Mathew Biadun | Staff Writer
With a biennial budget in the works, and some twenty months until the next gubernatorial election, it’s an important time to read up on state news. But how? Where can one stay up to date and receive reliable sources? With so many newspapers and reporting in Connecticut, it can be tough to know what is reliable and what is not. This article seeks to provide the reader with five basic sources, each of which are free, online, reliable, and easy to understand.
CT Capitol Report: CT Capitol Report is less of an individual source than it is a collector of sources. This website collects all of the biggest headlines of the day and displays them together with links to each source. That’s especially helpful, as many of the sources have paywalls, which the links provided allow you to avoid. The report also offers a daily newsletter straight to your email and email summaries of news, both of which make consuming the news very convenient. I’d recommend that everyone subscribe to the email newsletter. Give it a glance in the evening, and the headlines will at least tell you what the issue of the day is.
CT Mirror: The CT Mirror is a free, digital newspaper. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, over eighty percent of its income comes from donations, and it is obligated to remain nonpartisan. The Mirror has offered high-quality reporting on the state and its politics for fifteen years. In particular, I find that it explains complex economic or budgetary issues in a way that make them simple to grasp, without sacrificing depth. Their Opinions section frequently has op-eds from politicians or advocacy groups, and they’ve branched out with interviews, email newsletters and podcasts.
CTNewsJunkie.com: CTNewsJunkie.com is another digital news source. While it isn’t a nonprofit like the Mirror, it’s still free and unbiased. It also has a lot of op-eds and an email newsletter, again, just like the Mirror. The main difference with the Mirror, in my opinion, is one of tone. While the Mirror is more technical and public policy focused, CTNewsJunkie is simpler to understand and usually has shorter articles.
The Office of Legislative Research: Unlike the last two, the Office of Legislative Research isn’t a newspaper, but a government department within the General Assembly. The OLR is bound to provide nonpartisan, objective, fact-based research for the legislators of Connecticut, along with publishing reports on their websites for the public. Some of these are very niche, like a briefing on the state’s black bear population. Some are a lot more broad, such as a report on the ‘major issues’ the legislature is likely to face this session. I recommend reading that article specifically, and skimming it now and again to see if something catches your eye. The best part of the OLR to me is that anyone is free to email them and ask questions. Usually they can direct you to research they’ve done or, if not, to another department or source that might have the information you’re looking for.
The Wheelhouse: This is the single audio source in this article. The Wheelhouse is a radio show hosted by Connecticut Public Radio, tackling various issues tackling the state. Most episodes have interviews with experts on the topic. In the 2024 election, they interviewed all the major candidates running for Congress in Connecticut. It’s available as a podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast and others. Not every episode will interest you, but if you’re curious about what’s happening in the state, The Wheelhouse is a good thing to put on in the background and listen to.
There are lots of other great sources for Connecticut news. However, the five listed above are probably the best ‘introductory’ sources, and I’d recommend you frequent at least one.
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