Staff report

An attorney from Asheboro has launched what’s being billed as “North Carolina’s only statewide newspaper,” set to publish its first issue in early 2016.

The North State Journal, based in Raleigh, is the project of several former employees of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources — now the Department of Environmental Quality.

“There is a void in North Carolina’s media landscape, especially in balanced, thorough reporting,” Publisher Neal Robbins said in a press release.

Robbins was the environmental agency’s legislative liaison.

Sarah Lindh, communications director for the paper and its  publishing company, North State Media, said the paper would cover a wide range of topics, including news, sports, opinion and features.

“We’re trying to tell the story of North Carolina and give voice to citizens from every county,” Lindh told the Post.

Lindh said Robbins got financial support for the new company from friends and others. The paper will generate revenue from online and print subscriptions and advertising, she said.

The press release announcing the newspaper quoted Gordon Hurley of Salisbury, whose family owned the Salisbury Post for 85 years.

“North Carolina is ready for a statewide newspaper,” Hurley says in the release. “We are now the ninth most populous state, but our existing newspapers are increasingly smaller and more local.”

The North State Journal, which will publish five days a week, operates out of an office at 209 Fayetteville St. in downtown Raleigh. The newspaper started selling subscriptions online Monday at introductory rates of $160 a year for print and digital editions and $52 a year for digital access only.