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Transitions at The Lakeville Journal

Transitions at The Lakeville Journal
Debra Aleksinas, who has been a freelance investigative reporter for The Lakeville Journal since 2018, will be the new editor of The Lakeville Journal, replacing Cynthia Hochswender. 
Photo by Chuck Aleksinas

As of Jan. 17, there will be a change at the helm of The Lakeville Journal. Executive Editor Cynthia Hochswender, who has been in that role since 2005, will step down from editing the news and will only edit the weekly Compass arts and entertainment section, as well as some special supplements to The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News. Hochswender has edited both The Lakeville Journal and Compass over the past two years, during COVID-19 restrictions and limitations on events. Before becoming executive editor, Hochswender was a reporter for The Lakeville Journal from 1999 to 2005.

“I’ve deeply enjoyed spending more than two decades observing, learning about and writing about our community,” Hochswender said. “It’s time for someone to step in and take a fresh look at our towns and the issues that matter to them, and I’m confident that Debra Aleksinas is the perfect person to do so. Her compassion and intelligence will be a benefit in The Lakeville Journal’s coverage of the Northwest Corner.

“As part of my decision to step down from the news side, I’m also embarking on a new career as a Realtor based in Salisbury. I will look forward to continuing to interact with our faithful readers and community leaders in that role as well as in my new role as editor of Compass.”

Debra Aleksinas of Morris, who has written many in-depth articles for The Lakeville Journal newspapers since 2018, will take over the position of Lakeville Journal editor. A long-time Litchfield County resident, Aleksinas has more than 30 years of experience as a journalist. She has held editorial and management positions at numerous weekly and daily newspapers throughout Connecticut, including The Litchfield County Times, Housatonic Publications and the Republican-American. In addition, Aleksinas was hired as Publications Manager for hibu, Inc., based in King of Prussia, Pa., where she was responsible for the start-up, editorial content and layout of five monthly, hyper-local community magazines in Connecticut.

Prior to assuming her new role at The Lakeville Journal, Aleksinas was the Assistant Worksite Manager for the nonprofit LARC (The Arc of Litchfield County, Inc.) in Torrington, where her primary responsibilities included community outreach and competitive job placement for individuals in the agency’s Vocational Program.

“I am excited to join the talented and dedicated staff at The Lakeville Journal and look forward to continuing the newspaper’s longstanding tradition of journalistic excellence,” said Aleksinas. “Over the years I have developed a deep appreciation and passion for community journalism and its role in informing, engaging and entertaining readers. As editor of The Lakeville Journal, my goal is to balance what readers want to know with information that they might not necessarily anticipate but need to know.”

Hochswender can be reached at cynthiah@lakevillejournal.com, or at 860-672-5117.

See the editorial here for more on this topic.

— Janet Manko

Debra Aleksinas has resigned and Cynthia Hochswender will continue in her previous role as executive editor.  

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