The Winsted Citizen to publish first issue Feb. 3

Text By Colleen Gundlach
Photo Courtesy of American Tort Law Museum

More than 100 people turned out on the evening of Jan. 24 to hear plans for Winsted’s new monthly print newspaper, The Winsted Citizen.  At a reception held at the American Museum of Tort Law on Main Street, the plans of Winsted’s native son, Ralph Nader, were outlined to an enthusiastic crowd.

Nader, a past U.S. presidential candidate, consumer advocate and author of “Unsafe at Any Speed,” grew up in Winsted and has supported the town in many ventures over the years, including the Shafeek Nader Trust, named after Ralph Nader’s brother who was the organizer of the committee that created Northwestern Connecticut Community College. 

In the 1980s, Ralph Nader developed the Office of the Community Lawyer, an advocacy project intended to “teach citizens the skills they need to effectively advocate on their own behalf, and that build the self-confidence necessary to bring about changes in their community.” It is also said that, in an effort to try to avoid the type of flooding the town experienced during the flood of 1955, Nader was the driving force advocating for the building of a dry dam to protect the town. Now a reality, the dam is located on Route 44 just west of Winsted.

In view of this, it is little wonder that Nader should want to revive the town’s newspaper that has been a part of Winsted’s past for more than 100 years. First established around 1891, the original Winsted Evening Citizen was the news source for the town until 1982, when the paper was sold to the Eagle Publishing Company, which also owned the Torrington Register. The two papers eventually merged to become the Register Citizen, a daily newspaper. The Register Citizen, currently owned by Hearst Media, announced recently that the daily paper will be moving to a monthly publication beginning on March 12 of this year.

Nader has chosen a team of highly respected and professional writers and editors to produce the pilot edition.  Names such as Vince Valvo, editor and owner of American Business Media and former editor of the Law Tribune; Kathy Megan, reporter for the CT Mirror and the Hartford Courant; and former CT Law Tribune art director Jim Valentine are among the talent that will be on display in the first issue of The Winsted Citizen.

Keynote speaker at the paper’s inaugural reception at the Tort Museum was Andy Thibault, who will serve as the editor and publisher of the pilot edition. Thibault is a decorated journalist, writing coach for the Hartford Courant, adjunct professor of journalism and communications at the University of New Haven and, more locally, teaches blogging at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. 

In his journalism career, Thibault covered such legal trials as the Woody Allen sexual abuse case, the Connecticut woodchipper murder and the Boston Marathon bomber. Thibault also is a private investigator and author of “Cool Justice” and “Law and Justice in American Life.”  

Addressing the gathering in Winsted last month, Thibault stressed the importance of news at the local level and community involvement.  “If it’s important to you, it’s important to us,” he says.  “We want to publish free obituaries, wedding and engagement announcements, births, etc., as well as reports on town boards. There is no substitute for local journalism.”

“We have a very talented staff and want to add more,” says Thibault. When asked if the staff positions are voluntary or paid jobs, he replied, “Everyone needs to be paid, from the paperboys to the editor. If you want to volunteer, though, we won’t turn you down.”  And yes, they are recruiting paperboys and papergirls to deliver papers.

The pilot edition of The Winsted Citizen is slated to be released on Feb. 3 and will feature a front-page story on “Where Kids Get News.”  Authored by Kathy Megan, who was a features writer for the Hartford Courant, the article will delve into the question of whether printed newspapers are still relevant in 2023.

Plans are in place to cover news in the towns of Winsted, Hartland, Riverton, Colebrook, Norfolk, New Hartford, Barkhamsted, Winchester Center and East Hartland. The first issue is free of charge and any ads running in this issue will also be free. Copies will be distributed through subscription or at local libraries and stores.  A subscription can be purchased for $25 for the 11 issues in 2023 (February is free), and subscribers will receive one free admission to the American Museum of Tort Law by showing proof of a paid subscription.

The Winsted Citizen has applied for 501(c)(3) status and plans to accept donations once that designation has been completed. According to an interview Nader did with Andrew Larson of the Hartford Business Journal in December, “Nader is optimistic that donations will be a significant revenue source. ‘You’ve got people in Norfolk who could support the whole thing themselves,’ he said.”

For more information, write to winstedcitizen@gmail.com or check out cooljustice.blogspot.com.  The organization’s website is expected to go live by Feb. 15.