The North Carolina Press Association/NC Press Services board of directors has unanimously accepted the Ocracoke Observer’s request for membership as an online news site.
“The board felt the online paper met the qualifications of legitimate journalistic principles and add value to the goals of the organization,” said Laura Nakoneczny, member services director.
We are pleased we meet their high standards for reporting, commentary and cultural features for membership. Our affiliation with this prestigious association and the many newspapers throughout the state will help us provide news that is important to Ocracoke.
We wish to thank our writers for their contributions over the years, our advertisers and our many friends who have made great suggestions and have helped us with the newspaper.
We want to especially thank two consultants, Jock Lauterer, director of the Carolina Community Media Project and senior lecturer at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the author of “Community Journalism: Relentlessly Local,” and James Grimaldi, investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal and formerly of the Washington Post where he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting in 2006 for his work on the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
The North Carolina Press Association is a member-owned and operated non-profit association established in 1873 to protect First Amendment freedoms, promote the business interests of North Carolina newspapers and maintain high standards in the industry. It works to protect the public’s right to know through the defense of open government and help maintain the public’s access to local, state and federal governments.

Founded in 1999, the Ocracoke Observer was purchased in 2014 by Peter Vankevich and Connie Leinbach, who also is the editor.
Congratulations!
Thanks for the fine reporting and doing things the right way.
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