CBIA and reSET Go Head-to-Head Celebrating Business in Connecticut on Oct. 29

It’s not quite Christmas past and Christmas future, but observers of Connecticut’s business landscape will be forgiven if that’s the take-away from two simultaneous events the evening of October 29 in the state’s Capitol City of Hartford. The Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the state’s leading business membership organization, will be marking 200 years of “Connecticut innovation and ingenuity” at an historic anniversary gala at the Hartford Marriott Downtown, with MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski the featured guests.  Attendees will have an opportunity to “mix with Connecticut’s most successful and enterprising business leaders at this not-to-be-missed networking event,” according to the advance publicity.

The program is to be preceded by a brief CBIA business meeting. Governor Malloy is schedule to be among the speakers, along with CBIA President & Chief Executive Officer Joe Brennan. Tickets are now available for the celebratory event.

Meanwhile, across town at the Society Room, reSET, the Social Enterprise Trust, whose mission is advancing the social enterprise sector, will be highlighting the unfolding efforts of 12 impact businesses selected as honorees of the 2015 reSET Impact Challenge. Stressing social enterprise, the event has been described as “the future of business.”

The competition, now in its fifth year, recognizes the most innovative, impactful, and viable early stage ventures and start-ups from all industries. For the first time this year, the Challenge was opened to entrepreneurs throughout New England. Award winners will receive unrestricted seed capital, expert professional services, and public recognition. Nine of the 12 finalists are from Connecicut.

“This year’s short list was chosen from the over 100 enterprises that applied. That’s almost double that of last year, and a 700 percent increase since The Challenge launched in 2011. The talent pool gets stronger every year and narrowing it down this time around proved to be quite challenging,” said Rosie Gallant, Director of Programs at reSET.

A panel of expert judges will decide the overall winners who will be revealed at an open-to-the-public celebration, starting at 5pm.   To hear the honorees’ stories and to cast your vote for the “People’s Choice Award,” people are urged to visit www.TheImpactChallenge.org/PeoplesChoice.  The honorees are:

• Asarasi, Inc. (CT)
• BookBugs (NH)
• Beautiful Day / The Providence Granola Project (RI)
• Daily General Counsel (MA)
• Dream See Do (CT)
• FRESH Farm Aquaponics (CT)
• Harford Prints (CT)
• Hugo & Hoby (CT)
• LOTUS Alliance LLC (CT)
• Movia Robotics (CT)
• Parrot MD (CT)
• Planet Fuel Beverage Company (CT)

Connecticut Public Radio host John Dankosky will moderate a panel at the celebration about how social innovation is transforming industries. The panel will feature Disruptive Innovators Jean Hammond, co-founder and partner of LearnLaunch; Makaela Kingsley, director of Wesleyan’s Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship; and a co-founder of tech startup Send Help Back Home.  Tickets to the celebration next month may be purchased at www.ResetImpactAwards.Eventbrite.com.

A separate Impact Venture Showcase will begin at 4pm, with eight early stage, impact-driven startups pitching to an audience of investors, advisors, and guests seeking both social and financial returns. Seating for this pre-celebration event is limited. Separate tickets are required, available at: www.ResetImpactAwards.Eventbrite.com.

With both events spotlighting innovation and ingenuity, the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s statewide theme, “Still Revolutionary,” comes to mind.

This year’s Challenge and Awards are being made possible by a large community of supporters, including a fair number who may also be represented at the CBIA celebration.  The reSET even sponsors include Aeton Law Partners; Bank of America; BNY Mellon; Cantor Colburn; Carter Realty; Central Connecticut State University; Clark Insurance; Comcast Business; Community Investment Corporation; Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development; Connecticut Innovations; Farrell & Farrell Consulting Services; Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracina; Health Educated, Inc.; HealthyCT; HEDCO Inc.; Murtha Cullina; Powerstation Events; Pullman & Comley, LLC; Qualidigm; Quinnipiac University; Remarkable Technologies; Tariq Farid Foundation; The City of Hartford; The Hartford; The Walker Group; Travelers; Trinity College; and Updike, Kelly & Spellacy.

