So McClatchy now owns both major newspapers in the state: Raleigh’s News and Observer and the Charlotte Observer. Now that the dust has settled on the acquisition of the Observer, I’ve been curious to see what improvements subscribers would see.

I’m still waiting. N & O readers are led to believe that the world does not exist outside the borders of Wake, Durham, and Orange counties. There is scant news from the state’s largest city, Charlotte, nor much from any other significant living area. I’d be willing to bet that Observer readers are as in the dark about Raleigh as we are of them. I just don’t understand why a newspaper company with news rooms in both cities isn’t doing a better job sharing that news.

I’ve been living in North Carolina continously since 1992 and first lived here in 1983. Since then the state has grown enormously. Among other things, its become home to megabanks, lured professional sports teams (some of which are national champions), and picked up new seats in Congress as its population swells. Yet in spite of all this supposed progress the N & O still feels like a small-town newspaper. It still does a poor job covering this great state.

The quality isn’t stunning. I found it amusing to read a wire story last week about threats to John F. Kennedy’s life during his visit to Ireland. The N & O’s headline told of threats to “JKF.” Oooookay. Today’s front-page story told of -gasp- Wake Forest University not actually being in Wake Forest! Stop the presses! Throw in the paper’s bizarre obsession with influenza pandemics and you’ve got some top-rate journalism here.

If this is what passes for journalism around here its no wonder that online news sources are eating their lunch.