For nearly 15 years, Michigan Capitol Confidential has kept an eye on Lansing — and Detroit, Flint, Cheboygan, Marquette and many other places across Michigan. It offers millions of readers thousands of articles about hundreds of cities in one state.

The work will continue and be turbocharged as Scott McClallen joins the team. Scott joins CapCon this month as a reporter, after five years at the news organization, The Center Square.

“I’m excited to start working at such a great company,” he says. “With the Mackinac Center’s experts, editors, and unique skill set, we will break news and shine a light on topics that legacy media can’t or won’t report.”

The goal of CapCon is to be a news service focused on the issues and angles traditional media doesn’t cover. It brings in a free-market perspective, skeptical of government involvement and its purported solutions.

All great journalists are skeptical. Unfortunately, much of what news media produces isn’t skeptical of government programs or results.

Many articles in Michigan have been written about school budgets. Some have even noted spending is up. But very few, if any, articles have noted that Michigan’s education spending is the highest it has ever been, while most measures of student success are poor. CapCon does that story.

As Michigan lawmakers work on reinstating a film subsidy program, many articles quote its proponents, and some speculate on the stars who might come if taxpayers pick up part of the tab for their films. CapCon focuses on what economic experts say about film subsidy programs (they’re against them) and the results from the last time taxpayers spent $500 million on films (a host of flops, bankruptcies and temporary jobs).

Hundreds of times per year, state agencies send out press releases touting economic development deals – by which they mean big businesses getting direct subsidies through the tax code. Some lawmakers even campaign against “corporate power” — which hasn’t stopped them from approving $4 billion in select favors. Only CapCon has investigated and followed up, again and again and again, to show that the promised jobs rarely get created. CapCon doesn’t do press release reporting, and we do not assume that what the government says is true.

Government officials and those receiving the money will always advocate for more money. A good, skeptical media should measure the results. That’s what CapCon does.