New CT Website Provides News and Analysis on State Government to Public
A
new nonprofit organization providing online news, information, analysis
and discussion about Connecticut state government and public policy
launched its web site this week through a grant from the
Knight Foundation and matching funds from
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
and The Community Foundation. Its primary goal is to ensure that the
people of the state are better informed about their government, so they
can more effectively participate in the development of public policy
and hold officials accountable for understanding and addressing the
state’s needs. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has made a
grant of $300,000 through its Knight Community Information Challenge, a
$24 million initiative to help community and place-based foundations
find creative ways to use new media and technology to keep residents
informed and engaged.
The Web site,
www.ctmirror.org,
which started publishing the week of Jan. 25, will provide professional
reporting on Connecticut’s legislature, executive branch and courts, as
well as insight and analysis, disclosing the whys and consequences of
public policy decisions. The site will also provide access to public,
but not easily accessible, state government documents from voting
records to school test scores, and serve as a portal to information
available elsewhere online. Through a feature called CT Commons,
citizens will have opportunities to discuss and express opinions about
legislative and government issues, through reader feedback, online
public hearings with policymakers, issues forums and conversations.
“We believe strongly that civic life at the community level requires high-quality accessible community information;
ctmirror.org
will play a vital role enabling Connecticut citizens to use new media
to engage in our civic life,” said William W. Ginsberg, president and
CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Support for the
CT Mirror is being provided through The Foundation’s Becky Fund,
established in 2005 as a donor advised fund by anonymous donors.