A company with deep roots in the Triangle, The News & Observer Publishing Co. publishes not only The News & Observer, one of the nation’s best regional newspapers, but also four weekly or bi-weekly newspapers offering community coverage in Chapel Hill, Cary, Johnston County and eastern Wake County. The company launched nando.net, one of the nation’s first internet service providers, in 1994, and today is home to both newsobserver.com and triangle.com, the region’s leading websites. It is one of the region’s major employers, with more than 1,200 full-time and part-time workers and a carrier force of about 750 independent contractors