The Appalachian Competitors

Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as engaged global citizens who understand their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. Our location in the distinctive Appalachian mountain town of Boone, North Carolina, profoundly shapes who we are. As a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina, we fulfill our core academic missions of teaching, scholarship, and service in ways that honor our geography and heritage.

The Charlotte Observer, an information company, publishes a daily newspaper, multiple magazines, and websites focused on communities of the Charlotte, North Carolina, region. The company was founded in 1886. The Charlotte Observer is a subsidiary of the McClatchy Company. Visit the main website at www.charlotteobserver.com.

The Daily Tar Heel is a student-run newspaper that serves the communities of UNC-Chapel Hill and Orange County, N.C. Student journalists are solely responsible for all DTH news content under the direction of the editor-in-chief. The 2025-26 editor-in-chief is Alli Pardue. The DTH also comprises our advertising team, as well as the 1893 Brand Studio: a student-powered agency that merges traditional storytelling values with modern marketing strategies. The studio offers a range of services — from graphic design work, to social media guidance, to the creation of paid content. Here at The DTH, we are fiscally and editorially independent. DTH Media Corp., a nonprofit organization, stopped taking UNC student fees in 1993 and has since been fully funded by its advertising revenue, the 1893 Brand Studio and private giving. The paper’s business operations are governed by a 12-member, student-majority board of directors whose open slots are filled by the board each spring for the next year. At any give time, approximately 300 UNC students can rightly claim to be a member of The DTH staff in news, production design, advertising sales, marketing and customer service positions. The student payroll exceeds $250,000 per year. The company also employs three professional staff in support functions.