https://youtu.be/07vC9ohKyyg

https://youtu.be/8hg7nUBL4P4

https://youtu.be/DR1KfGFqG5U

CT’s Manufacturing Report Card Features Every Grade, From A to F

Connecticut’s report card on Manufacturing and Logistics is a mixed bag, according to data compiled by Indiana’s Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Data.  The state’s grades in nine categories range from an A in the Productivity and Innovation category to an F in Worker Benefit Costs. The other categories were Manufacturing Industry Health, Logistics Industry Health, Human Capital, Tax Climate, Expected Liability Gap, Global Reach and Sector Diversification. Overall the state received one A, one B+, one B, one C+, two C-, two D, and one F. 

Connecticut’s manufacturing industry is 8.1 percent of the state economy, according to the report. The total personal income in Connecticut is $203,703,411,000 and earnings from manufacturing total $16,591,678,000, the report stated.

The state’s top grade was in Productivity and Innovation.  The researchers described that category as “the value of manufactured goods per worker – productivity – as well as firm access to inventions and innovations,” which “is critical to the long-term performance of a firm and the industry as a whole.”  To measure productivity and innovation, they used manufacturing productivity growth, industry research and development expenditures on a per capita basis, and the per capita number of patents issued annually.  Connecticut was one of five states to earn an A; the others were California, Michigan, Texas, and Washington State.

Compared with 2009, Connecticut’s grades improved in the categories of Productivity and Innovation, Manufacturing industry Health, and Logistics Industry Health, and declined in Tax Climate and Human Capital.  In Tax Climate, the state dropped from a D last year to a D- on 2015’s report card. Sector Diversification, which received an A in 2011, dropped to a C the following year, and has been mired at a D in each succeeding year.

The report authors note that “states that concentrate their manufacturing activity in a single sector typically suffer higher volatility in employment and incomes over a business cycle and are also more likely to experience greater effects of structural changes to the economy involving a single sector.

Connecticut’s Tax Climate grade has been a steady D or D- since 2010, after earning a C in 2009.

In the Global Reach category, in which Connecticut received a B+, only South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, and Delaware received a higher grade.  Connecticut’s grade matched New Hampshire, placing Connecticut in the top six in that category.  The Ball State researchers indicated that “the level of international trade (in both imports and exports) is a robust measure of competitiveness in the production, movement and distribution of consumer durable and non-durable goods.”

The university’s national report provided report cards to all fifty states in each of the categories.

The Center for Business and Economic Research is an economic policy and forecasting research center at Ball State University.  CBER research includes public finance, regional economics, manufacturing, transportation, and energy sector studies.

New Haven’s Square 9 Softworks Ranks #20 Among Nation’s Top 100 Inner City Businesses

The Inner City 100 are among the nation’s fastest-growing urban firms.  The list of the city-based businesses, thriving from coast to coast, is compiled by Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) and featured in Fortune magazine.  The top firms range from a Philadelphia glass blowing outfit, to an Oakland-based 3D printing shop, from a high-end Brooklyn chocolatier to a New Haven software company, the only Connecticut company to earn a spot on the list. “America's urban core is filled with a wildly diverse array of fast-growing businesses,” Fortune points out in presenting this year's 100 fastest-growing inner city companies. Ranking at number 20 is Square 9 Softworks, a leading developer of innovative, business-centric software solutions, headquartered in New Haven. 

Education is paramount at Square 9 Softworks, the write-up by ICIC points out. The document management software maker “has led a number of tech-focused workshops for entrepreneurs in New Haven, as well as creating inner-city scholarships and business intern programs, while recruiting talent from local schools.”

According to ICIC, half its employees are under 35 and come from area universities, and Square 9 plans to nearly double its workforce in two years. Clients and partners include Priceline, New York Life Insurance Company, Ohio State University, and Konica Minolta. According to Fortune and ICIC, the company’s 5-year growth rate is 489 percent, with 2014 revenue of $7.45 million.

The companies listed on “Inner City 100” list among the fastest-growing American companies in any location. Although based in the inner city, these companies derive more than half their revenues from regional, national and international sales, the ICIC explains.  The median firm is 11 years old with over $8 million in annual revenue, 45 full-time employees and a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39 percent.

