NC media company with Republican ties buys Chatham News + Record

North State Media, the owner of The North State Journal, will acquire Siler City's Chatham News & Record, the company announced Tuesday.

Driving the news: North State Media purchased the paper from Chatham Media Group and said readers should expect to see expanded content and new sections in the coming weeks, according to a press release.

Why it matters: New ownership could mean a big shift is coming for the weekly newspaper — which dates make some 145 years — and Chatham County, which is rapidly changing and one of the fastest growing places in North Carolina.

The intrigue: North State Media is led by former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory administration official Neal Robbins, who serves as the company's president and publisher.

• NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby is also an investor in North State Media.

Flashback: Chatham Media Group, owned by Kirk Bradley, Chris Ehrenfeld and Bill Horner III, purchased the News + Record from the Resch family in 2018.

• "Today's media landscape makes it hard to survive as a stand-alone operation," said Bradley, according to the North State Journal.
• "When we purchased the paper from the Resch Family, our goal was to provide support for the importance of education and economic development in Chatham County told from a local perspective, while honoring the history of the paper.
• "We remain hopeful that selling to North State Media will continue that vision and support the future of Chatham County."