New reporter at CT Public focusing on race, youth and justice

CT Public, the state”™s public broadcasting organization, has named Ashad Hajela as its Tow Fellow who will focus on stories involving race, youth and justice.

Hajela was previously a Report for America corps member at Spotlight PA State College, where he wrote about rural affairs. Prior to that, he covered public safety at The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a Stabile Fellow at Columbia Journalism School and attended New York University. He now calls New Haven home.

“Before moving to Connecticut, I associated the state with comfort,” Hajela said. “As I got here and started digging into the issues I”™m covering, I began to see interesting political dynamics that I”™m really eager to cover, from some of the biggest wealth disparities across single counties to the unique perspectives around the criminal justice system.”

“As the Tow Fellow for Race, Youth, and Justice, I”™ll be writing about aspects of the juvenile justice system, the criminal justice system at large, and potentially, the child welfare system,” he added. “The stories I”™ve been working on so far focus on police presence at schools, and, in the near future, I”™ll be writing about the effectiveness of last year”™s youth crime legislation.”