Crosscut, which reduced hours and expenses last month in response to hitting a "fiscal cliff," has a new publisher: Greg Shaw.

Shaw is currently the director of grantee and partner engagement at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but will be leaving that position on August 31 to run Crosscut and, in particular, look for donors and other revenue sources that might pull the non-profit local news site back from the edge.

According to his Gates Foundation bio, Shaw "began his career as an editor of the Cherokee Advocate, the newspaper serving the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma" and "has a B.A. in journalism from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma."

David Brewster, who currently heads Crosscut, says he will be moving into a new role in which he'll write more, "scout for talent," and work on other projects. He adds that what the site was calling "summer hours" will be over at the end of the summer.

UPDATE: In a post on the site, Shaw explains why, "while many are fleeing journalism I find myself returning to it."