CityView
U.S. center-left (local watchdog)
Background
CityView was founded in 2006 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, as a local lifestyle magazine by Marshall Waren. Around 2019–2020, Tony Chavonne, a former mayor of Fayetteville, purchased the publication and redirected it toward civic journalism. In 2022, Chavonne launched CityView Today, a free daily online newsletter dedicated to covering local government and hard news in Cumberland County, responding to the hollowing out of Fayetteville's local daily newspaper. To sustain independent news coverage, a companion nonprofit — the CityView News Fund, later renamed the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville — was established to accept grants, reader donations, and foundation support; the outlet also secured a Report for America grant for a dedicated healthcare reporter covering health disparities in the region. In 2022, the North Carolina Press Association awarded CityView its Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Award for government watchdog reporting. In 2024, Chavonne announced a gradual ownership transition to The Assembly, a Durham-based statewide digital news outlet founded in 2021 and rated center-left by media analysts; the transition was ongoing into 2026. CityView describes itself as a nonpartisan local watchdog, though its coverage tone and its integration into The Assembly's network place it broadly in the center-left range of North Carolina regional media.
Sources
- The Last Word: CityView undergoes transition of ownership to The Assembly
- Our mission – CityView NC
- The Assembly aims to be a state-level, digital-first Atlantic Magazine for North Carolina – Nieman Lab
- News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville
- CityView Today – Report for America
- CityView, The Assembly create strategic partnership
- The Assembly NC – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
- CityView awarded Report for America grant for health care reporter
Profile compiled 2026-08-18; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.