowships pay $20,000, and 12-month fellowships pay $40,000. Application deadline: Oct. 1, 2026. |
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That's it for this week. 🦋 We'll end with some wisdom from Dolly:
“I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. I re-read passages from my favorite books. I hold the little treasures that somebody special gave me. These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious pieces of good in the world.”
Thank you all for being here & know you are appreciated for all "the glorious pieces of good" you do. — Catherine |
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