Welcome back to our Contributor of the Week series! This week we're spotlighting James Tuliano from Cary, North Carolina. James has been NewsBreak contributor since 2021, but he’s been posting even more consistently for the past year. Throughout this time, he’s carved out a space for himself on the platform as owner of The Cary Report, a local news and media organization serving the area.
James has written dozens of stories spanning different subjects. Most recently, he wrote about an Easter egg hunt taking place in Cary, a feature on the beloved Fred G. Bond Metro Park, a look at a local theater’s new all-you-can-eat taco event, and a story on a nonprofit organization that connects international people with host families.
While his stories touch upon all different subjects, the underlying thread between them, James says, is that they’re “actionable,” and of course, Cary-specific.
One of James’ favorite stories for NewsBreak is an article he wrote on a local restaurant expanding into a bakery and breakfast spot. The expansion happened in large part because a talented employee of the restaurant was thinking about leaving the job to take a role as a pastry chef and come closer to her goal of one day owning her own bakery. Instead, the owner of the restaurant offered the employee a role in the expanded locale.
James captures the importance of the employee in his story with an interview with the restaurant owner, who said, “Losing Leann was not an option for me, so we put our heads together and carved out a new role.”
“The restaurant is a staple within the community and the employees and owner that I talked to are so passionate about what they do,” James told NewsBreak. “They made the exciting expansion feel very human and meaningful.”
Writing the article renewed James’ determination to uncover the hidden stories behind the places and people we cross paths with every day.
“The businesses that we pass every day all have interesting and heartfelt stories attached to them,” James said. “ Local businesses are what make my town Cary, and the rest of the country, so great.”
He advises fellow contributors to take the time to talk to people around them in their local community because they might be surprised by what they learn.
“Even if you aren't a journalist, you would absolutely benefit from listening to the workers of your favorite small business and it would be difficult not to feel inspired,” James said.
