by John Dankosky – Congratulations to two of Where We Live’s like-minded news partners, The New Haven Independent and The Connecticut Mirror for major steps forward this week.
The Independent, brainchild of Paul Bass, marks its 5th anniversary. It’s been a groundbreaking half-decade for the incredibly rich online newspaper, which Bass better describes this way:
Five years ago today, the New Haven Independent hit the net with a new idea: completely local multimedia online-only professional news reporting focused on city news and issues, with reporting used as a springboard for wide-ranging community discussion. Not a “newspaper.” Not a radio or TV news program. A journalism-driven online urban community.
And, it’s real, good journalism. The Independent breaks news that others don’t or can’t touch, and provides a kind of window into life in New Haven for those of us who don’t live there. And, the Independent’s sister publications, The Branford Eagle (edited by state journalism treasure Marcia Chambers) and the Valley Independent, shine light on parts of the state that don’t get covered enough. They’ve also formed a unique working partnership with Christine Stuart and CTNewsjunkie, which extends and deepens their coverage. Kudos to Paul and his team for their work – and congratulations.
The Connecticut Mirror launched its redesigned site this week, aimed at making it “easier to read and navigate and provide more news, features and links to content elsewhere on the Web.” The Mirror has come a long way from the first meeting I attended, more than a year ago – a brainstorming session about how to create a new site that would fill the hole created by the massive layoffs at The Hartford Courant and other state papers.
The big hole they filled originally was coverage of the state capitol, but through savvy hires, they’ve expanded to include coverage of health, education, and Washington. The redesigned site shows that they’ve learned a lot about how the web works, and what readers expect – but they’ve kept their trademark in-depth stories, which have become the standard for state political reporting.
To Jim Cutie, Michael Regan, Mark Pazniokas and all of our partners at the Mirror – you look better than ever!
