Connecticut daily adds a new kind of business reporter

When the Republican-American, Sunday Republican and rep-am.com of Waterbury, Connecticut, had a business news staff opening, business editor Alec Johnson and managing editor Anne Karolyi grabbed the opportunity to freshen up and broaden the definition of “business reporter.”

Like all reporting jobs these days, their dream definition included reporting on a multimedia platform — someone who can handle video, social media, photos and print.

The beat, however, also was expanded beyond traditional business reporting to encompass any story or issue that falls under “quality of life,” broadly defined as any place where your money, your job, and your quality of life intersect. The broad definition is intended to encourage enterprise reporting and allow for a diversity of issues and topics that could fall under this reporter’s beat.

The first reporter in the position is Harrison Connery, who joined the Republican-American team on Aug. 28.

Connery is a May 2017 graduate of Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in political science. His work in college has been entirely in video, social media and political campaigns, an interesting mix as he tackles his first real-world assignments, but a perspective Johnson said he expects will help forge this new beat.

“We’re looking to what speaks to new generations of readers, as well as the loyal subscribers,” Johnson said. “A fresh perspective on the news business is an opportunity to bring this beat beyond traditional business reporting alone and into areas where we can have more impact on, and be more useful, to more readers.”