California has a population larger than many countries (Australia, Canada, etc) and the biggest newspaper in the state has just three reporters covering state government.

It is all so distressing. Having healthy newspapers with good journalism is so critical for maintaining a good government.

It’s sadly been the case that the owners of local journalism became focused on profits over the public benefit that journalism was intended to provide.

Meanwhile the Sacramento Bee is fully committed to bothsidesing everything in the legislature.

It's shameful that the press can be so disproportionately non-representative and yet so powerful to be able to influence so many for the benefit of so few.

OMG, this is the newspaper I read as a kid all the way through adulthood growing up in LA!!! My father was a journalist, the paper he worked for in South Korea was shut down for political reasons, which is understandable, but this, this breaks my heart

40+M in the state, over half of that in Los Angeles county alone.

That's fuking insane...Maine Public Radio has TWO reporters stationed in the statehouse in Augusta.

Ridic

Related: How many Journos from the LATimes or other CA outlets that still cover state government agencies and politics are experienced Black journalists?

And the fifth-largest economy in the world