Indiana Governor Mike Pence is ditching a plan to create a state-run news site.
Pence told state agencies Thursday he was backing off plans to launch a website that was to be called Just IN.
The Indianapolis Star obtained planning documents this week about the proposed website.
The plan was to have Indiana’s governmental press secretaries write so-called “stories” and have the state-run “news service” compete with independent news agencies across the region.
The plan came under fire, with critics saying it amounted to passing off pro-government propaganda as news.
Indiana journalists objected to the idea of taxpayer dollars being used to support pro-Pence stories.
In a memo to staff Thursday, Pence said he had made the decision to pull the plug on the Just IN website idea.