Project Overview

During the Fall 2023 semester, six Trinity College and CT State Community College Capital students worked diligently with the Liberal Arts Action Lab to tackle media diversity issues. Our community partner wanted to diversify its audience since the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing coverage of racial issues. We set out to understand why and how the CT Mirror, a non-partisan news outlet, can combat this issue. At our research’s beginning, we knew there may not be much Hartford-specific information in the literature. Therefore, we pulled research from areas similar to Hartford in population and demographics.

 

Guiding Research Questions

  • What topics related to state public policy are most of interest to Hartford’s communities of color? What public policy issue could the CT Mirror help residents learn about, and how?

  • How do Hartford’s communities of color get their news? What are the most popular news outlets? How do they consume their news – print, TV, radio, web, or other ways? Does the outlet vary by age group?

  • How can CT Mirror help change the narrative about reporting from these neighborhoods? How can CT Mirror build connections with residents? What technology would make CT Mirror more accessible?

Click here to view our research process

Community Partner

Our Community Partner, CT Mirror, is a strictly digital and non-profit newspaper specializing in Connecticut. Founded in 2009, The Mirror has 10 full-time and part-time staff members. They are operated by the Connecticut News Project Inc. and aim to inform Connecticut residents about government and public policy. To learn more about our community partner, click here.