The County News, a black newspaper in Statesville, NC, is purchased  
 
By Herbert L. White
The Charlotte Post  
After 29 years selling advertising for a newspaper, Fran Farrer-Nash is running her own.  
 
Fran Farrer-Nash of Charlotte has bought The County News, a black-oriented newspaper in Statesville, from Mason McCullough. Farrer-Nash, a former advertising and marketing director at The Charlotte Post, plans to turn The County News into a weekly publication serving five counties.  

Farrer-Nash is making immediate changes, starting with its frequency and format. The County News, which had been a bi-weekly will become a weekly, serving Iredell, Cabarrus, Catawba, Mecklenburg and Rowan counties.  
 
The publication will switch to a broadsheet for the Aug. 13 issue.  
 
"Going back to a weekly is really big news here," McCullough said. "Going back to a broadsheet is really big news."  

The County News' history -- and Farrer-Nash's -- is linked to The Charlotte Post. The Iredell County Post was launched in 1980 after McCullough convinced Charlotte Post publisher Bill Johnson to cover African American interests in the area. The publication was renamed The Iredell County News when McCullough bought controlling interest shortly after the paper's debut. Its name was shortened in 1997.  
 
"What's so important and exciting about this venture is that, my original boss at The Charlotte Post, Bill Johnson had a vision and saw a need in Iredell County in April of 1980," said Farrer-Nash, a onetime advertising and marketing director at The Post before leaving the company in July.  
 
"I too see the need and I have the energy and determination to make The County News a valuable servant of the underserved people of our enlarged circulation area.  
 
Plans call for The County News to reach out to communities underserved by mainstream media. John Minter, a former Post managing editor, is editor at large.  
 
"In a time when the dailies are struggling, dedicated citizens, particularly those in small communities, are looking to target market publications to bring them quality news for and about them and to provide contact to local businesses and professionals," Farrer-Nash said. "They are seeking insight into what's going on locally, politically and nationally, and that's just what we're going to do."
 
McCullough, who will remain with The County News as an advertising account executive and help with boosting circulation, calls the changes a "very good move."
 
"Fran has been involved in newspaper publishing for 29 years," he said. "I believe she can move the paper forward in a positive way."
 

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