The Washington Post, one of the last U.S. papers to have a correspondent devoted to covering Canada, plans to close its Canadian bureau this summer.

In the last couple of years many of the most prestigious newspapers in the U.S. have pulled the plug on their foreign correspondents. Already the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and others have shut their Canadian offices.

In fact, with the possible exception of Iraq, the number of correspondents abroad is shrinking for U.S. papers.

"Frankly where they're based is less important than what they do in the world we live in now,"  David Hoffman, manager of foreign news for the Washington Post, said in an interview with CBC Radio.

In the last three months the Washington Post's man in Canada has reported on everything from trappers in Yellowknife to separatists in Quebec.

When the Post does away with the Canada-only beat, only a few U.S. wire correspondents will be left to cover Canada.

Inward looking

The world that is covered by U.S. papers, in fact, is increasingly inward looking.

A recent study from Harvard found a 30 per cent drop in the use of foreign correspondents by newspapers.

"There is a relentless contraction even since 9/11," said Jon Sawyer, director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in Washington.

Sawyer believes there is a desire for the type of in-depth storytelling foreign correspondents provide among American readers, but most papers believe they can't afford it.

"The fact that circulation is relentlessly declining and newspapers and other journalist outlets are in kind of free fall mentality and panic," he said.

The Washington Post says it may increase its Canadian stories by focusing on themes like the environment and security.

"Not perhaps cover as many political and geographic zones. But instead try to cover themes," Hoffman said.

But that hasn't been the experience at the New York Times, which closed its Canada bureau last summer.

Since the bureau closed, the average number of feature length articles about Canada, which is the U.S.'s largest trading partner and among its closest allies, has dropped by 23 per cent.

Robert Bothwell, director of the University of Toronto's international relations program, says the Post and others are misjudging Canada's role.

"It is the country that's most important economically," he said. "It is a country that could be supportive, but only if the Americans will pay some attention to us."