With a trio of notes to readers from Mike DeLuca, the publisher and president of Hearst Connecticut Media, Anne Karolyi, the long-time editor of the Waterbury Republican-American, and Wendy Metcalfe, the editor in chief of Hearst Connecticut; the paper’s readers were assured Wednesday morning that everything is going to be the same, maybe even better, now that Hearst owns the Republican-American. The deal, first announced in December, closed Wednesday.
The acquisition by Hearst of the Waterbury daily is just the latest in a string of deals that has built Hearst Connecticut into the largest publisher of daily news – in print and online – in Connecticut. The question is where does it stop? Another question is: What does it really mean for Connecticut newspaper readers and online news consumers? It can be argued that bigger is better and that an expanded workforce means more reporting and more news. But it is also true that a key strategy used to make large chains profitable is cutting expenses and reducing local coverage.
In his note to readers, DeLuca made a point to promise the WRA’s well known reputation as a place to find conservative commentary on the editorial page will remain unchanged. He makes this promise as Hearst Connecticut is looking for an opinion page editor – a position that has been vacant for almost two years. Whoever wins that job will have to answer the basic question what does the word “conservative” even mean in the current era of American politics?
Posting on social media Karolyi said Hearst has asked her to stay on for the next “two months” during the transition, but beyond that she said, “we’ll see where life takes us.”
