 | This articlerelies excessively onreferences toprimary sources. Please improve this article by addingsecondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Republican-American" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Hearst Communications |
| Founder | William J. Pape |
| Publisher | William B. Pape II |
| Editor | William J. Pape II |
| Managing editor | Anne Karolyi |
| Founded | 1844 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 389 Meadow Street,Waterbury, Connecticut 06722-2090 |
| Website | rep-am |
TheRepublican-American is a conservative-leaning newspaper based inWaterbury, Connecticut. It was established in 1990 through merger of two newspapers under the same ownership:Waterbury American andWaterbury Republican. The publication's origins date back to 1844. Hearst Connecticut Media group, a division ofHearst Communications, bought the publication from the Pape family on February 5, 2025.[1]
Three dozen communities in New Haven and Litchfield counties receive the newspaper, among them being:Greater Waterbury, theNaugatuck Valley, andLitchfield County. Besides Waterbury, it is sold inAnsonia,Beacon Falls,Bethlehem,Bridgewater,Canaan,Cheshire,Colebrook,Cornwall,Falls Village,Goshen,Harwinton,Kent,Litchfield,Middlebury,Morris,Naugatuck,New Hartford,New Milford,North Canaan,Oxford,Plymouth,Prospect,Roxbury,Salisbury,Seymour,Sharon,Southbury,Terryville,Thomaston,Torrington,Warren,Washington,Watertown,Winchester,Winsted,Wolcott, andWoodbury.[2]
TheRepublican-American is a direct descendant of two other newspapers which went through a series of ownership and content changes since the mid-1800s.[2][a]
TheWaterbury American started in 1844 as a weekly paper published by Josiah Giles. Twenty-two years later, in 1866, it started publication as a daily newspaper.
TheWaterbury Republican started in 1881 as a weekly paper published by John Henry Morrow. By 1884, it had transitioned to a daily newspaper. The paper changed hands in 1901 when William Jamieson Pape and William M. Lathrop purchased it together.
Pape became the sole owner of theWaterbury Republican in 1910, and in 1922 purchased theWaterbury American. Ownership of both papers was retained in the Pape family for a century, with the decision to merge them to form theRepublican-American coming in 1990.
In December 2024, the Pape family entered into negotiations to sell the paper toHearst Communications.[3] The sale was closed on Feb. 5, 2025.[4]
TheRepublican-American describes itself as having asocially andfiscallyconservative editorial stance.[5] It advocates what it considers to be pro-business government policies, such as tax cuts and regulatory reform.[5] TheRepublican-American claims that it is "quick to blow the whistle on what it views as wasteful use of tax dollars, as well as what it sees as unnecessary growth of local, state or federal government".[5] The newspaper is a frequent critic of the demands oforganized labor, especially public-employee unions, arguing they compel governments and businesses to spend beyond their means.[5]
The paper advocates for a moreinterventionist approach toforeign policy, asserting that "if the U.S. is not quick to forcefully denounce and, if necessary, take action against, aggressive and anti-democratic actions by anti-American regimes and groups, America’s enemies will be emboldened".[5]
Owing to its editorial stance, theRepublican-American typically endorses Republican candidates for office.[5] The paper endorsedBob Stefanowski in the2022 and2018 Connecticut gubernatorial elections.[6][7]
TheRepublican-American has often labeledDemocratic officials and candidates ascommunists orsocialists,[8][9][10] and the paper's editorial board has been criticized by newspaper trade publicationEditor & Publisher for "McCarthyism" and "red-baiting".[11] The editorial board of theRepublican-American has accused formerSenatorChris Dodd of being "chief apologist for thecommunist tyrants",[8] Senate candidateNed Lamont of being aStalinist,[9] and claimed "Marxists-Socialists" control theDemocratic Party.[10]
The paper's editorial board attracted widescale attention and condemnation after publishing a piece titled "IsNew Orleans Worth Reclaiming?", following the impact ofHurricane Katrina.[11][12]
The newspaper trade publicationEditor & Publisher heavily criticized theRepublican-American in an August 2006 piece.[11] The publication highlighted an editorial theRepublican-American wrote on then-candidate forU.S. SenateNed Lamont, which called Lamont and his familycommunists.[11]Editor & Publisher rebuked the piece for being "rife with errors", including calling famous American financierJ.P. Morgan "the sugar daddy for the American Communist Party and other extreme left-wing organizations".[11]
TheRepublican-American faced nationwide scorn for August 2005 editorial, "Is New Orleans Worth Reclaiming?", which called for the abandonment ofNew Orleans followingHurricane Katrina.[11] TheNew Orleans Times-Picayune responded to theRepublican-American in an editorial titled "Yes, We're Worth It", labeling the paper "heartless" and asking "How dare they?".[12]
| Areas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Landmarks |
| ||
| Transportation |
| ||
| Education |
| ||
| Media | |||
This list is incomplete. | |||
