KENT, Conn.—Kent News, Inc., announced Deborah Rose has joined the editorial team of the Kent Dispatch.
Rose, who has 30 years’ experience in community journalism, assumes the part-time role of Assistant Editor and will work alongside Kathryn Boughton, the publication’s part-time Editor.
Together, the women look forward to building upon the foundation the Kent Dispatch has established since its official launch in fall 2023, said Andrea Schoeny, president of Kent News, Inc., the nonprofit publisher of the Kent Dispatch.
“We are confident in this team of veteran community journalists,” Schoeny said. “Together, they bring a combined 84 years of experience. That cannot be matched.”
The staff members are both award-winning journalists. Boughton holds a half dozen New England Press Association (NEPA) awards and more than a dozen Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists (CT SPJ) awards in a variety of categories. Rose holds more than 50 awards in a variety of categories from CT SPJ.
Rose has served on the board of directors for Kent News since October 2022, most recently as vice president. In assuming her new editorial position, she stepped down from the Kent News, Inc. Board of Directors on Jan. 31, 2025.
“It’s been an amazing experience to be part of the group of individuals that built this news source from the ground up,” Rose said. “Now, to be part of the editorial team, too, takes things to another level, a very special level.”
Rose said she is eager to share her talents with the community.
“Writing and photography are important to me,” she said. “To have this opportunity to shine a brighter light on the people, businesses and happenings in the community in these ways is exciting.”
Rose is an advocate for community journalism and believes publications are an important asset to a community, not only for transparency but to enhance community pride and provide a forum to showcase and celebrate all things community.
“Both Kathryn and I hold ourselves accountable to Kent News’ mission as a non-partisan, nonprofit news and information source. We are committed to building community and enhancing the lives of our residents, businesses and organizations by providing trusted local information and covering topics of interest to the Kent community,” Rose said.
“And we both believe transparency, honesty and heart—along with a keen eye for community—are integral to the success of the Kent Dispatch,” she added.
Being part of a team that launched a new product is not new to the New Milford native.
Rose is a lifelong writer, photographer and poet who was part of the team that launched the Greater New Milford Spectrum— a weekly, seven-town print and online publication—in 1998. Kent was among the towns it covered.
Rose worked at The Spectrum until the end of 2020, when she stepped down as editor.
In addition to having started a brand-new publication in 1998, Rose was part of the launch of the Town of New Milford’s tourism and community resource www.NewMilfordNow.org in 2021. She continues to work with Town Hall there, as NewMilfordNow.org’s branding ambassador, editor and photographer.
Boughton, who previously was Managing Editor for the Litchfield County Times and the Lakeville Journal, most recently was a correspondent for the Republican-American. She was hired as a 10-hour-per-week editor of the Kent Dispatch in October 2023. The first edition of the online publication went live Oct. 12, 2023.
Boughton was also the last editor of the former Kent Good Times Dispatch, a print weekly, from which the Kent Dispatch adopted its original name. The publication was rebranded with the simplified name in November 2024.
Kent News, Inc., is the nonprofit 501(c)(3) publisher of the Kent Dispatch. The publication is funded solely by grants and private donations.
The publication has expanded Boughton’s initially limited hours to 30 hours per week, effective Feb. 1, a result of recent fundraising and matching grants.
“Our end-of-year fundraising success shows that we have the support of our local community and that of national nonprofit news organizations,” Schoeny said. “I am very happy to be able to expand the capacity of our newsroom.”
Kent News, Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation established in 2022 to bring back local news to Kent, Conn., a small town in northwest Connecticut.
