The State House News Service has received $578,467 in undisclosed taxpayer funds from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts so far this fiscal year raising questions of journalistic objectivity for the 132 year old Beacon Hill incumbent.

The SNHS is effectively the “paper of record” for the Massachusetts State House, providing the basic informational building blocks for dozens of reporters and news outlets shaping the political narrative delivered to the wider general public.

Part of a multi-state for-profit media company, SHNS claims to be completely objective: “Our coverage stands out in the modern climate of journalism because we strive to keep it so straight. We're proud to have become a vital part of State House life, almost like a public utility. We earned that status by being as objective and impeccable as we possibly can.”

But the State House News Service does not disclose to its readers the taxpayer money it receives from the state government. 24Beacon compiled the data using three different vendor codes in the state comptroller’s c-thru accounting system. 24Beacon is reader supported and does not receive any government funds.

Of the 187 payments to the SHNS this fiscal year, only one was made in the name of the “State House News Service” all other disbursements were coded under the corporate names of: State Affairs and Affiliated News Service.

Since FY10, taxpayer dollars received by the SHNS increased every year but FY19, when state revenue fell 2.9%. Yet, the pandemic years were a growth opportunity for the SHNS, as taxpayer funds increased by double digits in FY22, FY23 and FY24.

Five additional reporting periods remain in FY26 with payments to the SHNS projected to once again approach $600,000 by fiscal year end. SHNS received $599,365 taxpayer money in FY25, according to the c-thru accounting system.

Neither SHNS President George Donnelly or co-owner Craig Sandler responded to inquires regarding this story.

“Joint Legislative Operations” is the largest single paid government subscriber at $60,300 with the Governor’s office the second largest single paid government subscriber at $27,904. However, the executive branch in aggregate, is by far the largest source of paid government SHNS subscribers (view the state’s checkbook below).

Last month the SHNS hosted a “conversation” moderated by Jon Keller with their largest single paid government subscribers: Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano (Joint Legislative Operations).

SHNS never disclosed the fact that Spilka and Mariano are paid subscribers or that the legislative leaders account for approximately 10% of the almost $600,000 in taxpayer money the Service has received year to date in FY26. In FY25 Joint Legislative Operations spent $57,460 on SNHS subscriptions.

In 1972, as reported by the Associated Press and published in the Boston Globe “State Newsmen on Mass. payrolls” members of the State House News Service were embroiled in similar but not as sophisticated conflict of interest scandal in which they received direct payments for work conducted on behalf of state agencies and elected officials.

But the fact pattern is consistent: receiving funds from the government institution you are entrusted to report on and failure to disclose the receipt of the funds to the readership.

Selling Access? “Reach Them”

Retaining influential leaders as daily readers, largely by reinforcing the conventional wisdom of the Beacon Hill establishment, is central to the business model.

“Trusted partners” seeking to “reach them” can sponsor the SHNS daily email newsletter, the Massterlist. Sponsors include heavyweights of healthcare, wind power, lobbyist shops, media relations and academia all of whom have direct interest, or clients with direct interest in, matters regulated by the state government.

Questioning the establishment, aside from an occasional example, is bad for business.

State House News Service event sponsors are eager to reach policy makers, yet loathe to be associated with an event that might expose Beacon Hill leaders to inconvenient questions.

Notable lobbyist firms Delaney Policy Group, ML Strategies and Rasky Partners were sponsors of the February Spilka/Mariano event, as was Mass Pike rest stop operator Global Partners.

Moderator Keller tossed moderately difficult questions at Spilka and Mariano over a 45 minute period. At one point Keller asked a question that could have easily been addressed to the State House News Service itself: “Do you have anything to hide?”

The Service proudly declares that it sets the tone for political coverage in Massachusetts: “journalists have come to view us not as competition, but as support—as one of the most valuable resources they possess to help them do an excellent job,” the About Section of the State House News Service declares.

The blurb of a book written by SHNS staffers On Top of Beacon Hill: The State House News Service at 125 describes the private company as “a bastion of depth and trustworthiness in a media world gone vapid and biased.”

In June 2024 State Affairs, “aligned with and acquired” a stake in the State House News Service and its then parent company Affiliated News Service. State Affairs operates in over a dozen state capitals.

SHNS has been located in the same private office, Room 458 on the fourth floor of the Massachusetts State House since 1947 according to Wikipedia, with a business office located off site.

Paid government subscribers include a wide variety of state agencies in FY26: Department of Fish and Game, the Civil Service Commission and the Division of Banks. All but a trace number of the payments to SHNS in FY26 logged in the comptroller’s CTHRU system carry the object code: “subscriptions, memberships and licensing fees.” The $578,467 in FY26 includes $2,030 in job posting fees.