New Grant Marks Local Journalism’s Impact

Funds awarded by Press Forward Initiative, which aims to reinvigorate local news

Sacred Heart University’s community journalism collective (CJC) which four years ago resurrected the local newspaper, the Easton Courier, was recently awarded a $100,000 Press Forward Initiative grant to continue its community-based coverage in Easton while also expanding into the cities of Fairfield and Bridgeport. 

Professor James Castonguay, SHU’s School of Communication, Media & the Arts director, is one of the leaders behind the Courier’s revival. Castonguay emphasized how important the grant is to the Courier, the CJC and the University. “One of the biggest challenges for a local newsroom is to become sustainable, and grants are a significant way to get closer to that goal, especially for a nonprofit community newsroom like ours.” 

Press Forward is a national philanthropic movement devoted to strengthening democracy by revitalizing local news and information. Funded by a coalition of over 20 major donors, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Knight Foundation, and housed at The Miami Foundation, Press Forward aims to invest $500 million to strengthen communities through local news. It announced in April its first open call to fund efforts to “close the local coverage gap,” and awarded $20 million to 205 local newsrooms, at least one in every state, including the Courier. Learn more at pressforward.news/grantees. 

“We are honored and grateful to have been recognized by Press Forward for the work we’ve done and to receive this grant to allow us to continue and expand the work of the community journalism collective,” said Castonguay.  

Like many other local news outlets, in 2018 the weekly newspaper serving the nearby town of Easton was forced to close its doors. However, in 2020, Castonguay and other members of the University’s media, communication and journalism programs rescued and relaunched the Courier as an online source for local news. The Courier has since published thousands of stories from Sacred Heart students, faculty and community contributors.  

The grant is a major milestone for the Courier and SHU’s involvement in the local community. “This funding will help us continue publishing award-winning content, expand the paper’s reach to include multimedia news and bring our successful, nonprofit educational partnership to Bridgeport and Fairfield,” Castonguay said. 

The Courier is one of eight newsrooms affiliated with universities to have received a Press Forward grant, and its hands-on educational model not only provides immediate benefits to the surrounding community but also prepares students for future careers as professional journalists.  

Moira Staples, a junior who writes for the Courier as part of her SHU class taught by experienced journalist Ann Marie Somma, spoke to the rewarding experiences the opportunity has given her. “Writing for the Easton Courier not only gives us the amazing opportunity to have our work published in an actual newspaper, but it also enables us to connect with our community outside of SHU,” she said. 

“Having the opportunity to write for the Easton Courier has expanded my horizons greatly,” said junior Alyssa Termotto. “I enjoy reaching out to multiple people and getting different perspectives on stories then combining all the quotes into one cohesive and compelling story for the community.”  

In an age when high-quality local journalism is at a premium, Castonguay is proud to be prominently involved with an outlet that prides itself on serving the community with only the most factual reporting.  

“Easton is home to groups that frequently share information intended to shape voter opinion and influence policy. These efforts include petitions for special town meetings, lawsuits, letters to the editor, social media posts, email and texting campaigns, and townwide mailings, often distributed shortly before referendum votes,” Castonguay said. “The Courier has provided fact-based coverage of the issues and has become a trusted and reliable source for accurate news information.” 

Since the revamp, the Courier has established itself again as a pillar for quality local reporting and news coverage. The new Easton Courier has won over 60 excellence-in-journalism awards from the Connecticut chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists since its relaunch. 

Castonguay credits his Sacred Heart colleagues Somma, Nancy Doniger, Rick Falco, Keith Zdrojowy, Taci Batista and the late Jane Paley, for the publication’s success. “Our core team of dedicated faculty and staff will continue to lead and guide the collective as we grow and expand our educational model and community partnerships over the next two years,” said Castonguay. “We have commitments from regional media outlets like WSHU Public Radio in Fairfield and WICC radio in Bridgeport to partner on creating quality, fact-based news stories that will greatly expand our impact and reach.” 

Photo: Journalist Ann Marie Somma teaches a class at the Martire Center.