As we usher out 2009 and the end of the decade, The Press Tribune welcomes a new reporter who joins the ranks to cover local news, crime and courts.

Eric Laughlin, 31, hails from the Mountain Democrat in Placerville where he worked as a staff writer and city editor for nearly four years.

At the Mountain Democrat, Laughlin said he kept a close eye on county government, police and courts covering stories about a set of controversial bills set before the Cameron Park board of directors, a five- year manslaughter case and a profile about one superior court judge whose reputation of bringing humor to the courtroom made him notorious.

The most memorable case he covered, Laughlin said, was against Philip Thompson who was convicted of rape and murder of a Sacramento County woman in the early 70s and proved to be California’s oldest cold case DNA trials.

“It’s interesting to see the system in action and see cases progress,” Laughlin said.

Courts and crime reporting piqued Laughlin’s interest while he was working as a weathercaster in Chico.

“When we had downtime I would hang out with the reporters covering the court cases and tag along to watch the trials,” Laughlin said.

Those fly-on-the-wall experiences helped solidify Laughlin’s decision to make the jump from broadcast to newspaper journalism.

“The two are very different, but there are a lot of similarities, too,” Laughlin said. “The personalities are the biggest difference. Newspapers feel more laid back.”

Roseville Press Tribune Editor Susan Belknap said it was Laughlin’s wide range of experience from broadcast to investigative reporting at the Mountain Democrat that makes him an asset to The Press Tribune team.

“(Laughlin) brings a wealth of knowledge of the court system and crime reporting that will amp up our current coverage,” Belknap said.

Laughlin, a Folsom resident graduated from UC Davis in 2002 with a bachelor of arts in communication.

Prior to working at the Mountain Democrat, Laughlin interned for the David Letterman Show in New York City helping to book celebrity guests like George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Steve Martin.

In his spare time, Laughlin is writing a coming of age, mystery novel that he’s been working on for nearly two years. He also enjoys playing golf and watching movies.

“I’m most passionate about writing and telling a story,” Laughlin said. “That’s my main focus when I’m reporting.”

The Press-Tribune newspapers are part of the Gold Country Media group of community newspapers throughout Placer County and surrounding areas.

The paper’s parent company, Brehm Communications Inc., is based in San Diego. At present, Brehm owns more than 60 daily, weekly, semiweekly newspapers, shoppers and niche publications in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.