The Center Square

U.S. right

Background

The outlet traces back to Watchdog.org, launched around 2009 by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity to cover state and local government spending from a free-market perspective. In 2019 the parent organization rebranded as the Franklin News Foundation and relaunched its content under the name The Center Square, positioning it as a nonpartisan wire service. It has since grown into a large distribution network, with content appearing in over 1,000 local outlets, including many owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, giving it outsized reach for a relatively small newsroom. Media watchdog groups, including Media Matters and PR Watch, have described it as a conservative advocacy operation using local-news branding to spread right-leaning talking points, often without disclosing its ideological funding to readers. Media Bias/Fact Check and AllSides both rate it as right-leaning, and Media Bias/Fact Check specifically dings it for funding opacity. Despite the labeling debates, much of its state-government reporting is factual, though framed with word choices and story selection that tend to favor conservative and libertarian positions on taxes, regulation, and government spending.

Sources

1. The Center Square - Wikipedia
2. Franklin News Foundation - Wikipedia
3. The Center Square - Bias and Credibility - Media Bias/Fact Check
4. The Center Square - Media Bias & Ratings - AllSides
5. A dark money-fueled conservative group rebranded its effort to infiltrate local politics — Media Matters for America
6. Franklin's Right-Wing Watchdog.org Rebrands as The Center Square - PR Watch

Profile compiled 2026-09-25; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

← Back to track record