Indiana Governor Mike Pence, stung by “outrage” over his plans to create a state-run website to report news for distribution to media outlets, ditched the project admitting that it was “ill-conceived.” The news service entitled JustIN would have provided pre-written stories and scoops from within his administration. (Indianapolis Star, January 29, 2015, by Tim Swarens)
Time Swarens of the Indystar, January 27, 2015, had urged the governor to drop the website idea, that while it was understandable that the governor wanted to spin news in his favor, it was not appropriate to create a news site for that purpose. “Beyond the effort to improperly control the news, it’s also disappointing that a self-described fiscal and small-government conservative would latch on to such a wasteful expense and such an unnecessary expansion of the government’s reach,” wrote Swarens.
The Society of Professional Journalists released a strong statement criticizing the news service on First Amendment grounds: “The Society of Professional Journalists strongly supports freedom of the press as the Founding Fathers intended. One must wonder if a government-run publication, which is paid for by taxpayers, could ever be more than a marketing service for those who control the purse strings. If history has any lesson, it’s that there is no Democracy without a free press. It’s the Society’s position that the press is not free when elected officials serve as editor and publisher.” (WLFI, January 28, 2015, by Alexandra Kruczek)