By Miles and Nicole Layton
Looking back on 2025 – wow, the Albemarle Observer had a pretty good year, reaching audiences from Ahoskie to Swan Quarter, Edenton to Washington, Hertford to Currituck, and Camden. We’ve expanded our reach from Edenton to include 10 surrounding counties, becoming the voice of Northeast North Carolina.
We want to thank our readers and supporters because without you, none of this would be possible. Trust in prayer and have faith in God.
We reached hundreds of thousands of people — and not just in NE NC. Stories about Colony Tire founder Charlie Creighton’s passing went near and far. Marie Steinburg finding an inmate in her car — that story went crazy viral — same as showing video footage of the Confederate Memorial being removed at midnight on Labor Day weekend or that fire at Captain Bob’s. If you wanted to know about a possible property tax increase, you turned to the Albemarle Observer. If your mayor closed the town’s food pantry before the holidays, you saw that story first in the Albemarle Observer. Our revolution in news coverage showed how much is happening in our corner of coastal Carolina. Thanks for reading, subscribing.
On that note — Subscribe to receive updates via email. It’s free!
Looking ahead toward 2026 – we hope to consolidate our gains and build our congregation so that everyone knows about and has access to important news that affects our communities. We plan to dive deeper into local governance – maybe find out which county has the highest property taxes in the region – maybe uncover more about the Harbor Towns Project; where are we with that multi-million venture? – certainly report on emerging property and commercial developments that are changing our region’s landscape. When will the Confederate Memorial in Edenton be rebuilt? NC Auditor’s Office is pursuing several audits – will those findings indicate a clean bill of health or uncover corruption and incompetence?
We also intend to continue interviewing folks, be it a county pastor or lawyer, perhaps a new police officer or teacher, to learn more about our hometowns and each other.
We will explore our faith-based worship communities because they reflect who we are and what we represent.
We plan to cover more sports – be it the Aces against Bertie County High School or Northeastern – we’ll be writing more sports stories and featuring more profiles about local athletes.
We also plan to expand our advertising reach to help local businesses build their customer base. If you want quality meat, shop at Layden’s Country Store or for a good seafood dinner, go to Story’s Seafood. Waterman’s has great steaks, and Edenton Bay Trading Company has an amazing wine selection, plus beer, topped off by great customer service. White’s Shopping Center in Mann’s Harbor has great fries and hamburgers, while Fairfield Gas Bar has tasty biscuits. Need a boat? Albemarle Boats, Regulator Marine or several other locally built watercraft in the region. Need a realtor or a lawyer? We can point you in the right direction. If we can build our small-business base, the region will thrive as a whole.
This isn’t just a job for us – it’s a means to serve God, our people and places – to build a better Northeast North Carolina.
Thanks for your support — let’s move the ball forward.
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
2 responses to “Looking Forward: Albemarle Observer’s Plans for 2026”
We love vested community contributors seeking out and highlighting what brings value and unity to our whole community, not rage and division by a few. Thank you for your care, contributions and balanced transparency that reflects Chowan’s and the Albemarle region’s most important shared values. Cheers to a great year behind and an even greater year before the Albemarle Observer … and the people who make it so trusted, welcome and valued 🙏
Thx for reading, support!
Have a happy New Year!
— Miles