The Inner City 100 Companies, according to the website listing, are producing jobs in their local communities, competitive advantage for their business partners and profits for their investors. Across all sectors, Inner City 100 firms are more productive than their sector peers throughout the U.S., according to U.S. Census data.

The top 10 companies:  Bithenergy (Baltimore); BWI (Indianapolis); Caduceus Healthcare (Atlanta); Rise Interactive (Chicago); Business Resource and Security Services (Washington DC); StreamLink Software (Cleveland); Concrete Constructors, Inc. (Jackson, MS); Impact Makers, Inc. (Richmond,VA); Creative Business Solutions, Inc. (Washington, DC); and The Onyx Company (Chicago).

Square 9 Softworks is a privately held Connecticut-based corporation whose management team consists of tenured ECM industry professionals, according to the company’s website. Last month, Square 9 Softworks, announced that Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI), the world’s leading independent evaluator of document imaging products and solutions, awarded Square 9’s “SmartSearch 4.2” the 2015 Summer Pick Award.

“SmartSearch is one of the few document management solutions that can be ideal for both large and small organizations,” said BLI Senior Editor, Jamie Bsales. “Unlike many document management systems, SmartSearch includes most functionality in the standard product, rather than requiring extra-cost add-ons. This makes SmartSearch much less expensive when matched feature-for-feature with other leading systems. Square 9’s SmartSearch has demonstrated to BLI its ability to satisfy complex business needs, streamline daily processes and increase productivity.”

Square 9 is fully owner managed and as such is not subject to the direction of the markets or private equity, the website emphasizes. As a privately held corporation Square 9 has assumed a long term position of expanded growth and profitability, realizing triple digit growth in each of the four years from 2008 – 2011 while recording profitability in sixteen straight quarters, the website points out.

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) is a nonprofit research and strategy organization and the leading authority on U.S. inner city economies and the businesses that thrive there. Founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, ICIC strengthens inner city economies by providing businesses, governments and investors with the most comprehensive and actionable information in the field about urban market opportunities. It is led by CEO Steve Grossman, a former Massachusetts State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate.

https://youtu.be/5Z8qWU_nqLg

Shelton's Wiffle Ball Being Pitched for National Toy Hall of Fame

A Connecticut native is being considered for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame.  The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y. has announced its twelve finalists for this year's induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame, and the Wiffle Ball – invented and still manufactured in Connecticut - is among them. It all began in the summer of 1953, when David N. Mullany, grandfather of the current company owners (brothers David and Stephen) was watching his 12 year old son and a friend play a game in their backyard in Fairfield, using a perforated plastic golf ball and a broomstick handle. They had given up on baseball and softball - not enough players for two teams, not enough space for a field, and too many broken windows.

After some trial and error, the wiffle ball was invented, and the rest is history – perhaps Hall of Fame worthy history. Even with the abundance of toys and rapidly expanding new technology available to today’s youth, the Wiffle Ball business remains strong, with millions manufactured in Shelton and distributed world-wide every year.

The competition is tough, including favorites from more recent decades and some with origin generations ago.  Among the other toy finalists for 2015: American Girl dolls, Battleship, coloring book, Jenga, PLAYMOBIL, puppet, scooter, Super Soaker, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, top, and Twister. Only two of these iconic toys will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The finalists are chosen by historians and curators at The Strong. From there, a national panel of judges made up of inventors, educators, psychologists and others choose the winners.

Established in 1998, the National Toy Hall of Fame serves to recognize toys that have stood the test of time, remaining popular with kids generation after generation. The 12 toys are chosen on the advice of an advisory committee, and the winner will be announced at the Strong Museum in Rochester next month - on Thursday, November 5 at 10:30 a.m.

Inducted toys are selected on the basis of the following criteria:

1. Icon-status: The toy is widely recognized, respected, and remembered.
2. Longevity: The toy is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over multiple generations.
3. Discovery: The toy fosters learning, creativity, or discovery through play.
4. Innovation: The toy profoundly changed play or toy design. A toy may be inducted on the basis of this criterion without necessarily having met all of the first three.

