Longtime editor of the Wilmington StarNews, who oversaw transition to digital, dies at 84
Charles M. Anderson, the executive editor of the StarNews for nearly a quarter-century, died May 7 in Cary. He was 84 and had been in ill health for some time.
On social media, former StarNews reporters, editors and photographers praised "Andy" as a demanding but caring editor, dedicated to precision journalism.
"Anderson was a newspaperman's newspaperman," former StarNews Chief Photographer Jamie Moncrief wrote in a Facebook tribute. "Gruff, quick-witted, brutally honest, but always fair."
"Andy took his job as advocate and umpire for our community very seriously," said John Merritt, chief of staff to former congressman Charlie Rose and Gov. Mike Easley. "He worked to make the comfortable uncomfortable."
"Andy was a true journalist," said Gene Merritt, a Wilmington developer and a co-founder of what is now Downtown Wilmington, Inc. "He sought the truth of a matter in all stories and was not intimidated by money, power or StarNews upper management."
Born Oct. 19, 1938, in Ty Ty, Georgia, Anderson graduated from nearby Sylvester High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1957 to 1960 and was stationed in South Korea.
After his discharge, he attended college sporadically and started work at the Orlando Sentinel in the production department.
"He literally learned the newspaper business from the bottom up,” said his son, Paul.
Anderson went on to work with a string of newspapers in Ohio, including the Lima News and the Paynesville Telegraph. While at Lima, he met a fellow reporter, Annette Coniglio from Cleveland. The couple were married on Aug. 29, 1964.
In 1976, he moved to Wilmington and joined what was then the Wilmington Morning Star and Sunday Star-News as managing editor, shortly after the papers were acquired by The New York Times Co. The following year, he became executive editor.
Anderson oversaw a rapid expansion of the StarNews staff and installation of computers and modern digital editing. As editor, he pushed for enforcement of North Carolina’s open meetings law and for years published a regular “Secret Meetings Scoreboard,” noting whenever a local government board went into executive session.
He also published a periodic column which showcased his dry wit. One of his more famous spoofed politicians who failed to keep promises.
Anderson retired in 2001, but continued writing a guest column for several years afterward.
Annette Anderson died in 2022. The couple had four children, Garth, Paul, Christian and Kelly, and a total of seven grandchildren.
No public memorial service is planned. His family suggests memorial donations to local iterations of Meals on Wheels or to local emergency service agencies.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Longtime Wilmington NC StarNews editor Charles Anderson dies at 84
