The Outer Banks Voice
U.S. local/community
Background
The Outer Banks Voice was founded in 2010 by Rob Morris, a veteran reporter from The Virginian-Pilot, and Russ Lay, a local banker and blogger, as a digital-native alternative to the print papers then serving the Outer Banks. The Columbia Journalism Review highlighted it in 2012 as a notable local news startup. In July 2019, the outlet was sold to Rick Loesch, owner of East Carolina Radio Inc. (ECRI), and Mark Jurkowitz, who had previously acquired and run the Outer Banks Sentinel, a competing print and digital paper. The Sentinel ceased publication that same month, consolidating much of the area's local news coverage at the Voice. Jurkowitz brings significant journalism credentials — he spent a decade at the Boston Globe and served as associate director of the Journalism Project at the Pew Research Center. The Voice generates roughly 7 million page views annually and maintains a substantial local social media following. It operates as the leading digital news outlet in Dare County, covering local government, environment, real estate, tourism, and community affairs with a local-first editorial focus rather than a national political one.
Sources
- Loesch, Jurkowitz Buy Outer Banks Voice | Coastal Review
- OBX Voice sold to Sentinel/East Carolina Radio team | The Outer Banks Voice
- The Outer Banks Voice — About
- East Carolina Radio Expands Footprint With Publication Purchase | Inside Radio
- The Outer Banks Voice | Columbia Journalism Review
- Outer Banks Sentinel ceases publication | The Coastland Times
Profile compiled 2026-08-28; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.