If the Wiffle Ball wins, it will join toys such as bubbles, Candy Land, checkers, Crayola Crayon, Mr. Potato Head, Barbie, Monopoly, Easy-Bake Oven, G.I. Joe, the Frisbee, View-Master and Hot Wheels, just to name some of the 56 toys that have been inducted so far.  Last year’s selections were the Rubik's Cube, bubbles and Little Green Army Men.  The previous year, Chess and the Rubber Duck were inducted.

The Strong Museum is also running an internet-based poll asking viewers to select their preferred toy.  (One vote permitted every day.)   With 4,500 votes cast as of this week, the Whiffle Ball is in the lead among the 12 finalists, with 854 votes, about 18 percent of the total votes cast; followed by the puppet, the coloring book and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

https://youtu.be/iPrFiBxCX-s

Medical Device Tax Seen as Inhibitor to Innovation, Repeal Sought

Emerging technologies that can develop breakthrough medical devices are at the intersection of innovation and tax policy, and a growing list of businesses and organizations are urging Congress to repeal a tax, instituted as part of the Affordable Care Act, that they say is harmful to industries with the potential to improve lives and boost local economies.  The issue has particular resonance in Connecticut, where efforts to grow technology, precision manufacturing and the medical and pharmaceutical industries have accelerated in recent years.  Medical technology creates more than two million jobs directly and indirectly across the United States. The industry is one of the few U.S. manufacturing sectors that is a net exporter, and its innovations help reduce the human and economic burden of chronic disease.  Industry officials point out that while U.S. leads the world in the development of new medical technology, the device tax “threatens that leadership.”

Earlier this year, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal the medical device tax.  The fate of the proposal in the Senate is unclear.  A growing coalition of research advocates, disability rights leaders, patient groups and others support repeal of the device tax because, they say, it drains critical resources away medical innovation.  According to a 2015 study by opponents of the tax, two-thirds of med-tech companies that were surveyed said they had to either slow or halt job growth at their companies because of the medical device tax.

Between 2002 and 2012, the number of jobs in the Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing industry in Connecticut increased by 10.75 percent, with the addition of about 700 jobs, according to the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC).  CERC’s research indicated that jobs in the field were almost twice as concentrated in Connecticut in comparison to the United States, with average wages above the national average, with more than 150 companies in the medical equipment and supplies manufacturing business.

Connecticut’s medical device industry continues to see new entries.  Just two years ago, a company launched by a 2011 UConn graduate, Orthozon Technologies, received local notice for its newly developed “minimally invasive tool for spine surgeons,” which led to the company’s quickly “gaining momentum in the medical device field,” the Fairfield County Business Journal reported that year.

The Stamford-based company’s Lumiere™ is a state-of-the-art minimally invasive surgical retractor that provides “access and visibility for physicians as well as faster and less painful recovery time for patients,” according to the company website.  Utilizing a patented technology with powerful unobstructed fiber optic lighting, translucent retractor blades, full medial access, and an expandable field of view, the medical device provides surgeons with a tool “for quicker and more efficient spinal decompressions.”

Earlier this month, when the state’s fastest growing technology firms were honored at the 2015 Marcum Tech Top 40, in partnership with the Connecticut Technology Council, medical devices were among the technologies highlighted. 

One of the leading categories included “Medical Devices companies manufacturing medical instruments and devices including medical diagnostic equipment (X-ray, CAT scan, MRI), medical therapeutic devices (drug delivery, surgical instruments, pacemakers, artificial organs), and other health related products such as medical monitoring equipment and handicap aids.”

Among the companies selected was Guilford-based Bio-Med Devices, which designs, manufactures, and markets a complete line of critical care and transportable respirators/ventilators, air - oxygen blenders, ventilation monitors,  disposable and reusable breathing circuits, and accessories.

Connecticut Innovations. The state’s leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticut’s innovative, growing companies, highlights six Connecticut companies in the medical device industry within its investment portfolio, with some investments dating back to 2007.

