One can’t fault individuals for making the best career decisions for themselves at each step, and we should assume that every professional is doing the best he or she can to do a job well and honestly in the moment.  Still, every time a Rhode Island journalist proves that a job in government communications is an integral part of the career path, the credibility of the whole enterprise takes a hit.

This time, as Katherine Gregg of the Providence Journal notes on Twitter, it’s Daniel Kittredge of the Cranston Herald, joining the Rhode Island Senate’s communication office.

This is a problem that the journalism industry has to work out.  The public can’t trust a news media that is interwoven with government.  The decision to publish unhelpful stories, or even unhelpful details within otherwise neutral, or even healthy, stories, could be a future obstacle to that lucrative PR job.