Advertisement

8 big perks to a Charlotte Observer digital subscription

In recent months you might have noticed an expanded array of digital offerings provided by The Charlotte Observer. Our website, charlotteobserver.com, is much more than an online version of articles our readers see in the newspaper.

The digital experience is dynamic, robust, entertaining and, yes, growing. The role you, our valued readers, play in supporting local journalism cannot be overstated. If you’re interested in a digital-only subscription, now’s a good time to sign up with an outstanding deal. And if you’re a home delivery subscriber, take advantage of these eight digital benefits by activating your digital access.

Get your Observer news, now.

Hours before the paper is printed and long after it has gone to bed, essential local news is being published on charlotteobserver.com. From midday urgent news to late-night election results and sports results with analysis, digital readers are immediately in the know.

We’re on all platforms

Exclusive and first news reported by a growing number of our staff’s journalists isn’t just found on our website, either. Digital subscribers also get alerted on their phone with our app, and have 24-hour access to the digital replica of the newspaper, including archived papers, using the e-Edition. You’ll find our sports reporters providing insight on podcasts, as well.

Free newsletters

Many of our digital subscribers sign up for their choice of free newsletters produced by our reporters. Among the most popular newsletters we offer comes from Charlotte Five, which features the very latest on the food and dining scene. We also have morning and afternoon newsletters highlighting up-to-date happenings in Charlotte, Panthers and Hornets reports, and an arts newsletter, among many others.

Unrivaled visual journalism

A picture is worth perhaps more than 1,000 words. The Observer’s website boasts sometimes startling, often beautiful and always timely pictures in photo galleries that you won’t find anywhere else. Our tremendously gifted staff of photojournalists elevates coverage with visual images. Videos further enhance that experience. Through videos, we got to know those running for public office even better, are regularly introduced to Charlotte FC players, and are taken behind the scenes with the subjects of compelling stories. More of our video content, including engaging explanations of hot topics, is posted on Instagram and TikTok.

Showcasing our research

Data visualizations and interactive maps are digital-only components of our coverage that deepen understanding of complex topics and lift statistics off pages in a lively way. Search salaries of taxpayer-funded jobs, find where trees are being demolished, see neighborhoods where investors have swallowed up homes, get status updates on homicides and so much more using databases and maps on charlotteobserver.com.

Answering your questions

Each weekday, our team of service journalists answers questions you’ve asked us online about a wide range of topics — including where to find the best parks in the area, where real estate trends are heading locally, how to get tickets to big sporting events, ways to research political candidates and what you need to know about the baby formula shortage in Charlotte.

A platform for your voice

Through our public forums and community engagement events, our digital audience is able to tap into the expertise of our reporters, hear directly from Charlotteans working to address the city’s most pressing issues and join the conversations we’re having on topics like racial inequity, education and public safety.

Best in class journalism

Charlotteobserver.com is rooted in watchdog and accountability journalism. Investigating dangerously under-performing nursing homes, tracking the disappearance of the city’s famed tree canopy in the shadow of massive growth and development, leading the coverage of Charlotte’s affordable housing crisis and examining the proliferation of corporate investors in the housing market are a few examples of the work done by Observer reporters — stories exclusively for our print and digital subscribers. Additionally, rich storytelling, comprehensive sports coverage and top-notch business reporting separates the Observer.

There are many reasons to make Charlotteobserver.com your go-to news source. It’s our goal every day to be relevant and essential in your lives, no matter your interest — opinion content, health care, transportation, retail, local government, politics, and arts and entertainment, to name a few. Thank you for your continued support that allows us to deliver the great journalism you deserve, both in the newspaper and on each of our digital platforms.

Rana L. Cash is the executive editor of The Charlotte Observer.