Fannie Flono, a 1999 Nieman Fellow, has retired from The Charlotte Observer after a distinguished 30-year career at the paper. Her time there included positions in both the news and editorial departments; Flono first served as city editor, political editor, and assistant state editor before joining the Observer’s editorial section in 1993 as both an editorial writer and columnist. Reacting to the news of her retirement, her colleagues and readers praised her as a journalist unafraid to speak truth to power and an advocate for the underdog.