828 News NOW
U.S. local/community, no established partisan lean
Background
828 News NOW debuted on April 3, 2024, as a free digital news platform for the Western North Carolina region — '828' being the local telephone area code. It was created by Saga Communications (NASDAQ: SGA), a publicly traded radio broadcast company founded in 1986 and headquartered in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, which owns or operates more than 100 radio stations across roughly 28 U.S. markets. Saga modeled the outlet on its earlier Clarksville Now platform in Tennessee, which had proven that a radio cluster could anchor a viable local digital news site. M.E. Sprengelmeyer, a journalist with more than 30 years of experience as a reporter, war correspondent, editor, and newspaper publisher, was named editor in chief. Saga reported roughly $1 million in pre-booked local advertising at launch, positioning the site as part of a broader strategy to blend traditional radio ad sales with digital offerings. The outlet completed its first full year of reporting in 2025, expanding original series covering regional history, folklore, and local restaurants. Because it is a hyperlocal outlet focused on Asheville and the surrounding mountain communities rather than national politics, its coverage does not follow a clear partisan pattern, and there is no documented record of editorializing in favor of or against the Trump administration.
Sources
- Saga's Asheville Cluster Launches Local Online News Platform 828NewsNow — Inside Radio
- Asheville Gets New Digital News Outlet As Saga Broadens Scope — Radio Ink
- Saga Asheville Brings News To The 828 — RAMP
- About Us — 828 News NOW
- 828newsnow: Contact Information, Journalists, and Overview — Muck Rack
- Saga Communications — Wikipedia
- 828newsNOW reflects on the features, series that anchored the year's coverage
Profile compiled 2026-08-15; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.