1983
The first issue of The North
Carolina Independent is published April 16.
Dee Reid’s piece on toxic waste in North Carolina (“Armageddon”) is the paper’s first cover story.
The paper also publishes its first political endorsements.
First Edition
1986
Inaugural Pride marches take place in Durham.
INDY Week supports Pride celebrations to this day and remains dedicated to covering the Triangle’s LGBTQ+ communities.
Pride
1988
INDY‘s endorsement of Democrat Harold Hardison’s primary opponent leads to mass theft of papers by the campaign.
“Silent Warriors,” highlighting vital AIDS research throughout the Triangle, publishes.
Hardison Heist!
1990
“The Landlord Hall of Shame” series by Barry Yeoman publishes, bringing unethical and unsafe property management practices to light.
Landlords Beware
1992
Yeoman’s “Highway Robbery”
investigative series on the influence of political contributions on the state’s $1.6 billion transportation budget publishes.
Highway Robbery
1995
The paper covers Ladyslipper Music as it celebrates 20 years.
Ladyslipper
2000
Yeoman’s “Walking
Home” series on immigration publishes.
Immigration coverage
2001
The paper profiles Nnenna Freelon in a story about local artists navigating a changing industry.
Nnenna Freelon
2002
The Independent
buys Raleigh’s
Spectator.
Expansion
2003
The Independent gives public voice to the anti-war movement during the Iraq invasion.
Post-9/11
2005
“Growth Rules!” by Jennifer
Strom, on regulation of stormwater runoff and other environmental concerns, publishes.
Covering the environment
2006
First reader-poll
“Best of” issue publishes.
Introducing “Best of”
2007
“Stolen Youth” by Mosi Secret, on Erick Daniels’s wrongful conviction, publishes.
A wrongful conviction
2010
Hopscotch Music Festival is founded by Independent staffers.
The first festival takes place September 9–11 and features 130 bands in 10 venues.
Inaugural Hopscotch
2011
“A Brief History of Pimento Cheese” by Emily Wallace publishes
Tasty food coverage
2012
The Independent is sold to City of Roses, LLC, and is renamed INDY Week
Hello, “INDY Week”
2014
“DENR Covers Its Ash“
by Billy Ball; “Rivers of Ash” by Bob Geary; and “Canary in the Coal Ash” by Jane Porter on coal ash waste dumping all publish.
Coal ash reporting
2015
INDY Week sues the McCrory administration over withheld travel records.
Public records lawsuits
2016
The INDY covers House Bill 2.
HB2
2017
“Hogwashed,” a series by Ken Fine and Erica Hellerstein on NC hog farm waste, publishes.
“Man Without a Country,” coverage by Hellerstein on Pastor Jose Chicas hiding from ICE in a Durham church, publishes.
Award winners
2018
“Credible Fear,” a story
by Hellerstein on asylum for domestic abuse survivors, publishes.
Untold stories
2021
“New Church on
the Block” by Sarah Edwards, on the anti- LGBTQ+ Pioneers Church opening in downtown Durham, publishes.
Anti-LGBTQ+ watchdog
2023
“Durham’s ‘SCAD’: Good or Bad?” by Lena Geller, on local developers’ initiatives to change Durham’s UDO, publishes.
The Assembly takes over management of INDY Week.
New leadership
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