Community Owned. Local News. Burke County, NC.
With the goal of providing Burke County with comprehensive, fresh, thorough, and responsible local news, The Paper has staffed its reporting and advertising teams with a fantastic blend of experienced, dedicated, and accomplished professionals.
The Paper extensively covers and publishes local news – and only local news – about our schools, businesses, governments, recreation, entertainment, happenings, and the celebrations and accomplishments of its people.
Community owned and locally managed, The Paper is published weekly on Saturdays.
“For months we have been working quietly to assemble a local news organization that is second to none,” said Allen VanNoppen, Publisher of The Paper. “Critical to this is balancing compelling and objective reporting with fresh and community-wide insight. We have an incredible team to do just that.”
Leading the charge is The Paper’s Editor, Bill Poteat, a multigenerational Burke County resident with proven credentials to manage the newsroom.
A graduate of the UNC-School of Journalism, Poteat has more than four decades of award-winning newspaper experience. He was a staff writer for The Covington Georgia News, political reporter and editor of The News Herald for 19 years, columnist for the Charlotte Observer for 14 years, and columnist and feature writer for The Gaston Gazette for five and a half years.
Poteat also taught literature, writing, and communication in the Burke County Public Schools for 18 years, the first nine at East Burke High and the last nine at Draughn High School.
“I’ve known Bill since 1980, when we both were young reporters on The News Herald,” VanNoppen said. “I cannot count the number of times he’s traveled to Raleigh to receive NC Press Association awards for his work. Who better to lead The Paper?”
A resident of Drexel, Poteat’s great-grandfather ran a blacksmith shop on Red Hill in Drexel, his grandfather was a cabinet maker at Drexel Furniture, and his father served as mayor of the small central Burke municipality.
Poteat will also cover Rutherford College for The Paper.
“Burke County is hungry for local news and for a newspaper that connects its readers to their community,” Poteat said. “Our emphasis will be on truth, on quality, and on delivering old fashioned, person-to-person customer service.”
The Paper’s Sports Editor, Paul Schenkel, is no stranger to Burke County coaches, players and parents. He is best known to local readers for his award-winning, 11-year tenure as sports editor of The News Herald.
An honor graduate of the University of South Carolina – Upstate, Schenkel also worked as a sports writer for the Spartanburg Herald and as assistant sports editor of the Shelby Star before coming to Burke County in 2010.
“Quality sports coverage is a key to the success of any newspaper,” said Poteat. “And in Paul Schenkel we have the ultimate sports pro. His 10 North Carolina Press Association awards speak to the quality of his writing, and coaches, players, and readers across the county speak of his ability to write interesting stories and build positive relationships and mutual trust.”
Another veteran journalist with outstanding credentials on The Paper’s news staff is Senior Reporter Marty Queen, who covers Burke County government, Morganton city government, and a host of other news and feature stories.
Queen was sports editor of The McDowell News in Marion for the past 30 years. In addition to his award-winning sports coverage, he has also written feature stories, personal columns, and editorials. Throughout, he has fostered trusting relationships with everyone on his beat.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the staff at The Paper,” Queen said. “It’s an exciting opportunity to be a part of something truly special. I look forward to learning all there is to know about the people of Burke County and making new friends along the way. It will be a pleasure to know them and a privilege to help tell their stories.”
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Editor Bill Poteat,” Queen continued, “and I’m anxious to work with someone of his expertise and experience. We have an outstanding team that will produce a superior product.”
Another member of that team is Angela Copeland, our Arts & Entertainment editor. She originally joined the team as our Education reporter, but has since stepped up to lead cultural coverage.
A South Carolina native, Copeland holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Auburn University and a master’s degree in English from Troy University.
Copeland, who recently moved to western Burke County from Texas, has worked as a reporter and editor for the Rocky Mountain News, as the public information officer for the Montgomery Public Schools, and in community relations and economic development for the municipality of Castle Rock in Colorado.
“I am thrilled to have a professional of Angela’s knowledge and experience join our staff,” said Poteat. “She hits the ground running in covering all aspects of education in Burke County with fresh eyes and with a fresh perspective.”
Reporting the news from Drexel, the Lake James area, and Health Care is Lake James resident Pam Walker.
Walker comes to The Paper with more than 30 years experience in communications and marketing. She was Public Information Officer for the city of Morganton for more than 10 years, leaving the city in 2006 to join the marketing team at VanNoppen Marketing. She retired in 2020 from Bridgeway Solutions as vice president of communications and marketing.
“I’m delighted to be part of the reporting team for The Paper,” Walker said. “Having known key members of the publishing, advertising and editorial team for many years, I am certain The Paper will be a fresh and welcome voice in our community.”
Equally experienced is The Paper’s Director of Business Development, Morganton resident Janina Linens who will bring effective advertising to businesses across the county.
A graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a bachelor of science degree in marketing, Linens knows this community and the needs of its businesses, having worked for 16 years as advertising director of both The News Herald and The McDowell News.
“I’m excited about offering local businesses a product that will put them in direct contact with local customers through both our print product and our vibrant digital presence,” said Linens. “We will be open and honest in helping our clients devise the best advertising strategy possible.”
Another member of The Paper’s team is Advertising-Marketing Coordinator Devan Berry, a Morganton native and a recent graduate of Appalachian State University with a bachelor of science degree in interior design.
“Devan is a proven sales professional,” said Linens, “with tremendous energy and enthusiasm. This, coupled with dedication to customer service and her knowledge of Burke County and its people, will bring significant effectiveness to our advertising clients.”
Ensuring that The Paper’s office functions smoothly and providing swift, personal attention to subscribers, vendors, and visitors is Lilly Brown, Office Manager.
A Morganton native and a graduate of Patton High School, Brown received an associate in science degree from Western Piedmont Community College.
“Lilly Brown is a jack of all trades,” VanNoppen said. “She’s the glue that holds together The Paper’s operations, internally and externally. She’s that critically important Can-Do, Get-It-Done pro every top notch business needs.”
VanNoppen’s deep interest in journalism reaches back to 1977 when he worked nights at the Richmond Times Dispatch in composing and layout while attending his alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University. He subsequently was a reporter for The News Herald (where he met Poteat) and The Greensboro News & Record.
For the past 22 years he led the team at VanNoppen Marketing, a versatile graphic design, web development, and marketing firm with hundreds of clients across the country. He continues his role there, albeit abbreviated, with the full support and engagement from its staff.
“I learned about quality community journalism in the late seventies from local legends J.D. Fitz and W. Stanley Moore,” VanNoppen said. “With The Paper we are returning to Burke County that template of unwavering, dedicated and aggressively thorough local journalistic commitment.”
