Benjamin Schachtman
News DirectorBen 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 loves spending time with his wife and playing rock'n'roll very loudly. You can reach him at BSchachtman@whqr.org and find him on Twitter @Ben_Schachtman.
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A veteran police chief alleges good ol’ boy corruption, a long-running human trafficking case is quietly dismissed, and prosecutors win a high-profile double-murder case without any physical evidence. Three stories this week illustrate the limits of what we can know about both civil and criminal court cases — and the temptation to use overarching narratives as shortcuts to patch the blank spots on the map. -
This year's WHQR luncheon guest was Tamara Keith, Senior Political Correspondent and co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. Keith spoke about covering the president, the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and her new series, Swing Shift, a long-term project to document the perspectives of voters in swing states. Keith also took questions from our audience and sat down with WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman. -
WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman revisits his conversation about Juneteenth with Joe Conway, former chief equity and inclusion officer for the City of Wilmington and currently director of community engagement at UNC Health. Three years later, what's changed about the holiday, and how the nation is dealing with identity and history?
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On Thursday, jurors returned guilty verdicts for Omonte Bell and Dyrell Green, charged in the shooting death of Koredreese Tyson and Bri’Yanna Williams, and the attempted murder of M’Kayla Walker. Bell and Green were both sentenced to life in prison without parole. -
The Eastwood overpass or 'flyover' project addresses a notoriously slow intersection, but residents have voiced concerns over the timing, safety, and efficacy of the $81.4 million project. That includes many who have moved to the area in the seven years since NCDOT held its last public hearing on the project. -
On Tuesday, charges against six people previously indicted as part of an investigation into Cape Fear Escorts were dropped, citing insufficient evidence. The case was announced three years ago in a high-profile release from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, which included hundreds of charges. One defendant, Christopher Todd Evans, was convicted in federal court and later entered into a plea deal on state charges. -
In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, former Wrightsville Beach Police Chief David Squires alleged he was pressured to accommodate politically connected residents, including a successful developer and the town’s former mayor, now the vice chair of The Endowment. -
A controversial valedictorian speech at a Wilmington high school prompted questions about ‘dog whistling,’ the art of saying something without quite saying it. What does that mean for journalists covering anti-semitism and other forms of bigotry? And how does that look against the backdrop of a creeping nihilism, where nothing means anything at all? -
From this week's Sunday Edition: A battle over new hospital beds is coming this summer, and the county hopes to stay out of it. Plus, unpacking a local leader's quip about 'Joe Blow the ragman.' -
Cape Fear Community College recently settled a lawsuit filed by former trustee Ray Funderburk, and WHQR’s Rachel Keith has been poring over depositions from the case, including sworn testimony from top college officials. She joins News Director Ben Schachtman to share what she’s learned about the case — and more broadly, about CFCC’s leadership.
