The newspaper was founded as a weekly on July 9, 1970, by Tom Wamsley and Ralph Hilton, with financial backing by Lucy and Jonathan Daniels, editor emeritus of the Raleigh News & Observer.
The newspaper's founding occurred on July 9, 1970, with Tom Wamsley and Ralph Hilton as its founders, supported financially by Lucy and Jonathan Daniels, who was previously the editor of the Raleigh News & Observer.