Nationwide, an aging population, people with disabilities living longer lives, and chronic disease rates growing at faster rates, lead advocates of repeal say now is the time for more—not less—resources to advance cures and treatments that help people live longer and healthier lives.  The industry survey indicated that 85 percent of respondents plan to reinstate forgone R&D projects if the tax is repealed.

https://youtu.be/uqTdNffOaas

Connecticut's Top 40 Technology Companies Earn Recognition for Growth

Connecticut's fastest growing technology company didn't exist a decade ago.  The overall 2015 winner in the annual tech competition  is New Haven-based Continuity, a software provider that delivers technology solutions that automate compliance management for financial institutions. Continuity led this year's companies with revenue growth of 1,142 percent since 2011. The relatively young company was founded in 2007 and is led by Andrew Greenawalt, its CEO and co-founder. The winners of the 2015 Marcum Tech Top 40, an annual awards program recognizing the fastest growing technology companies in Connecticut, were announced this month by Marcum LLP and the Connecticut Technology Council. Other 2015 category winners are:

• Revolution Lighting Technologies Inc., Stamford (Advanced Manufacturing)
• FuelCell Energy, Inc., Danbury (Energy/Environmental Technologies)
• Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cheshire (Life Sciences)
• iSend, LLC, Middlebury (New Media/Internet/Telecom)
• Datto, Inc., Norwalk (IT Services)

The Marcum Tech Top 40, now in its 8^th year, recognizes technology companies with at least $3 million in annual revenue and a four-year record of growth, in six industry sectors. Both privately held and publicly traded companies are eligible.  This year, 14 were publicly traded; 26 were privately held.

Some of the companies named are familiar to state residents or the state's business community, others are less widely known.  Many are within just a handful of years from launch, others are longstanding industry leaders.  For top-ranked Continuity, it is Greenawalt's second go-around with a Tech Top 40 company, having been a founder of 2008-2011 finalist Perimeter eSecurity (now SilverSky).

"The annual Marcum Tech Top 40 is a highlight of the year for our national High Technology Services Group and our New England region, in particular," said Anthony P. Scillia, partner-in-charge, Marcum New England. "As always, the technology companies being honored this year are true innovators that provide a model of business success in an increasingly complex market environment. Marcum is extremely proud to partner with the Connecticut Technology Council on this outstanding program and enthusiastically congratulates all the finalists and category winners."

"Technology companies are challenged by a shared set of obstacles ranging from capital-raising and complex revenue reporting to intellectual property management and international expansion. The 2015 Marcum Tech Top 40 finalists and winners are best-in-class by all of these measures," said Michael Brooder, partner-in-charge of Marcum's Hartford office.

New Haven and Fairfield counties appear to be the state's center-of-the-tech universe, as each county had 14 winners; Hartford County had eight and Litchfield, Middlesex and New London counties had one each. (One company withdrew during the selection process.)

Bruce Carlson, CTC's President & CEO, said, "Each year, at the Marcum Tech Top 40 event we are reminded that technology companies are thriving in Connecticut. We need to support these companies and the others that are in the growth pipeline in order for Connecticut to achieve the job creation and economic growth we are all striving for. The CTC will continue to advocate for policies and programs that will help our technology community."

