The plans for the taxpayer-funded and state-run news site were described Monday in a story published by the Indianapolis Star. The news was met with national backlash from major media outlets such as the Atlantic and the Huffington Post because of the site creators’ apparent disregard for the role of the free press in reporting government news.
“Setting up a state-controlled news source run by the governor in competition with the private sector media is most disturbing, and I am very pleased that the governor has announced the termination of it,” Professor Lee Hamilton, the Director of IU’s Center on Congress, said. “I am puzzled to how it got this far. It’s disturbing that it was even considered this seriously.”
The governor’s administration is allocating $100,000 of government funds to produce news stories written about the state government by the governor’s staff.
Though some questioned the website’s legality with regards to the First Amendment — no law can be made infringing on the freedom of the press — Maurer School of Law Professor Daniel Conkle said the website would not have violated Constitutional law.
“The fact that the government is speaking is not restricted in any meaningful way by the First Amendment,” Conkle said. “There’s no way to sue the governor or the state of Indiana to stop them from doing this, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
Throughout the week, comparisons were made between the Pence administration and other foreign regimes notorious for their stifling of a free media. One CBS opinion piece was titled, “Welcome to the Gulag, Love, Mike Pence.”
“The way the website was initially described was rather reminiscent of government mouthpieces in Russia or China,” journalism professor Elaine Monaghan said. “We don’t do that kind of thing here.”
Responding to the criticism, Pence made an effort to distance himself from the project, saying that the documents cited by the Star were “poorly crafted.” Though said documents suggested the site would feature breaking news stories alongside exclusive information on the workings of the Indiana state government, the governor said his intentions for the site were very different.
“He apparently put all of the blame on the staff,” Hamilton said. “That kind of runs contrary to my way of thinking of how a staff works.”
In his most recent press release, Pence said rather than creating a news forum where reporters can find press releases, he would settle for simply improving the outlet that has been used to distribute press releases in the past.
“I have instructed the Office of Information of Technology to update the current public calendar website to ensure that the press and the public have unfiltered and convenient access to all press releases and public meeting notices,” the press release stated.
It is uncertain whether this political blunder will impact Pence’s potential bid for the presidency, but School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Robert Agranoff said it is doubtful.
“To be honest with you, it will probably blow over quickly,” Agranoff said. “There are some other things that might impede his campaign, but things like this tend to blow over.”
It has not been said how the tax money to fund Just IN will now be used.
