COMMUNITY VOICES AND COMMENTARY STRENGTHEN N.C.

Beacon Media serves local news and community outlets that reach communities across North Carolina. We provide community media with high-quality commentary on issues that matter—to help you keep serving your communities in a rapidly-changing media economy.

Building Relationships

We build relationships with existing and emerging community leaders across the state who are working on the issues that will make North Carolina thrive.

Produce Commentary

We help emerging leaders produce commentary about their communities: what issues they’re facing, what lessons they’ve learned, and what they want the rest of North Carolina to know about them.

Syndicate & Distribute

We distribute their work for free to print and digital publications, nonprofit institutions, community thought leaders and through community radio in English and Spanish.

Who we are

North Carolina has the second largest rural population outside of Texas. We have people who have lived here for generations, and millions of people who have moved into our state in the past few years. We syndicate thought leaders and advocates who understand the complexity of our state and who care deeply about policies that will make North Carolina a better place to live for all North Carolinians.

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Beacon voices

At Beacon Media, our stories are shaped by a dynamic group of contributors whose roots run deep in North Carolina. From lifelong residents to recent arrivals, our Beacon Voices bring unique perspectives that truly reflect the diversity of our state. They delve into overlooked stories with dedication, aiming to spark meaningful conversations and affect real change. These contributors are more than just journalists; they are engaged citizens and passionate advocates for their communities.

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Our Stories

Jun 12, 2025 / By

Gwen Frisbie-Fulton: Congress is pushing to drastically cut food aid. Why? 

There is no way that the charitable food bank network — as big and robust as it is — can make up for these devastating cuts. SNAP is, by far, the most efficient and cost-effective way to make sure that people in our communities have enough to eat. What's more, grocers in poor and working-class neighborhoods like mine, as well as rural communities, rely on SNAP dollars to stay open.

READ MORE

May 28, 2025 / By

Martin Henson: It’s time to address ‘church hurt’

If the church really wants to entice an increasingly nonreligious society to come back into its fold, it is their responsibility to move past its own ego and provide a place for people to process their church hurt.

My church hurt was simple. One of my pastors cheated on his wife. The church fractured. I felt betrayed by the contradictions I witnessed, not yet old enough to understand that the church is made up of people who make mistakes.

READ MORE

May 28, 2025 / By

Dalton George: Psst, elected officials — get out there and talk to people

Regardless of party, most people hate politics, they distrust the system, and they feel left behind, unheard, and sidelined. I understood how they felt. So how could I reconcile this with being an elected official? I decided on an “ambitious” idea — aiming to talk to people.

These town halls have very little format, lots of me answering questions, sharing frustrations, and inviting people to help me solve the problems. It's risky, no doubt, for an elected official to deviate from the script, but to meet this moment it's also necessary. Opening yourself to a dialogue, answering any question asked can be a challenge, but importantly it also humanizes our decision-makers.

READ MORE

May 28, 2025 / By

Billy Corriher: N.C. can’t let sore loser candidates undermine our democracy

The losing candidate — Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin — couldn’t steal the election, but he did immeasurable damage to the public’s faith in our democracy. He challenged 65,000 ballots from voters who complied with all the rules, and four justices on our state Supreme Court agreed to throw out some of them. 

Griffin never presented any evidence that voters did anything wrong in casting their ballots, but it suddenly looked like their votes might not count.

READ MORE

May 20, 2025 / By

U.S. Army Veteran: The Trump era isn’t politics as usual. It’s a betrayal of veterans like me

This isn’t politics as usual. This is dangerous. Over the past few months, I’ve watched headlines roll in with a knot in my stomach. Cuts to vital veterans’ services. Mass layoffs of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ staff. Unelected power brokers unraveling programs that took decades to build, with no accountability to the American people. President Donald Trump, backed by the likes of Elon Musk, has allowed his political allies to gut federal agencies, including those that directly serve veterans and their families.

READ MORE

May 14, 2025 / By

Ray Hemachandra: North Carolina should show we value everyone — including those with disabilities

More than 14,000 North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive 'Innovations Waiver' benefits under Medicaid. My son is among those receiving help.

But thousands more North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities — almost 19,000 of them — are on the “Registry of Unmet Needs,” the waitlist to receive these services under Medicaid.

READ MORE

Our Stories

Jun 12, 2025 / By

Gwen Frisbie-Fulton: Congress is pushing to drastically cut food aid. Why? 

There is no way that the charitable food bank network — as big and robust as it is — can make up for these devastating cuts. SNAP is, by far, the most efficient and cost-effective way to make sure that people in our communities have enough to eat. What's more, grocers in poor and working-class neighborhoods like mine, as well as rural communities, rely on SNAP dollars to stay open.

READ MORE

May 28, 2025 / By

Martin Henson: It’s time to address ‘church hurt’

If the church really wants to entice an increasingly nonreligious society to come back into its fold, it is their responsibility to move past its own ego and provide a place for people to process their church hurt.

My church hurt was simple. One of my pastors cheated on his wife. The church fractured. I felt betrayed by the contradictions I witnessed, not yet old enough to understand that the church is made up of people who make mistakes.

READ MORE

May 28, 2025 / By

Dalton George: Psst, elected officials — get out there and talk to people

Regardless of party, most people hate politics, they distrust the system, and they feel left behind, unheard, and sidelined. I understood how they felt. So how could I reconcile this with being an elected official? I decided on an “ambitious” idea — aiming to talk to people.

These town halls have very little format, lots of me answering questions, sharing frustrations, and inviting people to help me solve the problems. It's risky, no doubt, for an elected official to deviate from the script, but to meet this moment it's also necessary. Opening yourself to a dialogue, answering any question asked can be a challenge, but importantly it also humanizes our decision-makers.

READ MORE

May 28, 2025 / By

Billy Corriher: N.C. can’t let sore loser candidates undermine our democracy

The losing candidate — Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin — couldn’t steal the election, but he did immeasurable damage to the public’s faith in our democracy. He challenged 65,000 ballots from voters who complied with all the rules, and four justices on our state Supreme Court agreed to throw out some of them. 

Griffin never presented any evidence that voters did anything wrong in casting their ballots, but it suddenly looked like their votes might not count.

READ MORE

May 20, 2025 / By

U.S. Army Veteran: The Trump era isn’t politics as usual. It’s a betrayal of veterans like me

This isn’t politics as usual. This is dangerous. Over the past few months, I’ve watched headlines roll in with a knot in my stomach. Cuts to vital veterans’ services. Mass layoffs of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ staff. Unelected power brokers unraveling programs that took decades to build, with no accountability to the American people. President Donald Trump, backed by the likes of Elon Musk, has allowed his political allies to gut federal agencies, including those that directly serve veterans and their families.

READ MORE

May 14, 2025 / By

Ray Hemachandra: North Carolina should show we value everyone — including those with disabilities

More than 14,000 North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive 'Innovations Waiver' benefits under Medicaid. My son is among those receiving help.

But thousands more North Carolinians with intellectual and developmental disabilities — almost 19,000 of them — are on the “Registry of Unmet Needs,” the waitlist to receive these services under Medicaid.

READ MORE