2015 Marcum Tech Top 40 Companies by Industry Category  (Company Name, Category, City)

• Amphenol Corporation, Advanced Manufacturing, Wallingford, 
• APS Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Wallingford
• Barnes Group Inc., Advanced Manufacturing, Bristol
• Dymax Corporation, Advanced Manufacturing, Torrington
• Harman International Industries, Inc., Advanced Manufacturing, Stamford
• Hexcel Corporation, Advanced Manufacturing, Stamford
• RBC Bearings Inc, Advanced Manufacturing, Oxford, New Haven
• Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc., Advanced Manufacturing, Stamford
• FuelCell Energy, Inc., Energy / Environmental / Green Technology, Danbury
• Proton OnSite, Energy / Environmental / Green Technology, Wallingford
• F3 Technology Partners, IT Services, West Hartford
• Gartner, Inc., IT Services, Stamford
• MResult Corporation, IT Services,
• SAI Systems International, Inc., IT Services, Shelton
• Southridge Technology Grp, LLC, IT Services, Brookfield
• The Network Support Co., IT Services, Danbury
• VLink, Inc., IT Services, South Windsor
• Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Life Sciences, Cheshire
• Protein Sciences Corporation, Life Sciences, Meriden
• Metrum Research Group, Life Sciences, Tariffville (Simsbury)
• Bio-Med Devices, Life Sciences, Guilford
• Chief Executive Group, LLC, New Media / Internet / Telecom, Greenwich
• HealthPlanOne, LLC, New Media / Internet / Telecom, Trumbull
• iSend, LLC, New Media / Internet / Telecom, Middlebury
• M2 Media Group, New Media / Internet / Telecom, Stamford
• Priceline Group Inc., New Media / Internet / Telecom, Norwalk
• Reality Interactive, New Media / Internet / Telecom, Middletown
• TVEyes Inc., New Media / Internet / Telecom, Fairfield
• Clarity Software Solutions, Inc., Software, Madison
• Continuity, Software, New Haven
• Core Informatics, Software, Branford
• Datto, Software, Norwalk, Fairfield
• Evariant, Software, Farmington
• Higher One Holdings, Inc., Software, New Haven, 
• Insurity, Software, Hartford
• Shoptech Software Corporation, Software, Glastonbury, Hartford
• Square 9 Softworks, Software, New Haven, New Haven
• SS&C Technologies, Software, Windsor, Hartford
• Tangoe, Inc., Software, Orange, New Haven

Votes to Decide if Hartford Journalism & Media Academy Will Receive $100,000 Grant

The Hartford Journalism & Media Academy is one of six education programs in New England vying for a $100,000 grant to further their student-centered learning approach to education.  Voting is now underway via the internet – and the deadline to cast a vote is September 30. The Lawrence W. O’Toole Award is given out each year to an individual, organization, school or district exhibiting great leadership through innovation or courage in moving student-centered approaches to learning forward in New England. The winner will receive a $100,000 grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

The Students at the Center Hub – a relatively new website - was created through a partnership between the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and Jobs for the Future. It is a resource for educators, families, students and communities interested in learning more about student-centered approaches to learning. Visitors to the site can “explore the research behind it; the practices that nurture it; policies that support it; and how to communicate about it.”  Details on each of the nominated programs are included on the site.

The mission of the Hub is to help raise the visibility of student-centered learning in New England and beyond, offer a centralized location for tools and resources on student-centered learning approaches, and provide a user-friendly, interactive space for practitioners, implementers and supporters of student-centered approaches to learning.

At the Hartford Journalism and Media Academy (JMA), students are learning first-hand how storytelling and student voice can transform education. Students at JMA attend a satellite campus at Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN) in Hartford, where they are working alongside seasoned journalists to produce content for the station while gaining 21st skills like creativity, collaboration and communication. As part of the station’s Education Reporting Initiative, students are investigating the impact of student-centered learning policies and practices in the public education system.

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is working to reshape public education across New England to be more equitable and more effective – so every student graduates from high school ready to succeed in college or the workplace – and contribute to their communities as informed citizens.

In addition to the Hartford Journalism & Media Academy, in the running for the grant are Portland Empowered (Maine), Burlington High School (Vermont), The Highlander Institute (Rhode Island), Sanborn Regional School District (New Hampshire) and Youth on Board (Boston).

Voting is open to one vote per email address. As of Monday morning, the Hartford Journalism & Media Academy was running fifth in the voting.  A total of nearly 11,000 votes had been cast.

https://youtu.be/Qq8w3mj4NZI

NewsON Venture to Bring Local Newscasts to Smart Phones & Tablets Nationwide, WTNH Set to be Among Participants

Five major broadcast television station groups collectively reaching two-thirds of U.S. TV households have formed NewsON, a new venture to provide live and same-day local TV newscasts on demand from leading stations around the country to consumers' mobile and selected connected TV devices. Two Connecticut-based TV stations are part of the NewsON venture – WTNH and WCTX, both in the Hartford-New Haven TV market, which are owned by NewsON partner Media General. The NewsON (www.newson.us) service will be provided by a new venture formed by The ABC Owned Television Station Group, Cox Media Group, Hearst Television, Media General and Raycom Media.  In New Haven, the WTNH news staff produces newscasts for WTNH NewsChannel 8 and WCTX, known as MyTV9. 

