The Republican-American is a conservative-leaning newspaper based in Waterbury, Connecticut. It was established in 1990 through merger of two newspapers under the same ownership: Waterbury American and Waterbury Republican. The publication's origins date back to 1844. Hearst Connecticut Media group, a division of Hearst Communications, bought the publication from the Pape family on February 5, 2025.
Circulation
Three dozen communities in New Haven and Litchfield counties receive the newspaper, among them being: Greater Waterbury, the Naugatuck Valley, and Litchfield County. Besides Waterbury, it is sold in Ansonia, 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, and Woodbury.
History
The Republican-American is a direct descendant of two other newspapers which went through a series of ownership and content changes since the mid-1800s. The sale was closed on Feb. 5, 2025.
Editorial stance
The Republican-American describes itself as having a socially and fiscally conservative editorial stance. It advocates what it considers to be pro-business government policies, such as tax cuts and regulatory reform.
The Republican-American has often labeled Democratic officials and candidates as communists or socialists, The editorial board of the Republican-American has accused former Senator Chris Dodd of being "chief apologist for the communist tyrants", Senate candidate Ned Lamont of being a Stalinist, and claimed "Marxists-Socialists" control the Democratic Party.
The paper's editorial board attracted widescale attention and condemnation after publishing a piece titled "Is New Orleans Worth Reclaiming?", following the impact of Hurricane Katrina.
Controversies
The newspaper trade publication Editor & Publisher heavily criticized the Republican-American in an August 2006 piece.