With many news outlets cutting back state house coverage, a number of conservative-backed newsrooms are popping up in their place, a situation that worries traditional media.

“The news outlets have sprouted in larger numbers in recent months to fill a void created by the downsizing of traditional statehouse coverage and to win over readers,” reports the Associated Press. “Including those from the tea party movement who don't trust the local paper or the TV news.

”Our state Capitol used to be bustling with the media," Matthew Brouillette, president of the Harrisburg, Pa.-based Commonwealth Foundation, told AP. His news outlet, the Pennsylvania Independent, went live in January. “Now, you can swing a dead cat and not hit anybody in the state Capitol newsroom.”

AP adds: “Similar news operations are now in place in Washington state, Michigan, South Carolina, Montana, Wyoming, Florida, West Virginia, Arizona, Missouri, Maryland, Nebraska, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio and elsewhere.

”The outlets publish almost exclusively on the Internet and usually look like traditional news sites. For example, the front page of Idahoreporter.com recently featured stories about proposed tax increases, higher park fees, a labor report, and the funding of a college scholarship program. The lead stories all had accompanying graphics and photos; some stories have video."

Beware as the traditional press is cut back and the partisans move in, more than you think.