Charlotte is a rapidly growing city that will soon tip the scales with more than 1 million people. That means more stress on a transportation network that includes the sixth-busiest airport in the country, a train and bus system grappling with safety concerns, roads that are increasingly congested, and pedestrians and bike riders looking for alternative solutions to it all.
The Charlotte Observer is seeking a transportation reporter deeply interested in how the city and region moves. Transportation and commuting are at the heart of some of the area’s biggest and most important stories. After much lobbying and campaigning, a referendum passed in November 2025 to raise the county sales tax to fund billions of dollars for roads, rail lines and busing. A deadly stabbing on the light rail made international news.
The newly formed Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority is responsible for how that money is spent and how those projects operate.
This reporter will hold the 27-member board accountable, report on its budgets and decisions, and mine data for trends impacting commuters.
Additional story ideas — from the area’s most dangerous intersections to the airport’s enormous parking rate hikes, from major construction project headaches to the newest trails for bike riding — are plentiful. They provide opportunities for frequent publishing that makes the reporter a recognized authority on issues related to transportation, transit and commuting.
Charlotte is a major hub for American Airlines, making Charlotte Douglas International Airport of primary interest to local travelers. Whether its daily turnaround stories on route cancellations and new destinations, or deeper dives into airport construction and union tensions, CLT, American and other airlines are of high interest to Observer subscribers.
And that’s who is at the center of the Transportation reporter’s story decisions. If subscribers want to read about environmental tensions caused by traffic, pot holes that haven’t been fixed in months, sidewalks that are unkempt, routine trouble spots causing intolerable rush-hour backups and appointments for driver’s license renewals that are seemingly impossible to schedule, this reporter doesn’t hesitate. Using public records, crowd-sourcing, official contacts, boots on the ground and AI tools, the reporter doesn’t miss a beat.
About The Charlotte Observer: We pride ourselves on breaking stories first and producing impactful, accountability-driven journalism that serves our community. We were co-finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for our reporting on Hurricane Helene, won the National Headliner Award for a riveting series on the deadliest plane crash in Charlotte history, and collected numerous prestigious awards for our business, features and sports reporting.
Our journalism focuses on our local communities, and in that role we have the ability to spotlight problems, highlight solutions and truly make a difference -- all the reasons you got into journalism. And we are part of McClatchy Media Company, a digitally driven company focused on innovation, with newsrooms in 30 communities in the United States.
Our newsroom is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, a vibrant area with a bustling business community, an NFL and NBA team, a rich arts scene, and an array of unique restaurants and recreational opportunities. You’ll find this region offers a high quality of life and a front-row seat to compelling stories.
In this role, you will need to: - Focus on stories of highest interest to our loyal subscribers
- Balance medium-term accountability reporting with quicker-turnaround stories
- Consider multimedia storytelling in your reporting
- Demonstrate speed, competitiveness and innovation in reporting
McClatchy Media’s journalists are expected to take advantage of opportunities to ethically harness and leverage artificial intelligence and other automation to enhance and elevate their work and to find efficiencies that free them to focus on source-building and high quality, deeply reported journalism.
Must have: - College degree or equivalent work experience
- A minimum of 2-4 years of reporting experience.
- Strong writing skills, excellent news judgment and a demonstrated ability to “see the story” that is going to matter to readers.
- Unwavering commitment to accurate, ethical journalism.
- Ability to build source networks and bring a constant flow of story ideas.
- Ability to work collaboratively to aggressively tackle stories.
- A track record for innovation, learning and using new skills and technologies
- Reliable transportation. Must have valid driver’s license and vehicle insurance required
What We’ll Bring: As a journalist at McClatchy, you will join a supportive, flexible, collaborative team. McClatchy strives to be an employer of choice, and our benefits package is made with this goal in mind. With a focus on health, well-being, wealth and daily life, our package options include health care coverage for employees and their families, financial protection from expected and unexpected expenses, multiple no-cost wellness resources and even coverage for four-legged friends.
Our overall benefits package also includes a 401(k) with employer match, competitive paid time off and corporate holidays, and a variety of mental health benefits. With an excellent support team and with focus on your well-being as a top corporate strategy, McClatchy provides benefits to support you and your family in achieving your health and wellness goals. For more information on McClatchy's benefit plan, please visit McClatchyLivewell.com
To apply , include a persuasive cover letter, your resume and four to six examples of your best work.
About the McClatchy Media Company The McClatchy Media Company features a portfolio of vibrant and trusted news, lifestyle, entertainment brands and a robust retail distribution network. Our iconic local news brands such as the Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and The Sacramento Bee have collectively earned a total of 57 Pulitzer prizes and are complemented by popular lifestyle and entertainment brands such as Us Weekly and Woman’s World. Together, our brands reach more than 100 million unique visitors a month. The McClatchy Retail Network, our distribution and logistics arm, offers delivery to more than 56,000 retail locations weekly. #LI-RB1