Mark Flatten, an investigative reporter with the East Valley Tribune for more than 20 years, is leaving the newspaper on June 5 to start work as an investigator for the Goldwater Institute.

Flatten helped the newspaper on many of its biggest stories and won numerous awards over the years. According to the Arizona Guardian this morning, Flatten will be "producing journalistic-type investigative reports."

The Institute is made up of conservatives who believe in the ideals preached by Barry Goldwater, (and apparently not in the ideals of Joe Arpaio).

The coup for Goldwater is another hole in the hull for the East Valley Tribune, which seems to be going the way of the Tucson Citizen. While we can only hope the Trib stays afloat, it appears one of its most skilled bailers just jumped on a life raft.

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