Our Mission
The Mount Olive Chronicle was founded on a simple premise: the residents of Wayne County, Duplin County, and the Mount Olive area deserve consistent, credible, locally rooted news coverage. Not wire service rewrites. Not aggregated content. Real reporting from journalists who live here, know this community, and are accountable to it.
We cover city and county government, schools, business, public safety, sports, and the everyday stories that make this corner of eastern North Carolina worth paying attention to. We are independent — we answer to our readers, not to shareholders.
Our Story
When the Mount Olive Tribune — the community’s weekly paper since 1904 — published its final edition on June 29, 2022, this region lost something that mattered: a dedicated local news source that had covered three generations of Wayne and Duplin County residents.
The Mount Olive Chronicle was founded to fill that gap directly. We launched as a digital-first publication covering the same communities the Tribune served, with the same commitment to local accountability that community journalism demands. The Chronicle is verified on Muck Rack and indexed by FindYourNews — two directories that track credible, independent news organizations across the United States.
Meet the Team
James Covington is a Wayne County native and veteran journalist with 18 years of community news experience across eastern North Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, James covers government, policy, and community affairs. He lives in Mount Olive with his wife and two children.
Covers K-12 education, Wayne County Public Schools, the University of Mount Olive, and James Sprunt Community College. A Goldsboro native and ECU journalism graduate who spent four years teaching in Wayne County schools before transitioning to journalism.
Covers Duplin County government, regional economic development, and agriculture. A Kenansville native and NC State graduate. Fluent in Spanish. Has covered rural economic issues across eastern North Carolina for nearly a decade.
Covers community events, arts, faith communities, and the cultural life of Mount Olive and surrounding towns. A Duplin County native and University of Mount Olive journalism graduate who also manages the Chronicle’s social media presence.
Covers high school athletics across Wayne and Duplin Counties and University of Mount Olive athletics. A former Southern Wayne High School baseball player and Wayne Community College communications graduate.
Covers public safety, courts, and law enforcement. Criminal justice background from Fayetteville State University. The Chronicle’s primary FOIA and public records specialist.
Our Editorial Standards
- Every story carries a named byline. We do not publish anonymous reporting.
- We verify before we publish. Claims are checked against primary sources.
- We correct errors promptly and transparently. Corrections appear at the top of the affected article.
- We separate news from opinion. Opinion content is clearly labeled.
- We never accept payment for coverage. Advertising is entirely separate from editorial decisions.
Full details: Editorial Policy →
“Have a tip, a story idea, or a correction? We want to hear from you.”