Tom Ward of the Valley Breeze offers an important warning for anybody hoping to keep an eye on their government and its successes and failures:

There’s a shift coming in local and state news coverage, and it’s not a good one. You’ll need to train yourself to spot real news done by independent journalists at newspapers and TV stations, from public relations – propaganda, really – done by the growing legions of writers employed by political officials or state agencies. What’s more annoying? Taxpayers are paying for the one-sided press, whose writers tow “the company line,” whether that company is a school department, mayor’s office, or state agency.

My question? Why are taxpayers forced to pay for this? Readers should ask themselves, “Who benefits?”

For some politicians in office, it becomes impossible to tell where their taxpayer-funded “communications” staffs end and their campaign machines begin.  Perhaps even more insidious, though, is the use of taxpayer funds to promote the use of government as a solution for all problems versus other alternatives.

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Researching school choice a few years ago, I was struck by the degree to which government schools’ advantages extended beyond the no-direct-cost funding model to the point of having promotional apparatus.  The state, especially, has professionals dedicated to the promotion of the public system, from announcements of innovations to promotion of individual teachers.

With some variation in form and emphasis, this applies across government.  Police and fire departments promote their community services; welfare agencies (including HealthSource RI) advertise their offerings; and on and on.

To some extent, this is natural and good.  Communities should want broad comfort with the local police department, for example.  When government becomes as big and all-encompassing as it has, however, its self-promotion can flip an emphasis on using its coercive power only when necessary to presenting it as the ideal solution in all cases.