NC Newsline, formerly known as NC Policy Watch, is a left-of-center news website with a focus on North Carolina state-level politics. The website is a part of the left-of-center nonprofit States Newsroom.

The website has a far-left critical race theory-inspired “diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice” policy which guides its news coverage. ¹ In January 2024, the website published an op-ed advocating for left-of-center immigration expansionist policies and amnesty for illegal immigrants. ²

Background

The North Carolina Justice Center founded NC Newsline as NC Policy Watch in 2004. According to its founding director Chris Fitzsimon, “it was a small initiative devoted to providing progressive commentary and analysis about state policy and politics.” ³

In 2023, States Newsroom, which is led by Fitzsimon, acquired NC Policy Watch and renamed it NC Newsline. ⁴

The website is free for all its users and features no paywalls. The website allows others to republish the content for free in exchange for an attribution. ⁵

DEIJ Policy

The NC Newsline has a critical race theory-inspired “diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice” policy. The policy claimed that “bias and systemic racism” are present throughout journalism itself. ⁶

The policy’s goal is to produce journalism that is a force for positive social change by challenging the inequality and racism many readers experience. The policy claims that the values of diversity and equity dictate what stories to cover, which sources to use, and which language to use. ⁷

Selected Commentaries

Immigration

In January 2024, NC Newsline editor Rob Schofield wrote an op-ed attacking Republicans on immigration and advocating for left-of-center immigration-expansionist policies. Schofield claimed that by enforcing laws against illegal immigration, numerous American industries would collapse due to their reliance on illegal-immigrant labor. Schofield also claimed that those advocating for the deportation of illegal immigrants were “white nationalists” and wanted to build walls reminiscent of the Soviet Bloc. Schofield labeled as “extreme” proposals to build more border walls, add more border patrol agents, and strip funding from groups alleged to facilitate illegal immigration. ⁸

University Curriculum

In February 2024, NC Newsline published an op-ed by former by North Carolina State University sociology professor Michael Schwalbe that opposed a requirement by the University of North Carolina that students study the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and the North Carolina State Constitution. Instead, Schwalbe wanted students to study “labor organizing, protest movements, how social change occurs, corporate power, the repressive tactics of powerful groups, and better ways of doing democracy.” ⁹

Education Governance

In February 2024, the NC Newsline published an op-ed by the North Carolina Justice Center’s Kris Nordstrom that complained about the legislature exercising its power over the state’s government education system, calling it an assault on “democratically governed schools.” Nordstrom criticized the expansion of school choice, school performance testing, parental rights, and the “lack of funding” for government schools. ¹⁰

Abortion Advocacy

In March 2024, the NC Newsline published an op-ed by Pro Choice North Carolina executive director Tara Romano that complained about abortion restrictions in North Carolina in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. She also celebrated the expansion of abortion access worldwide. ¹¹

Leadership

The editor of NC Newsline is Rob Schofield. ¹²

1. “Deij Policy .” NC Newsline. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/deij-policy/.
2. Schofield, Rob. “Bordering on the Ridiculous: Cynical Hypocrisy on Immigration Policy .” NC Newsline, January 9, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/2024/01/09/bordering-on-the-ridiculous-cynical-hypocrisy-on-immigration-policy/.
3. “An Important Announcement from the North Carolina Justice Center, States Newsroom and NC Policy Watch .” NC Newsline, February 23, 2023. https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/an-important-update-from-the-north-carolina-justice-center-states-newsroom-and-nc-policy-watch/#sthash.2xyG0O4G.dpbs.
4. “An Important Announcement from the North Carolina Justice Center, States Newsroom and NC Policy Watch .” NC Newsline, February 23, 2023. https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/an-important-update-from-the-north-carolina-justice-center-states-newsroom-and-nc-policy-watch/#sthash.2xyG0O4G.dpbs.
5. “About .” NC Newsline. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/about/.
6. “Deij Policy .” NC Newsline. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/deij-policy/.
7. “Deij Policy .” NC Newsline. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/deij-policy/.
8. Schofield, Rob. “Bordering on the Ridiculous: Cynical Hypocrisy on Immigration Policy .” NC Newsline, January 9, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/2024/01/09/bordering-on-the-ridiculous-cynical-hypocrisy-on-immigration-policy/.
9. Schwalbe, Michael. “Educating for Democracy.” NC Newsline, February 6, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/2024/02/06/educating-for-democracy/.
10. Nordstrom, Kris. “Reports Document Legislature’s Continued Assault on Democratic, Inclusive Public Schools .” NC Newsline, February 28, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/2024/02/28/reports-document-legislatures-continued-assault-on-democratic-inclusive-public-schools/.
11. Romano, Tara. “Today Is International Women’s Day: Let’s Celebrate…and Redouble Our Efforts .” NC Newsline, March 8, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/2024/03/08/today-is-international-womens-day-lets-celebrate-and-redouble-our-efforts/.
12. “About .” NC Newsline. Accessed March 11, 2024. https://ncnewsline.com/about/.