In the next few weeks, the state of Indiana will debut its own state-run news website, called Just IN, complete with slideshows, videos, listicles and news stories. The publication, whose mission is “Helping Hoosiers better understand what happens in state government,” will compete with traditional media to keep the government accountable to the people – as if government can monitor itself. Jack Ronald, who trained journalists in Moldova how to become an independent press after the fall of Soviet Russia, told the Indy Star, “I think it’s a ludicrous idea. I have no problem with public information services – the Purdue University agriculture extension service does a great job. But the notion of elected officials presenting material that will inevitably have a pro-administration point of view is antithetical to the idea of an independent press.” While the mainstream media often sympathizes with the Left, or serves as the lapdog of officials, it’s preferable to a state-run media that only lauds the government and spins stories for the state’s benefit. More…