By Alex Johnson ’23
The availability of local news is an important part of our society, telling stories and informing us about our local community. Local news brings culture to the area. There are a number of local newspapers in the Litchfield county area, one being The Republican American. There isn’t one in Washington, Connecticut, though.
Recently that has all changed… There has been talk of starting a local newspaper for Washington. Frederick Gunn’s own, Bart McMann had a vision of bringing back a local newspaper for the town of Washington. Titled the Washington Eagle, the newspaper would cover news from around the Washington area with news from local events and advertisements for local businesses. “The intention of the paper is to really build culture in the community by having local voices heard.” says McMann. The paper would promote local businesses, provide insight to local politics in Washington, and cover local events. The paper would be run by mainly students from both The Frederick Gunn School, and Shepaug but also from other schools around the Washington area. There would be two major editions a year that would resemble more of a magazine, providing students with a great experience in journalism presented by the students.
Michelle Gorra is the Economic and Community Development Coordinator in the town of Washington. She has a background in journalism and newspapers and even runs a news bulletin of her own. Gorra will help out with the Washington Eagle and provide assistance. The paper will have funding from the town of Washington and Mrs. Gorra will be an excellent resource to help with getting approval from the town of Washington and other governmental dealings when creating this newspaper.
Creating a local newspaper for the town of Washington will no doubt be a large project, but the effort that will go into the paper will be very rewarding and the result will grow culture in the town, hopefully bringing the community closer together.
