'''Watchdog.org''' is a network of [[United States|American]] news websites that feature reporting on state and local government from a [[conservatism in the United States|conservative]] perspective.<ref name=pew>{{cite web|last=Benton|first=Joshua,|url=http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/07/pew-nonprofit-journalism-doesnt-mean-ideology-free/|title=Pew: Nonprofit journalism doesn’t mean ideology-free|publisher=[[Nieman Foundation for Journalism|Nieman Journalism Lab]]|date=July 18, 2011}}</ref> It is a project of the [[Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity]].<ref name=cjr20120913>{{cite news |last=Peters |first=Justin |title=‘Serious, point-of-view journalism’?|url=http://www.cjr.org/swing_states_project/serious_point-of-view_journalism.php?page=all |magazine=[[Columbia Journalism Review]] |accessdate=October 28, 2012 |date=September 13, 2012}}</ref>

Watchdog.org reports that it has state-based investigative reporters in more than 40 states.<ref name=about/> The Franklin Center's focus on state legislative news takes advantage of reduced staffing and resources by [[mainstream media]].<ref name=mmfa20120711/> The Franklin Center provides training and funding, but no editorial oversight, to some of the sites, while others are operated and controlled by the Franklin Center.<ref name=mmfa20120711/> Most of the sites are staffed by a single reporter and publish contributions from non-professional journalists.<ref name=nieman>{{cite web |title=Franklin Center |url=http://www.niemanlab.org/encyclo/franklin-center-for-government-and-public-integrity/ |publisher=[[Nieman Journalism Lab]] |accessdate=October 23, 2015}}</ref> According to the ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'', the sites vary in quality, reflect the Franklin Center's focus on government waste and public employee unions, and the Franklin Center's claim that its news sites are non-partisan "seems only nominally true".<ref name=cjr20120913/> The network includes news outlets such as [[Wisconsin Watchdog]]. In 2013, ''[[The Capital Times]]'' of [[Madison, Wisconsin]] said that Wisconsin Watchdog's articles were not generally acceptable as straight news due to their "strident" tone.<ref name=captimes20131220>{{cite news|last1=Craver|first1=Jack|title=Progressive group: It's obvious why Wisconsin Reporter is attacking investigation|url=http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/jack_craver/progressive-group-it-s-obvious-why-wisconsin-reporter-is-attacking/article_64177d6a-6985-11e3-b47f-0019bb2963f4.html|accessdate=4 June 2015 |newspaper=The Capital Times|date=December 20, 2013}}</ref>

The Franklin Center does not disclose its donors, and many Watchdog sites hide their donors.<ref name=cjr20120913/><ref name=mmfa20120711>{{cite news |title=How A Right-Wing Group Is Infiltrating State News Coverage |date=July 11, 2012 |agency=[[Media Matters for America]] |url=http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/07/11/how-a-right-wing-group-is-infiltrating-state-ne/187059 |accessdate=October 23, 2015}}</ref> Watchdog.org affiliates have been denied state capital press credentials in Idaho and Illinois due to their lack of transparency.<ref name=mmfa20120711/><ref name=nieman/><ref>{{cite web |title=The Rise of the Networks |first=Brant |last=Houston |date=December 4, 2009 |accessdate=October 23, 2015 |url=http://www.journalismethics.info/feature_articles/rise_of_the_networks.html |publisher=Center for Journalism Ethics in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the [[University of Wisconsin-Madison]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=January 4, 2010 |title=How to Avoid Ethical Snags in Non-Profit Journalism |first=Stephen J. A. |last=Ward |accessdate=October 23, 2015 |publisher=MediaShift |url=http://mediashift.org/2010/01/how-to-avoid-ethical-snags-in-non-profit-journalism004}}</ref>