Informed citizens are essential to our civic health. They are more likely to participate in—and contribute to—public life. “More informed Americans enjoy keeping up with the news, believe they have a personal stake in what goes on in Washington, and are significantly more likely to register to vote than people who know less...”(21) That’s why availability of—and access to—media and technology are essential parts of the state’s civic infrastructure.

Connecticut residents have great access to information on current national and world events, as well as local issues. They are connected to the rest of the country and the world thanks to a strong Internet and broadband infrastructure. In 2010, Connecticut ranked 4th in the nation with 86.5% of Connecticut residents living in households with Internet access.(22) The state boasts a significant number and variety of newspapers with state and local distribution and has easy access to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe. Connecticut’s proximity to two of the largest media markets in the country—New York City and Boston—provides its residents with fast, up-to-date news and information through major television and radio networks.

A diverse state, Connecticut has radio and television stations that target different ethnic and racial audiences including Latinos and African Americans. There are at least four major Spanish-language newspapers, five commercial Spanish-language radio stations and two Spanish-language affiliate television stations. There are also a couple of newspapers in Italian and Portuguese. Most of these devote significant news and editorial space to informing their audiences about important public and political issues—local, state and national—especially those that affect their communities.

According to 2008 U.S. Census Current Population Survey data, Connecticut residents seem to be taking advantage of the news sources at their disposal: 54.7% of Connecticut residents read newspapers every day, and 18.9% a few times a week; only 16.2% of our residents do not read newspapers. Data also show that 71.7% watched the news on television every day, and 15.0% a few times a week, while 8.1% did not watch TV news at all. By contrast, about 26.0% accessed news from non-traditional media sources such as blogs, using the Internet at least occasionally. In other words, nearly three-quarters of Connecticut residents did not rely on non-traditional news media sources.

Does connecting to news about public issues and politics translate into sharing information and engaging in discussion of the issues? Talking about politics and the major issues of the day is an important factor in formulating opinions about issues, candidates and solutions. A significant number of Connecticut residents talked about politics: 28.3% of them (compared with 26.0% nationally) discussed politics frequently, while 33.3% (compared with 36.6% nationally) did not discuss politics at all. In comparison with other states, Connecticut ranks 17th.
In envisioning a Connecticut that enjoys robust civic health, we must utilize our state’s information resources and infrastructure to reach those who are less engaged, especially youth and minorities. These valuable resources can help foster a culture of civic engagement.