By Megan V. Williams
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/whqr/local-whqr-572737.mp3
Whiteville, NC – Last Thursday, the lead headline in the News Reporter read: Columbus County Commission Has No Rules. Flip below the fold and you'd find Commissioners Closed Session 'No Doubt' Illegal."
Those hot-seat headlines are the handiwork of Nicole Cartrette, the paper's county reporter. In less than a year on the beat, she's found much of the county's information hidden in a tangle of bureaucracy. And working for a small community paper, Cartrette's had to rely more on her powers of persuasion, than threats of lawsuits, to bring those stories to light.
In honor of Sunshine Week, WHQR talked with Cartrette about her work.