Charlotte business news coverage is lacking

Allison Braden writes for Charlotte Magazine about the issues with news coverage in the city, particularly business news.

Braden writes, “The Observer, in the nation’s second-largest banking hub, has a nominal banking beat, but the city lacks comprehensive coverage of big business and rarely exposes corporate malfeasance. (Deon Roberts, who covered banking for the Observer from 2013 to 2019, left to run communications for Brighthouse Financial.) ‘There are not that many people paying attention to what our biggest companies are doing,’ Mecia says, ‘to say nothing of what our smaller companies are doing.’ Another blind spot is the multibillion-dollar business of sports, a major driver of development.

“An issue that did get traction was the startling revelation that corporate investors purchased 25% of homes for sale in Charlotte in 2021. (This news was the product not of a local investigation but a Washington Post analysis.) Local media and even The New York Times picked up the story—to little effect. Investors continue to snap up homes, which contributes to a housing affordability problem that’s worsened despite consistent coverage. For short-staffed and cash-strapped outlets, it’s harder to root out causes than report on effects, and harder still to galvanize their niche audiences into action.”

Read more here.