Wake Forest has always had stories worth telling. So today, Wake Forest NC news starts here.
If you’ve sat through a Board of Commissioners meeting and wondered why no one covered it — or watched a development go up on your street without a single article explaining the vote that approved it — you already understand why Wake Forest NC news matters. That gap is exactly why Wake Forest Matters exists.
Wake Forest Matters is your source for Wake Forest NC news — independent, nonpartisan, local. Unlike most outlets, we cover town government, schools, development, public safety, and the people shaping life in this community. And we answer to you — not to advertisers, not to politicians, not to anyone with a stake in keeping things quiet.
Why Wake Forest NC News Matters Now
Wake Forest is one of the fastest-growing towns in North Carolina. As a result, real decisions — about roads, schools, taxes, and public safety — get made right now in rooms where no journalist is present and no camera is rolling. The Town of Wake Forest makes decisions that affect every resident. Someone should be watching.
Local news deserts are not abstract problems. In fact, they carry real consequences: contracts go unscrutinized, public meetings go uncovered, and residents end up making decisions without the full story. We are here to change that for Wake Forest, NC.
Who Is Behind Wake Forest Matters
My name is Tom Baker IV — a Wake Forest native, a Navy veteran, and an intelligence professional. I started this publication because I love this town and the people who call it home and make it special.
Local news has been hollowing out across the country for years, and Wake Forest has felt it. For decades, the Wake Forest Gazette — Carol Pelosi’s publication — gave this community a reliable local voice. Carol did a wonderful job for a long time, and her paper is missed. Meanwhile, broader consolidation in the news industry has left countless towns without the coverage they deserve. Wake Forest Matters exists to help fill that void.
Wake Forest Matters began on October 12, 2025, as a Substack newsletter, and the response from this community made clear there is real appetite for serious local journalism here. This website is the next step — a professional home for that work. It is a passion project, built for the town I love and the people who make it what it is. Because that is what this has always been about.
What We Cover
- Town Government — Town Council, Board of Commissioners, budget decisions, and policy that affects your daily life.
- Schools & Education — Wake County schools serving Wake Forest students, school board decisions, teacher issues, and what’s happening in classrooms.
- Development & Growth — What’s being built, where, and who approved it. Impact fees, annexations, infrastructure capacity, and the funding gaps residents are quietly absorbing.
- Public Safety — Police, fire, emergency services, and the policy decisions behind them.
- Community & People — The residents, businesses, organizations, and events that make Wake Forest the town it is.
- Opinions & Letters — Commentary from the community, op-eds from residents, and responses to our coverage.
- Obituaries — Honoring the people who built this town.
How to Participate in Wake Forest News
Send Us a News Tip
You are our most important source. If you’ve seen something that doesn’t add up — a contract that seems off, a meeting officials skipped noticing publicly, a safety issue someone is brushing aside — tell us. We review every tip. Furthermore, credible leads get a full investigation.
Submit tips securely and anonymously at wakeforestmatters.com/tip-line, or email tips@wakeforestmatters.com. Additionally, we never disclose your identity without your consent.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Disagree with our coverage? Want to respond to an op-ed? Have a take on a local issue that deserves a public hearing? Write us a letter. Because letters are one of the most powerful tools in local journalism — they tell us what readers think and give the community a public voice.
Send letters to letters@wakeforestmatters.com. Also include your name and town of residence. We may edit letters for length and clarity.
Submit an Op-Ed or Community Column
Have a longer argument to make — about a development vote, a school policy, a public safety decision? We welcome opinion from community members, civic leaders, educators, and business owners. Ideally, op-eds run 400–800 words, focus on a specific local issue, and carry your real name. Send them to letters@wakeforestmatters.com.
Submit a Wake Forest Event
Hosting something worth sharing with the community? Submit Wake Forest events at wakeforestmatters.com/public-meetings or email publisher@wakeforestmatters.com. In particular, we prioritize public meetings, civic events, and community gatherings.
Submit an Obituary
Every life in Wake Forest deserves remembering. Therefore, we publish obituaries for Wake Forest residents at no charge. Send submissions — including a photo if available — to obituaries@wakeforestmatters.com.
Our Commitments to You
First, we verify before we publish. Our sourcing relies on primary materials — public records, official documents, on-the-record interviews, and direct observation. When we get something wrong, we correct it promptly and transparently.
Nonpartisanship is a core principle here. Specifically, we do not endorse candidates or take sides in elections. Our focus is on what Wake Forest government does, not which team does it.
Source protection is absolute. Moreover, confidential sources remain confidential. Period.
News and opinion are separate. Additionally, our reporting is factual. When we editorialize, we label it clearly.
Free to read, always. Finally, paywalls block the people who most need local information. Our Wake Forest NC news coverage is free and will stay free.
Subscribe Free — Never Miss a Story
The best way to follow Wake Forest Matters is also through our free weekly newsletter. Every week, we pull together the most important Wake Forest NC news and deliver it straight to your inbox — no algorithms, no noise, just the town you live in.
Subscribe free at wakeforestmatters.com/subscribe
If you find our journalism valuable, you can support our work with a paid subscription. However, we will never ask you to pay to read a story.
Wake Forest Has Always Had Stories Worth Telling
This town is growing fast. Every month, new residents arrive. Meanwhile, development decisions reshape neighborhoods, school enrollment climbs, and the people making those choices count on one assumption: that nobody is watching.
We are watching. Every story gets written down. And so everything we publish lives here — free, for everyone who calls Wake Forest home.
Welcome to Wake Forest Matters.
Wake Forest Matters is an independent, locally owned news publication covering Wake Forest, NC. We are not affiliated with any political party, government body, or corporate entity. Questions? Contact publisher@wakeforestmatters.com.
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Tom Baker IV is the publisher of Wake Forest Matters, Wake Forest’s only independent local newsroom. A Wake Forest native, Navy veteran, and intelligence professional, Tom launched Wake Forest Matters to bring serious accountability journalism to his hometown. Tips and story ideas: publisher@wakeforestmatters.com