Historic Charlotte
An illustrated history of the City of Charlotte and the Mecklenburg County area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
An illustrated history of the City of Charlotte and the Mecklenburg County area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
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LEADER<br />
NEWSPAPERS<br />
Since 1972, The Leader has been<br />
<strong>Charlotte</strong>’s alternative voice for news, politics,<br />
cultural events, society news and<br />
commentary. Founded by media veterans Stan<br />
and Sis Kaplan, who still own the weekly<br />
newspaper today, The Leader has earned a<br />
reputation for in-depth, investigative<br />
reporting and award-winning writing. From<br />
political coverage to human interest stories to<br />
music and theater, <strong>Charlotte</strong>ans can count on<br />
The Leader for insightful coverage of<br />
important issues facing <strong>Charlotte</strong> and<br />
Mecklenburg County.<br />
And now, John Kilgo is back. The Leader’s<br />
cover columnist and first publisher has<br />
returned to provide his unique brand of<br />
commentary. Kilgo headlines a group of<br />
columnists who provide readers with thoughtprovoking<br />
commentary every week.<br />
The Leader has expanded its horizons to the<br />
north Mecklenburg area. A sister publication, the<br />
North Meck Leader, provides detailed coverage of<br />
news, features and more in the growing north<br />
Mecklenburg towns of Huntersville, Cornelius,<br />
and Davidson, as well as the University of North<br />
Carolina <strong>Charlotte</strong> area.<br />
The Kaplans established themselves as<br />
leaders in the <strong>Charlotte</strong> media when they<br />
launched radio stations WROQ (FM 95.1)<br />
and Big WAYS (AM 610) in 1965. Then in<br />
1972, Kilgo, the station’s news director,<br />
helped the Kaplans launch their first<br />
newspaper endeavor, the predecessor of<br />
today’s Leader newspaper.<br />
The Leader’s editor Andy Warfield<br />
maintains a focus on local news, including the<br />
pressing issues of growth and the challenges<br />
facing local public education and local<br />
government in a rapidly growing<br />
metropolitan area. Over the years, The Leader<br />
has received dozens of awards from the North<br />
Carolina Press Association, the National<br />
Association of Advertising Publishers and the<br />
Association of Free Community Newspapers<br />
for its writing, photography, advertising<br />
design, typography, and general excellence,<br />
among others.<br />
The Leader and the North Meck Leader reach<br />
140,000 readers throughout <strong>Charlotte</strong> and<br />
Mecklenburg County. Supported entirely by<br />
advertisers, The Leader is free, but its value to<br />
the community is priceless.<br />
HISTORIC CHARLOTTE<br />
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