Alaska’s capital city is seeing a shift in its local journalism landscape as two well-known reporters head in new directions — one stepping away from the newsroom for a break, and the other forging a new path amid a shrinking local press corps.
Sean Maguire, a veteran Capitol reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, has announced his departure from the paper, where he has spent the past eight years covering legislative issues and politics from Juneau. In a brief statement, Maguire said he has no plans at the moment, but intends to explore new opportunities. Many who have left the ADN have ended up in political jobs for Democrats.
Maguire has been a recognizable presence in the Capitol press corps. In his announcement, he added a link where people could apply for the job he was vacating. Unionization at the Anchorage Daily News occurred after 2019, when editorial staff voted to form a union under the NewsGuild-CWA, saying better wages would keep people in the newsroom. But a steady exodus has continued.
Meanwhile, across town, Juneau Empire editor Mark Sabbatini is also moving on, but unlike Maguire, he is already charting his next course. Sabbatini’s last day at the Empire is Tuesday. He will be launching a new online publication called the Juneau Independent, with some financial backing already in place to support the project.
Sabbatini’s departure comes amid a wave of changes at the Juneau Empire, which recently changed ownership. The paper, which now prints only twice a week and is printed out of state, is undergoing what sources describe as financial restructuring. Sabbatini will not be replaced, a decision attributed to cost-cutting measures.
The Empire will instead be managed from the Kenai Peninsula Clarion office and out of the headquarters of its Canadian ownership group — Sound Publishing, a subsidiary of Black Press Media, which was sold last year to Carpenter Media Group.
Sabbatini first began reporting for the Empire in the 1990s, left the paper for a period, and returned in recent years, serving as both a reporter and its editor during the period when newspapers in general began suffering from competition.
His new publication, the Juneau Independent, is expected to focus on local and state government coverage, aiming to fill some of the vacuum left by the contraction of legacy media in Southeast Alaska. The Juneau Independent is a nonprofit that already has financial backing, the details of which have not yet been announced.
For now, both moves reflect broader challenges facing local journalism in Alaska — dwindling newsroom resources, consolidation, and the pressures of digital transition — even as independent voices look for ways to keep the public informed. Other groups, like the nonprofit Alaska Beacon (with Outside dark money), the Alaska Landmine, and Nat Herz’ Northern Journal, have joined the alternatives to legacy media. Must Read Alaska has been a leader and pioneer in the new media landscape and is now in its 11th year of operation.
Keep up the good work Suzanne.