Plans for NewsON were announced prior to the more recent announcement this month of Media General’s plans to buy Meredith Corp. for about $2.4 billion in cash and stock.  Meredith, which began as an agricultural publisher in 1902, is known for magazines such as Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle. But its 17 local TV stations – including Hartford-based WFSB - are the centerpiece of the deal. The combined company—Meredith Media General— would encompass 88 stations that reach 30 percent of U.S. households, or 34 million homes.

Meredith had not been part of the NewsON venture, and it is unclear whether the combined company would remain in the plan, or whether a combined company may be required to divest of either WFSB or WTNH, which serve the same Hartford-New Haven market.

The free, advertising-supported NewsON service will be delivered through apps available for download from leading mobile and connected TV app stores.  NewsON will enable users to watch live and on-demand newscasts from their local markets or from any of the 112 participating news stations, in 84 viewing markets across the country, whose owners have already contracted to deliver their news streams through NewsON.  These include stations in eight of the Top 10 U.S. TV markets and 17 of the top 25.

Multiple stations will be available through NewsON in 21 markets, giving viewers the opportunity to "change channels" as they wish. The number of participating TV stations is expected to grow in the months ahead as additional broadcast TV station groups activate their streams into NewsON. Whether the Hartford-New Haven market will ultimately be among them may hinge on the outcome of the Meredith-Media General deal.

Media General is one of the nation's largest connected-screen media companies that operates or services 71 television stations in 48 markets, along with the industry's leading digital media business. Their portfolio of broadcast, digital and mobile products informs and engages 23 percent of U.S. TV households and 46 percent of the U.S. Internet audience.

"As a truly connected-screen media company, we are always seeking innovative ways to share our superior local content with a broader audience, no matter where, when or what screen or device they prefer," said Robb Richter, Chief Digital Officer of Richmond, VA based Media General.  He told Connecticut by the Numbers said the new service would provide “brand extension” for WTNH newscasts, and increase viewership.  “Now, about 15% to 20% of the market has downloaded their app.  This will draw more people to WTNH who have not. It’s a great way to gain more audience.”

Richter said that the appetite for breaking news is strong, and that may be attractive to advertisers as well, as more people use mobile devices to watch locally originated newscasts.  The ability to send out breaking news alerts and live stream coverage of breaking local news provides a potential new revenue stream,” as well as providing viewers nationwide easy access to local coverage of news that may be of interest beyond a local region.

A recent commentary by former WFSB news director Mark Effron, now a college professor, points to the need for local news to find new ways to attract audiences – especially younger audiences, for whom watching television on a television is fast becoming a footnote in their media consumption.

“For them, watching content on channels and networks and stations hasn’t only lessened, it’s actually fallen off the cliff,” Effron observed.

NewsON officials stress that Americans place a great deal of trust in their local news teams, who are typically the first informers from the local scene of the biggest news developments around the country.  NewsON will bring instant access to live local news to a generation of viewers accustomed to using mobile and connected TV platforms to stay informed.

According to the March 2015 report "Local News in a Digital Age" by the Pew Research Center, local TV stations remain the dominant source of news for Americans in large and small markets.  NewsOn points out that the appetite for local and neighborhood news, the staple of TV station newscast coverage, is up to twice the appetite for national and international news, the study found.

The NewsON service, current in BETA testing, is expected to launch to the public later this fall. “We are driving the evolution in local content creation and distribution and we are excited about the opportunities with NewsON," Richter added.

