The city of San Diego has become the latest local government to put its communications staff to work posting positive “news” stories on a website that resembles an independent media outlet.

InsideSanDiego.org features headlines like “Library trains employees to spot sex trafficking victims” and “Mission Hills removes last overhead utility pole.”

Should tax dollars be paying for "news" stories and videos produced by the government? Yes 30% (56) No 70% (133) 189 total votes.

The site promises to “inform and engage San Diego residents and visitors through this digital storytelling platform.”

Such sites are becoming more common, as media outlets slim down and government public-relations staffs bulk up — often with former journalists. The city’s new site is run by Jos Ysea, who formerly worked for two local TV stations.

Ysea said the idea came up when communications staffers were brainstorming ways to pitch stories to local media outlets.

“We figured, ‘hey, why not just do it ourselves?’” he said.

The District Attorney’s Office has its own news center, which features upbeat videos about staff members and departments within the office.

The more established County News Center website, which received nearly 1.6 million page views last year, has a .com address as opposed to .gov and contains only subtle clues that it’s a San Diego County government public-relations operation.

Traditionally, governments communicated with the public through news releases and by responding to media requests for information. The posting of news-like stories and videos is an extension of that function — bypassing or even replacing the media in the digital age.

The trend has become a cause for concern among some journalism organizations and media ethics experts. One main reason is that government postings are not technically “news” by definition, according to Andrew Seaman, ethics chairman for the Society of Professional Journalists. He said content about the government, written by the government and funded with taxpayer money falls under a different name — propaganda.

“What’s wrong with that?” Ysea asked. “They can call it propaganda, and we can call it pointing out the good things that we do.”

Seaman said ethical boundaries are crossed when a state-run news service poses as an objective source of information, or at least downplays the fact that its content is coming from government employees.

“You’re just not going to see all sides of the story,” Seaman said. “They might not include reports that are contrary to their position. It might be slanted.”

Previously Government PR surges amid media cuts

Inside San Diego’s “About” page says the site is an extension of the official city website, and its content is produced by the Communications Department. The homepage does not have this disclaimer.

Seaman said readers often can’t tell the difference between an independent news site and a government-run publication, or they’re unaware that the government’s information may lack necessary different points of view.

While government-run news services in San Diego have drawn little if any criticism, similar concepts across the country have resulted in political backlash.

In January 2015, word got out that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence planned to launch his own state-run news outlet. Planning documents obtained by Indianapolis Star journalists spoke of having press secretaries write “stories” and having the “news service” compete with other, independent media outlets.

The notion of the government distributing “news” stories outraged the public, as well as journalists around the country, who likened the endeavor to state-run media in Russia and China, with some outlets dubbing the Pence news service “Pravda on the Plains.”

Pence scrapped the project three days after the story leaked.

There used to be one PR specialist for every four reporters in America. The ratio has flipped as news organizations struggled to adjust to technological advancements and a decline in advertising revenue.

At the same time, new technology allowed companies and government agencies to bypass media altogether by bulking up their communications staff from one or two to a dozen or more.

In 2004, there were about three PR workers for every one reporter, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Since then, the number of reporters has decreased from 52,550 to 43,630, a 17 percent loss, while PR grew by 22 percent during the same time frame.

PR specialists now outnumber reporters by nearly 5 to 1, a ratio that is expected to grow. The bureau predicts that employment of reporters, correspondents and broadcast news analysts will decrease by 9 percent from 2014 to 2024, while PR specialist employment will expand by 6 percent.

Ysea said four city employees are responsible for creating content for Inside San Diego, as well as two videographers, and other communication staff is brought in for collaboration.

The County News Center is larger than several organizations charged with keeping tabs on local news, including Voice of San Diego, The San Diego Daily Transcript, San Diego Reader and San Diego CityBeat.

Seaman said open communication between officials and journalists is an important step toward an enlightened public, and the city’s resources would be better spent on answering media requests and improving transparency.

“That’s exactly what [Inside San Diego] is,” Ysea said. “We’re helping journalists access what we’re doing inside the city government.”

At the same time, the city is making its functions accessible to the public, he said.

“A lot of thought went into putting this together and how it will benefit the city,” Ysea said. “A lot of the positive stories don’t get done at all because the media is covering other things. What’s important to a maybe a hardcore journalist or the rest of a newsroom might not be what’s interesting to residents. We want to get these positive stories out there and make sure residents are getting every side.”

U-T Watchdog sent emails to Ysea and a county spokesman asking for information about their communications department, including staff size, number of PR employees 10 years ago, how much money is spent on the PR staff’s salaries, and how many outside public relations companies are hired on a contractual basis.

Ysea said the questions require some digging and the information is not readily available, so they will be treated as a public-records request through the City Clerk’s Office. An automated response from the city said the request is being processed.