WASHINGTON, D.C. – Saying he offers a “different set of eyes” at the Oklahoma State Capitol, veteran journalist Patrick McGuigan spoke with Oklahoma Watchdog this past week while this online newspaper and McGuigan both happened to be working on stories in the Nation’s Capital.

Recently, McGuigan debuted a new website, www.CapitolBeatOK.com, devoted to covering legislative affairs and more at the State Capitol. Not one to rest on his laurels after three decades of reporting experience, he intends to help fill a gap in an era when cutbacks and layoffs are common in newsrooms.

What will Capitol Beat OK contribute to the political reporting atmosphere in the Sooner State? Quite a bit, according to McGuigan.

“I wanted to cover state government again because I’ve been watching the decline in the number of people who are covering these important issues,” McGuigan said, just minutes after filing a story from a desk here in Washington.

“There was a growing gap,” he added, noting downsizing across the board in journalism. Read more…