Creative Loafing Charlotte editor Mark Kemp is leaving the paper after two years at the helm:

In an analysis I did of Creative Loafing before my arrival, I wrote the following to the publisher: “One of the main things the so-called alternative media can do today that mainstream media sources can’t do is generate content with an attitude that assumes a relatively high level of intelligence among its users. Therefore, the overarching editorial voice at CL should be smart and culturally open-minded, with a sense of humor … Charlotte is sometimes criticized for being a boring bank town that skews conservative. CL‘s role should be to explode that stereotype and serve readers and users who are not (or don’t want to be) confined by it.” If CL maintains the standards of journalistic excellence we have set over the past two years, this venerable media outlet will continue exploding that stereotype.

This was Kemp’s second stint as editor of Creative Loafing Charlotte. He had previously served as its editor in 2005-2006.

Managing editor Kim Lawson will take over as the paper’s next editor-in-chief.