Connecticut Local Politics

It’s official: local news can now be outsourced. According to this article on CNN’s website the editor/publisher of Pasadenanow.com placed an ad on Craigslist India seeking reporters to cover local news for his news website. He figured that since city council meetings would now be broadcast over the internet there was no reason to hire a local reporter to cover Pasadena political news.

The idea of having a person who will has never actually been to Pasadena covering local events is depressing, but at least Pasadena might get consistent local coverage. How many towns and cities in American actually do? I’ve lost count of how many times elected officials have complained to me about the difficulty of getting coverage for local issues and campaigns.

Recently there’s been a lot of discussion on national blogs about making an impact through the blogosphere. Matt Stoller of MyDD and Pachacutec of FireDogLake each wrote tips for turning a blog into a thriving community. Both posts offered practical advice and helpful insight for novice bloggers, but I was disappointed that neither post made mention of local blogging. Local blogging may not be as glamorous as having a nationally known blog but I would argue that local sites have far more potential both for new bloggers and the virtual communities they seek to build.

For the purpose of this post I use the phrase local blogging broadly. Christine Stuart and Paul Bass don’t consider themselves bloggers, but CT News Junkie and the New Haven Independent utilize blog platforms and features to deliver their content. I would categorize both sites as blogs run by professional journalists. Most Connecticut political blogs (CTLP included) are not run by professionals but we do cover events andd political news, and I believe that coverage fills a void that traditional media can no longer fill.

Local blogs provide news and information, serve as a rallying point for political activism, and offer a forum for people to discuss issues that matter to them. The same people who consider the internet their primary news source, are also turning to blogs. Eventually the local blog may replace the local newspaper.

No one has asked me how to build a popular blog, but since it’s the meme of the moment I felt it was important that local blogs be included in the discussion. Both Matt Stoller and Pachacutec suggest finding a niche topic that no one else is covering. In my mind there’s no better niche than one’s own backyard.
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The following, in no particular order, is a list of some of my favorite local blogs, many of which are part of our Townblogs family. Feel free to plug your own favorite in the comments section.