Ben Schachtman

Managing Editor

Ben Schachtman is a journalist and editor with a focus on local government accountability. He began reporting for Port City Daily in the Wilmington area in 2016 and took over as managing editor there in 2018. He’s a graduate of Rutgers College and later received his MA from NYU and his PhD from SUNY-Stony Brook, both in English Literature. He and his wife met and were married in Wilmington; they returned to the area after nearly a decade in New York City.  

Wilmington renews contract with the controversial company behind its red light cameras

By & • Nov 19, 2020
Hannah Breisinger

This week, Wilmington City Council moved to renew its contract with American Traffic Solutions, the company behind the city’s red light traffic cameras. That’s two years after North Carolina’s engineering board ruled that the company violated state law in its engineering plans. WHQR’s Ben Schachtman and All Things Considered Host Hannah Breisinger discuss how American Traffic Solutions is now planning to reconcile the issue.

Local Election Results

By , , , & • Nov 3, 2020

Wave Transit moves forward with controversial route changes

By & • Oct 31, 2020
Hannah Breisinger


Wave Transit is officially switching gears. Final route recommendations have been accepted by the Wave board, meaning the current system will be reconfigured. But that decision wasn’t made unanimously. WHQR’s Ben Schachtman and Hannah Breisinger have both been checking in on Wave, and discuss the latest developments.

WHQR Special Election Coverage

By & • Oct 30, 2020

Ben Schachtman and Rachel Lewis Hilburn unpack the dynamics that are shaping the 2020 Election in North Carolina and the Cape Fear region -- including a look at the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision extending the deadline for absentee ballots, how super PACs are trying to influence some races, who all these unaffiliated voters might be, and why politics is so divergent from policy-making.