Mercury Local
Welcome to Mercury Local, LLC. We publish The Charlotte Mercury, Strolling Ballantyne, The Farmington Mercury, and other hyperlocal news sites. By using any of our sites, you agree to the following terms. We keep them readable, but we also add the boring-but-necessary legal muscle at the end.
The Human-Friendly Version
1. What We Do
We publish journalism — slow, thoughtful, privacy-first journalism. We don’t sell your data, and we don’t chase clicks. Our sites are funded the old-fashioned way: ads that are designed to support our local partners, not spy on you.
2. What You Can Do
- Read, share, and talk about our stories.
- Share them under our Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 license (CC BY-ND 4.0).
- Always credit the site and link back.
3. What You Can’t Do
- Remix or alter our stories without permission.
- Sell or repackage our journalism.
- Use our sites to spam, hack, or promote scams.
4. What We Don’t Do
- We don’t provide legal, medical, or financial advice.
- We don’t guarantee that our reporting will solve your zoning problem, your school board frustration, or your HOA drama.
5. Ads & Partners
We are ad-supported. Our partners are local businesses. Ads appear on our sites to inform you, not to chase you. They are non-intrusive by design.
The Lawyer-Friendly Version
Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina. Any disputes must be resolved in state or federal courts in Mecklenburg County, NC.
Intellectual Property & Licensing
All original journalism and media produced by Mercury Local is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0).
- You may share our content with attribution and a link.
- You may not remix, transform, or create derivative works without permission.
- Third-party materials (ads, photos, syndicated content) may carry separate rights.
Limitation of Liability
All content is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind. Mercury Local disclaims all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We are not liable for any damages arising from your use of our sites.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Mercury Local, LLC, its officers, employees, and contributors against any claims or expenses resulting from your misuse of the sites or violation of these Terms.
User Conduct
You agree not to use our sites to:
- Post unlawful, defamatory, or infringing material.
- Harass or abuse staff or readers.
- Attempt to hack, disrupt, or damage our sites.
Termination
We may suspend or terminate access to any of our sites at our discretion, including for violations of these Terms.
Children’s Access
Our sites are intended for readers 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.
Changes
We may update these Terms periodically. Updates will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Your continued use constitutes acceptance.
Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remainder will continue in effect.
Entire Agreement
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Mercury Local, LLC regarding use of our sites.
Contact Us
Mercury Local, LLC
520B North Poplar
Charlotte, NC 28202
📧 hello@mercurylocal.com
🌐 mercurylocal.com
Licensing
All original journalism published by Mercury Local is licensed under:
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0)
Bottom line: Mercury Local exists to build a sustainable, privacy-first model for local journalism. You can read it, share it, and rely on it — just don’t remix it, misrepresent it, or sue us when city council makes a decision you don’t like.