Bonus Coverage: The 2018 Connecticut Family Court Investigation Which Wasn't

Check out my pitch for a 2018 story on Connecticut family court which was denied.

Minnie Gonzalez, Connecticut Democratic State Representative

In conjunction with the podcast I did with Connecticut attorney Nickola Cuhna, I’m posting a pitch I made to a national news website on Connecticut family court corruption in 2018.

It’s noteworthy that I did finally interview Minnie Gonzalez for a story in the newspaper Al Dia, which is geared toward Hispanics. Find that article here.

This article was denied with the editor saying, “I worry it's too big of a bite. It's a direct hit on the governor and a half dozen judges, and I have no idea how we would verify/fact check the claims, and if we're not 100 percent locked down on each one, we get in trouble.”

This editor had a point. This was a massive undertaking which has a lot of risks for national outlet, with much less reward. One of the problems is such a story is best suited for a local Connecticut news site. As Nickola stated in the podcast, “there is no free press in Connecticut.”

By this, she meant that much of the Connecticut media is in bed with the judiciary.

It’s another reason why outlets like Substack are so important. The story which couldn’t be done in 2018 is perfect for Substack which encourages original and in-depth reporting.

The pitch is below.