Another Newspaper Shutters Capitol Bureau

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

The Stockton Record closed its one-reporter Sacramento bureau yesterday, the latest in a string of newspapers that have shuttered their capital bureaus.

Hank Shaw, the enterprising and insightful reporter who manned the bureau, will be looking for new employment. Shaw, a long time political reporter, wrote daily stories as well as a news-breaking blog on the conservative paper's website. A solid reporter, Shaw regularly beat larger bureaus to stories and recently had the most in-depth courage of the aborted Denham recall.

The closure of the Record's bureau marks the latest cutback by California media in Sacramento. Newspapers as large as the Los Angeles Times, as well as other small bureaus, such as the Bakersfield Californian, have either faced cuts or been closed.

Only the Sacramento Bee has not experienced cutbacks. However, rumors are swirling that the McClatchy newspaper is being cut down in size as readership continues to decline and ad revenues fall.