WTIC-AM License Renewal, Filed in November 2013, Remains on Enforcement Hold

The license renewal application of WTIC-AM, filed in November 2013, remains on “enforcement hold” at the Federal Communications Commission, as the agency’s Enforcement Bureau  considers “an alleged violation of FCC rules,” according to an FCC official. Until the enforcement hold is lifted, the agency’s Media Bureau cannot proceed with a decision on whether or not to renew the station’s broadcast license.  The Enforcement Bureau must first determine whether or not a violation of FCC rules has occurred.  If the allegation is substantiated, the agency has a range of options, such as warning that the violation not be repeated or imposing a monetary fine on the station, according to FCC officials.

An FCC spokesman said in late August that the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau began expediting its review of complaints that hold up license renewals last year.  That expedited review of a backlog of pending complaints enabled the Media Bureau to grant over 950 license renewals in the last few months of 2014.  WTIC-AM was not among them.  The accelerated pace has continued, but officials would not predict when the complaint filed related to the pending WTIC-AM renewal would be considered.

WTIC-AM, which is licensed to Hartford but operates from studios in Farmington, can continue broadcasting under the broadcast license that expired 17 months ago, on April 1, 2014, until the FCC acts on its renewal application.  The renewal application was filed by the station nearly two years ago, on November 27, 2013. Stations must file an application for license renewal four months prior to the expiration date of the station’s license.

Precisely what the allegation under review involves is not made known to the public.  That information is only made available to the licensee or their attorney, according to an FCC official. The agency can, and often does, communicate with the station as part of their review process.  WTIC has previously declined to comment on the ongoing review process at the FCC.

Officials say it is not unusual for a license renewal to be on enforcement hold for an extended period of time.  Stations in such a status routinely continue to operate without any interruption until a decision on license renewal is made.

When the license renewal application does reach the agency’s Media Bureau, they will consider “how the allegation of violation was resolved,” as well as a range of other factors in deciding whether or not to renew the station’s license.  The other, more routine, factors include whether any other objections have been raised about the station, whether the station has been adequately serving the public in their area of license, their history of compliance with FCC regulations, and their overall performance.  License renewals for radio stations are issued by the FCC for a period of eight years.

Connecticut by the Numbers first reported the FCC’s enforcement hold nearly a year ago, in September 2014.  Subsequently, Hartford Attorney Ken Krayeske filed an informal objection on October 1, 2014 to WTIC’s broadcast license renewal, alleging that the station “demonstrated serious malfeasance” and “helped conceal violations of federal law,” related to former Governor John Rowland’s use of the WTIC radio program he hosted to promote the Congressional campaign of Lisa Wilson-Foley. Krayeske had filed a previous complaint in 2012 that did not result in FCC action against the station.

Guns at the Airport? CT Ranks 43rd As Texas, Florida Confiscate Hundreds

Airport travelers caught carrying firearms were most prevalent in Texas, Florida and Georgia, with Connecticut ranking 43^rd among the states, according to federal data analyzed by Bloomberg News. Texas saw the most confiscations in 2014, with 424 guns found in screenings, according to Transportation Security Administration data. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where 120 firearms were found in carry-on luggage, topped the list nationwide.

Ranked second was Florida, with 253 guns found during the year at the state’s airports, followed by Georgia with 119, California with 101, and North Carolina with 97.  Arizona and Tennessee tied for 6^th with 94 guns discovered at each state’s airports, followed by Colorado with 79 and Missouri with 75.

In Connecticut in 2014, there were four firearms found during 2014 according to the data.  Two of them were loaded.  There were also 4 firearms found at the state’s airports in 2013, Bloomberg reported.

With all 50 states now allowing people to carry concealed guns, with varying degrees of limitations, Bloomberg reported, more are being forgotten in clothing, holsters and handbags.  Firearm confiscations rose 22 percent from 2013.  Guns were discovered at airports in all 50 states in 2014, the data indicated.

The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 653 million passengers last year, about 14.8 million more than in 2013. The states and territories with the fewest were Rhode Island, South Dakota and the Virgin Islands.

Bloomberg ranked the 50 U.S. states and the U.S. Territories by the number of firearms discovered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in carry-on luggage at that state's airports. The numbers for each state represent a total of all of the airports in that state covered by the TSA. Firearms are defined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as a destructive device, machine gun, silencer, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun and any other weapon from which a shot can be discharged.