Dr. Gregory Stroud—CEO/Executive Director of the Connecticut Examiner—joins Cate Steel to unpack how the online paper grew to ~140,000 readers, why their mission is “big questions in small places,” and what’s next for local news in Connecticut. Please subscribe www.youtube.com/@668KTV

Visit the website at Cate Steel https://www.catesteel.com/

Visit the Podbean https://irvingsteel.podbean.com/

We cover reader habits, bias vs. rigor in reporting, AI’s risks (hallucinations, scraping, IP), the realities of I-95 and Shore Line East, transit-oriented housing, regionalization, historic preservation, and (yes) a quick tour of CT’s food & wine scene.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:02 Greg’s background & CT Examiner origin story

02:06 140K readers, Fairfield County’s role & a statewide mission

03:11 “Big questions in small places” — why local isn’t small

04:04 When people start caring: homes, kids, taxes, schools

06:06 Bias vs. rigor: the reporting method that builds trust

07:07 Journalism as mapmaking: choices, scale & inclusion

10:17 Letting residents be heard: accessible letters to the editor

12:18 Writing for phones while keeping depth

13:25 Competition & the CT news ecosystem (Day, Mirror, Courant, etc.)

14:40 AI & news: use cases, hallucinations, ethics, IP scraping

18:05 The scale/energy cost of AI & bot traffic

19:15 Transportation: I-95 gridlock, Shore Line East, eastward links

22:26 TOD & housing near transit; CT’s dispersed geography

23:30 Pilots for last-mile buses; funding and convenience

24:29 Stamford growth vs. traffic & gentrification

25:14 Why “easy answers” aren’t real—embracing nuance

26:01 Food interlude: CT chefs & wine shops

27:57 Historic preservation & CT’s built fabric

29:36 Routing big projects through old towns (e.g., Stonington)

30:31 Closing thoughts

Visit the website at Cate Steel https://www.catesteel.com/

Visit the Podbean https://irvingsteel.podbean.com/

🔔 Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more extraordinary stories of resilience! Please subscribe www.youtube.com/@668KTV

#LocalNews #ConnecticutExaminer #GregStroud #CateSteelInterviews #FutureOfJournalism #CommunityNews #IndependentMedia #CTExaminer #ConnecticutExaminer #LocalNews #Connecticut #Journalism #CTPolitics #FairfieldCounty #Hartford #SoutheasternCT #Transportation #I95 #ShoreLineEast #Housing #TransitOrientedDevelopment #HistoricPreservation #AIinNews #MediaEthics #QualityOfLife #CateSteel #668KTV #140KReaders