Blue Ridge Public Radio is partnering with public media stations across the state to launch the North Carolina Newsroom, Capitol Bureau, a journalism collaboration expanding North Carolina state government news coverage for Western North Carolina audiences throughout the year. The collaboration is funded by a two-year grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
Public radio stations across North Carolina will be able to offer more localized stories about how state policy impacts their audiences. Through this collaborative initiative, WUNC (Triangle), Blue Ridge Public Radio (Asheville), WFAE (Charlotte), WHQR (Wilmington), and WFDD (Winston-Salem) are strengthening local journalism and sharing stories that matter to their communities.
BPR News Director Laura Lee sees great potential for Asheville-area audiences. “Given our distance to Raleigh, it can be a struggle to get legislators' attention. Having reporting staff at the Capitol will not only bolster BPR’s political coverage, but it also comes at an opportune moment as lawmakers begin to tackle the many issues related to Hurricane Helene recovery.”
Beginning this week, two new staff reporters will lead the North Carolina Newsroom, Capitol Bureau from the Legislative Building in Raleigh. Blue Ridge Public Radio will select stories that meet the needs of Western North Carolina-area audiences and request special coverage of key legislation.
Adam Wagner will serve as editor/reporter for the North Carolina Newsroom initiative. In addition to political reporting, Wagner will coordinate localized coverage with the five statewide public radio station partners and provide access to a range of audio and digital content.
Wagner has more than a decade of North Carolina reporting experience. Most recently, he served as Climate Change and Environmental Reporter at the News & Observer where he was part of a team that won several national awards for the investigative series Big Poultry, including an Investigative Reporters & Editors award and the Victor K. McElheny Award. As a reporter for the Star News in Wilmington, he helped lead the team that broke the GenX/PFAS story. Wagner is a graduate of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism & Honors program at Ohio University.
Mary Helen Moore report for the North Carolina Newsroom initiative. Moore’s state reporting experience includes coverage of real estate and growth at the News & Observer, where she most recently served as Durham Reporter. A native of Halifax County and a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate, Moore has won numerous awards from the North Carolina Press Association and Florida Society for Professional Journalism.
