The state of Michigan spends $280,000 annually on subscriptions to two little-read Capitol-focused news outlets, Michigan Enjoyer has learned exclusively.
Management at both publications describe the subscriptions as covering all state employees, more or less.
Early into President Donald Trump’s second term, Elon Musk and the DOGE team unearthed a minor scandal: Federal agencies were spending millions of dollars per year on subscriptions to Politico Pro, in effect subsidizing a news outlet that covers them.
Public records requests filed by Michigan Enjoyer found the same dynamic at play in Michigan, though with smaller dollar amounts.
We asked the state how much it has spent on subscriptions to MIRS and Gongwer every fiscal year since 2022.
MIRS describes itself as “first in Capitol coverage” and touts polling that shows Lansing insiders hold it in the highest regard among outlets covering the capital, with 54% naming it as most-trusted.
In that polling, Gongwer came in second place at 22%. No other news outlet even reached 10%.
Both outlets purport to cover the goings-on of state government better than anybody. And both outlets are heavily patronized by the very same state government they cover.
In 2022, the state spent $120,000 on Gongwer subscriptions. That went up to $123,600 in 2023, and $127,380 in 2024.
In 2022, the state spent about $256,000 on MIRS subscriptions, about $267,000 in 2023, and about $271,000 in 2024. The 2025 invoice, which will be sent out in May, will be for $143,427.
This means that in 2025, Michigan taxpayers will foot about $280,000 in bills for two news outlets little-known to the average Michigander.
Michigan Enjoyer asked Laura Wotruba, a spokeswoman with the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, how many subscriptions the people of Michigan are paying for and why they come at so great a cost.
Wotruba never responded.
The news outlets were more transparent.
Zach Gorchow, president of Michigan operations at Gongwer, told Michigan Enjoyer that the state pays for 47,000 subscriptions, about enough subscriptions to cover every employee of the state.
Why does every state employee need a subscription to Gongwer? We don’t know. The state won’t say.
MIRS publisher John Reurink declined to share specifics of the arrangement, citing client privacy.
But in a statement to Michigan Enjoyer, Reurink indicated the price point allows “any and all state employees” to read MIRS.
Reurink said, in part:
“The State requested and negotiated the contract as a means of reducing their overall cost and providing access to any and all state employees interested in reading our coverage and in utilizing our directories and our legislative document analysis and monitoring software.”
Why do state employees need “directories and legislative document analysis and monitoring software” to follow the inner workings of the state government they work in?
Don’t they have access to internal documents and tools? We don’t know. The state won’t say.
The DOGE mindset isn’t just about finding high-dollar items. It’s about finding and cutting anything that does not serve the people who pay for it.
If MIRS and Gongwer are essential enough to buy subscriptions for every state employee, shouldn’t the state defend those purchases when asked?
Anna Hoffman is an independent journalist. Join her in conversation on X @shoesonplease. James David Dickson is host of the Enjoyer Podcast. Join him in conversation on X @downi75.
