Colin McEnroe joins Hearst Connecticut as columnist

Colin McEnroe Colin McEnroe Photo: Chion Wolf, WNPR Photo: Chion Wolf, WNPR Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Colin McEnroe joins Hearst Connecticut as columnist 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Popular radio show host, political analyst and humor writer Colin McEnroe will write a regular column for Hearst’s Connecticut newspapers, the company announced Tuesday.

McEnroe is moving his weekly column to the New Haven Register, Connecticut Post, Stamford Advocate and other Hearst newspapers in the state on Jan. 20 after a 35-year run in the Hartford Courant. It will appear in the Sunday edition of Hearst’s eight Connecticut daily newspapers.

McEnroe will also put out an email newsletter anchored by his column. Readers can sign up now to receive it.

He joins a lineup of Hearst Connecticut Media voices that include state government/business columnist Dan Haar and sports columnist Jeff Jacobs, who left the Courant for Hearst in 2017 and early 2018.

It also represents a further expansion of Hearst’s coverage of state government and politics, already the most comprehensive in the state with a team that includes Haar, senior statehouse reporter and columnist Ken Dixon, statehouse reporter Emilie Munson, politics reporter Kaitlyn Krasselt, investigative reporter Bill Cummings, and partnerships with both CT Mirror and CT News Junkie.

“I’m psyched to be part of a staff of journalists I admire,” McEnroe said. “Ken Dixon was the best Connecticut political columnist last year, and Kaitlyn Krasselt won my Rookie of the Year trophy for her election coverage. I’m a big fan of the way Brian Lockhart covers Bridgeport (and I think he’s funny, but don’t tell him I said that). I’ve never met Angela Carella, but I’ve lost count of the times people from Stamford have forwarded her terrific work to me. More people should know about her. And Emilie Munson is clearly a rising star up at the State Capitol. I am also Dan Haar’s court-appointed guardian, so it makes sense for me to be where I can keep an eye on him.”

After graduating from Yale, where he recently returned to teach, McEnroe started as a local news reporter at the Hartford Courant in 1976.

He was a columnist for the Courant for 35 years while working in radio. He hosts the Colin McEnroe show on WNPR at 1 p.m. weekdays, and co-hosts WNPR’s weekly Wednesday morning political roundtable, the Wheelhouse.

He has written three books and a play, and wrote an adaptation of “Faust” for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. He has moderated the Connecticut Forum an unprecedented 10 times.

Matt DeRienzo, vice president of news and digital content for Hearst Connecticut Media, said that McEnroe joining Hearst is an important announcement in a series of moves that will offer subscribers a premium lineup of distinctive Connecticut voices, more aggressive enterprise and investigative reporting, comprehensive guides to niche statewide topics, and the local news most vital to their communities.

“Colin McEnroe is a Connecticut treasure who speaks to and for the residents and institutions of this state, tackling our biggest opportunities and most persistent problems with unmatched wit and insight,” DeRienzo said. “We’re thrilled to add his voice to the statewide lineup we are building. And stay tuned for more.”

Hearst Connecticut Media includes eight daily newspapers, the New Haven Register, Connecticut Post, Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, Norwalk Hour, Danbury News-Times, Torrington Register Citizen and the Middletown Press; Connecticut Magazine, 16 weekly newspapers, and a statewide high school sports site, GameTimeCT.com.