Surprising and sad news came late Friday with the passing of former Hartford Courant reporter and editor Clifford Teutsch. He was 64. According to the Courant, the cause of death was not immediately known.
Former colleagues praised Teutsch as a man committed to “journalism and family.” Several described episodes during which Teutsch stood up for the craft of journalism during difficult times at the paper and during periods of cost cutting.
From the Courant’s report:
In 1984, a year after the collapse of the Mianus River Bridge, Teutsch was part of a team of reporters who staked out underwater bridge inspectors and meticulously showed how some had falsified their diving records.
Two years later, he became a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University, returning to The Courant in 1987, when he was named politics editor. He was promoted to Assistant Managing Editor/Nights in 1991 and managing editor in 1994. In that role, he oversaw the paper’s aggressive coverage detailing corruption in the administration of Gov. John G. Rowland, who resigned and later went to prison.
In 2006, then-editor Brian Toolan announced he was taking a job with the Associated Press, which prompted 50 newsroom employees to sign a petition calling on then-President Stephen D. Carver to promote Teutsch. He did — but said he didn’t need the petitions to know that Teutsch was the right choice.
