McClatchy sells Walter Magazine to The Pilot LLC, owner of several NC magazines

The parent company of the Southern Pines newspaper, The Pilot, as well as several North Carolina-based magazines, has acquired Walter Magazine from McClatchy, the owner of The News & Observer.

The move puts the magazine in the control of members of the Daniels family, which owned The News & Observer for more than 100 years before selling it to Sacramento, California-based McClatchy in 1995. The Pilot is run by Frank Daniels Jr., the former publisher of The N&O; Frank Daniels III; David Woronoff and former N&O executives Jack Andrews and Lee Dirks.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We’re excited to bring local ownership to Walter,” Frank Daniels Jr., The Pilot’s chairman, said in a statement. “Raleigh is one of the great places to live, highlighted by its vibrant arts community and we’ll showcase it with every edition. We intend to make Walter the best city magazine in America.”

For The Pilot, the purchase is a continuation of a strategy to own arts and culture magazines throughout the state. The publishing company has a stable of magazines across the state, including Business North Carolina, Greensboro’s O. Henry and PineStraw in Pinehurst.

The Pilot bought SouthPark Magazine from the Charlotte Observer, another McClatchy-owned paper, in 2019.

Woronoff, the publisher of The Pilot, said it was important that The Pilot had a foothold in all of North Carolina’s largest and fastest-growing markets, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt advertising for publishers across the country.

“(Walter) allows us to have a statewide footprint and deliver for our advertising customers in its three most desirable markets,” Woronoff said in an interview.

Walter had a circulation of 25,000 copies per issue as of 2019, and the magazine publishes 10 issues a year.

The purchase of Walter extends a printing agreement The Pilot has had with The News & Observer. For the past decade, The Pilot newspaper has been printed at an N&O facility in Garner. That partnership has been extended for another two years.

All of Walter’s current employees will continue in their current roles, and the magazine will sublet space in The News & Observer’s office in downtown Raleigh.

Woronoff said readers of Walter shouldn’t expect a drastic change, noting its employees will remain the same.

“We want Walter to be a magazine that tells the stories of Raleigh, and we want to do that in a compelling way,” he said. “Walter already does that.”

But the magazine will be adding some literary heft, he said. Walter will now include columns from three of North Carolina’s most prominent writers: Jim Dodson, a prominent golf writer; Wiley Cash, a New York Times bestselling author; and Daniel Wallace, director of creative writing at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Woronoff added that he has been impressed with Walter’s events business. He said The Pilot plans to use Walter’s experience with events and expand them to its properties in Greensboro and Charlotte as soon as it is safe to do so, given the pandemic.

The December issue will be the first edition of the magazine under the management of The Pilot. Former N&O and Walter publisher Sara Glines will consult with the magazine during its transition to new ownership.

“This is a win-win for both Walter and for The News & Observer readers,” News & Observer President and Editor Robyn Tomlin said in a statement. “Many of our readers will continue to receive copies of Walter as part of their subscription. And the Walter team will get the benefit of working with a larger creative team that is focused on producing beautiful magazines across the state. A terrific product will undoubtedly get even better.”

This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 6:00 AM.