Personal News and the Future of Anderson Alerts

Starting on Jan. 1, 2026, Anderson Alerts will be changing ownership. But your continued membership and support is still very much needed to sustain my coverage of North Carolina politics.

Nearly three years ago, I found myself at a crossroads, subject to a non-compete clause that severely limited my ability to cover North Carolina politics.

So what was I to do?

“Should I move elsewhere, quit journalism, or try to find an alternate path to continue my political reporting in North Carolina?” I thought at the time.

True to form, I stubbornly chose the uphill climb. The result: the creation of this Anderson Alerts Substack newsletter.

From its inception, this endeavor was never intended to be a long-term operation. It was supposed to be a temporary solution as I looked for a good permanent reporting home with a trusted, nonpartisan news outlet. But weeks turned to months. And months turned to years. Seemingly no one was hiring a full-time North Carolina political reporter.

When my non-compete lapsed at the end of 2023, I again faced a tough choice: Should I continue down this difficult path?

I decided to do so by pivoting Anderson Alerts from something of a charitable mission (Year 1 net proceeds went to charity) to a more serious, one-man-band, for-profit news operation. The news tips kept coming, the stories kept breaking and the readers kept following.

Gross annualized revenue nearly quadrupled by the end of 2024 and has more than doubled compared to this time last year. Since the leadup to the 2024 general election, subscriptions have nearly quintupled.

Without readers like you, I wouldn’t have made it this far. And it is thanks to your support that I’m pleased to share a positive development.

After some extensive discussions and thoughtful reflection, I’ve accepted a full-time position with The Assembly— a longtime supporter that brought me on part-time earlier this year to launch The Caucus, a political newsletter for the news organization’s premium subscribers.

Effective immediately, I’ll be leading The Caucus and covering the General Assembly, executive branch and elections as a statewide politics reporter for The Assembly.

This will mean some changes here at Anderson Alerts. To make this arrangement possible, this Substack platform will move to The Assembly’s ownership starting January 1.

But rest assured, the Substack isn’t going away and there are no price increases on the horizon. So please don’t go anywhere!

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What comes next?

On January 1, The Assembly will obtain a list of subscribers and take ownership of this Substack platform. This Substack will continue to highlight all my reporting for The Assembly in North Carolina politics.

It’ll also showcase some of the best work of my political reporting colleagues. So folks are getting more content (in case North Carolina politics isn’t exhausting enough). All readers will continue to receive alerts, with paid members also having the benefit of full access to paywalled content.

Should there ever come a time when I am no longer working at The Assembly, either by my choice or theirs, I’ll retain the Anderson Alerts branding, have the ability to reach back out to you, restart my work independently and have no restrictions on any potential future employment.

Put simply, this is a terrific deal all the way around. It ensures my ability to continue doing the nonpartisan, contextual, accountability-driven work that I cherish for the foreseeable future, while simultaneously expanding The Assembly’s reach and political coverage.

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Help Wanted

I realize there may very well be some folks who already subscribe to The Assembly who may therefore feel a need to cancel their Substack plans. If you fall into this camp, please accept my sincere gratitude for your support of my reporting. While I do hope you’ll choose to stick around, you are able to cancel your membership here.

I also suspect there are many folks on here who wish to ensure they can still contribute in a way that directly supports my continued reporting. If you fall into this camp, there’s three ways you can have the biggest impact:

• Upgrade Your Substack Plan: Those wishing to maximize their support of my continued reporting can best do so by becoming annual or founding Substack members no later than December 21, 2025 (Substack has a seven-day lag in funds arriving). Here are step-by-step instructions on how to upgrade your plan from unpaid to paid and how to change your monthly plan to an annual or founding membership. You can contact Substack Support if you run into any issues.

• Don’t Go Anywhere: To paraphrase Jeb Bush’s signature “please clap” line, I say, “please stay.” This Substack has been a yearslong endeavor. With your continued support and engagement, it will remain.

• Subscribe to The Assembly: Anderson Alerts readers who aren’t already paid Assembly or Substack subscribers can maximize their support of me by signing up for a paid Substack or Assembly subscription.

To each and every Anderson Alerts subscriber, thank you so incredibly much for your continued support. Because of you, my reporting journey continues.

With love and gratitude,

Bryan Anderson