News Haven.
As of this moment, I’ve been a resident of New Haven for three years and four months. In the summer of 2006 when I first moved here, if someone had asked me how long I thought I’d be staying for, I would’ve said, “maybe six months tops.” At first, I wasn’t really thrilled by what New Haven had to offer. My apartment was broken into, my next door neighbors were nosy and weird, my car was towed a million times, and my first set of roommates was less than desirable. However, after some time the city has grown on me, and I’ve since gone back to school at SCSU. I never intended on making this my permanent home, but at this point, it seems like I won’t be leaving anytime soon.
After these last few years, I feel like I’ve invested a little time (and money) into New Haven. Therefore, I began to realize how important it is to stay on top of the real New Haven news.
First, I started picking up the Advocate. While it’s not always my favorite ‘source,’ there is some solid reporting there, and at the very least I can rely on the Advocate to tell me exactly where to find something fun to do in New Haven. I also appreciate their yearly ‘best-of’ poll, where I can participate by voting for my favorite local businesses.
After a while, I stumbled upon the New Haven Independent. New Haven has a myriad of problems, but I can rely on the Independent to supply me with a little transparency about the way our city is handling, or not handling them. Where else am I going to read about the huge pot bust just doors away from my friends’ house, or find out what my apartment’s property manager has been up to?
There are other outlets, of course. I can use See Click Fix to scope out biking hazards, or find out what the city plans on doing about my garbage-strewn neighborhood. Twitter is semi-useful, too–in case I’m wondering what’s happening at Cafe Nine this weekend, where the Cupcake Truck is parked, or what’s up at one of my favorite coffee shops.
I didn’t intend for this post to turn into a local news advertisement. However, I just wanted to use this opportunity to say that I’m really pleased that there are so many ways to stay informed about the city I live in. I’m not sure how the relationship between newspapers and the internet will eventually play out, but for the time being, I’m glad that the internet has provided so many new formats for me to dig through in order to learn more about the goings-on in New Haven.
hallc5 replied:
People get so hyped up about the big news agencies that they forget about local news. It’s important for people to know whats going on in their towns. Bringing up all the local newspapers you’re aware of isn’t an advertisement, I’d say it’s more of a suggestion to neighbors to pick up the news and get involved in the community.
September 28, 2009 at 11:19 pm. Permalink.
Vanessa replied:
I’ve never really thought about all the different ways you can come about finding news in your hometown. Of course, picking up a local paper is an obvious way, but you mentioned using twitter to find out about stuff going on around town.
It’s amazing, really, to think about what resources are out there because of the Internet, but at the same time, there is a lot of trash out there too. It’s good to be aware of reliable news sources, both online and in print, so you are never out of the loop!
September 29, 2009 at 3:19 am. Permalink.
danbrechlin replied:
I think it is important to stay informed in the city you live in. The problem with New Haven, however, is that there isn’t always a ‘best’ source and rather several sources reporting on a ton of different things. All of these sources have their ups and downs, but I commend you for trying to at least get a good amount of knowledge and news about your city.
September 29, 2009 at 3:33 am. Permalink.
Long Tails. « … replied:
[...] Now, with endlessly customizable internet sources, I can easily find interesting stuff, like I mentioned a few weeks ago. I’m starting to find that searching for relevant news doesn’t have to [...]
October 11, 2009 at 2:40 am. Permalink.