Journal-Register Inc. lays off chain's last Connecticut capitol reporter

Christine Stuart (cstuart05@comcast.net) of the CJNewsJunkie.com news site wrote on Friday:

"The capitol press room became a somber place this week when Greg Hladky, who had covered the capitol for 28 years for the New Haven Register, got a phone call Tuesday morning informing him that he had been laid off. We offer Greg our best wishes,along with our regrets.But where does this leave the state's taxpayers and voters? In the dark, especially if they subscribe to any one of the numerous Journal Register Company publications in the state. That's because Hladky provided
coverage of the capitol for all of them. His departure creates yet another empty desk in the capitol press room, which once upon a time was full of reporters from every news organization in the state. Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz recognized the loss - and the widening gap in news coverage of the capitol - and released a statement about the issue on Wednesday.

READ MORE: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/03/register_lays_o.php

The news prompted a one-page news release from Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, who wrote: "A vibrant democracy is dependent on its citizens having access to information . . . . our citizens rely on independent investigative journalists as a powerful force in keeping government honest. Today, as a result of a layoffs and cutbacks, with fewer eyes keeping watch, the public and electorate will be less well informed.  As I push for ethics reform this session and think of the string of politicians that have betrayed the public trust, I cannot help but feel the people of Connecticut would be better served by the consistent daily coverage of a large capitol press corps."