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Editorial Standards Page
The nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is increasing the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
The Center is a member of the Trust Project, a global network of news organizations that has developed transparency standards to help news readers assess the quality and credibility of journalism.
The Center is also a member The Global Investigative Journalism Network, an international network of nonprofit organizations founded to support, promote and produce investigative journalism.
The Center is also a founding member of the Institute for Nonprofit News, a group of nonprofit journalism organizations that conduct investigative reporting in the public interest.
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Ethics Policy
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization that strives to uphold high standards of fairness and accuracy.
The Center’s ethics standards include the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, adopted in 1996 and endorsed by thousands of journalists around the world. That code is reprinted below, with permission. WCIJ’s Board of Directors have also adopted a conflict of interest policy and a diversity statement, which appear after the SPJ Code of Ethics.
Additional standards guiding the Center’s operations include:
- The Center’s Policy on Financial Support, which requires that the Center’s news coverage be independent of donors and that all providers of revenue will be publicly identified.
- Membership standards of the Institute for Nonprofit News (originally Investigative News Network), the nation’s first consortium of nonprofit investigative news organizations. The Center is a founding member of INN and the standards, developed with assistance of the Center’s leaders, require members to disclose information about donors and financial practices, produce nonpartisan investigative journalism, and apply high journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness.
Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
Preamble
Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility. Members of the Society share a dedication to ethical behavior and adopt this code to declare the Society’s principles and standards of practice.
Seek Truth and Report It
Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
Journalists should:
- Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
- Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
- Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.
- Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.
- Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
- Never distort the content of news photos or video. Image enhancement for technical clarity is always permissible. Label montages and photo illustrations.
- Avoid misleading re-enactments or staged news events. If re-enactment is necessary to tell a story, label it.
- Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story.
- Never plagiarize.
- Tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience boldly, even when it is unpopular to do so.
- Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others.
- Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status.
- Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.
- Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid.
- Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.
- Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.
- Recognize a special obligation to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open and that government records are open to inspection.
Minimize Harm
Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.
Journalists should:
- Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
- Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
- Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
- Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
- Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
- Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects or victims of sex crimes.
- Be judicious about naming criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.
- Balance a criminal suspect’s fair trial rights with the public’s right to be informed.
Act Independently
Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.
Journalists should:
- Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
- Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.
- Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity.
- Disclose unavoidable conflicts.
- Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.
- Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.
- Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; avoid bidding for news.
Be Accountable
Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other.
Journalists should:
- Clarify and explain news coverage and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.
- Encourage the public to voice grievances against the news media.
- Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
- Expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media.
- Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.
More information about SPJ and its Code of Ethics is available at www.spj.org.
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism Conflict of Interest Policy
The following Financial Conflict of Interest Policy (“Conflict of Interest Policy”) is an effort (i) to ensure that the deliberations and decisions of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (“WCIJ”) are made solely in the interest of promoting the quality of journalism in the state of Wisconsin, and (ii) to protect the interests of WCIJ when it considers any transaction, contract, or arrangement that might benefit or be perceived to benefit the private interest of a person affiliated with WCIJ (each, a “WCIJ Representative”). As used in this Conflict of Interest Policy, a WCIJ Representative includes any director, advisory board member, financial advisor, legal counsel or employee.
- Duty to WCIJ. Each WCIJ Representative owes a duty to WCIJ to advance WCIJ’s legitimate interests when the opportunity to do so arises. Each WCIJ Representative must give undivided allegiance when making decisions affecting the organization. Similarly, WCIJ Representatives must be faithful to WCIJ’s non-profit mission and are not permitted to act in a way that is inconsistent with the central goals of the organization and its non-profit status.
- Gifts. No WCIJ Representative shall personally accept gifts or favors that could compromise his or her loyalty to WCIJ. Any gifts or benefits personally accepted from a party having a material interest in the outcome of WCIJ or its employees by a WCIJ Representative individually should be merely incidental to his or her role as a WCIJ Representative and should not be of substantial value. Any gift with a value of $250 or more, or any gifts with a cumulative value in excess of $250 received by a WCIJ Representative in any twelve-month period from a single source, shall be considered substantial. Cash payments may not be accepted, and no gifts should be accepted if there are strings attached. For example, no WCIJ Representative may accept gifts if he or she knows that such gifts are being given to solicit his or her support of or opposition to the outcome or content of any WCIJ publication.
- Personal Loans. WCIJ may not loan to, or guarantee the personal obligations of any WCIJ Representative.
- Conflicts of Interest. The following are examples of conflicts of interest which must be promptly disclosed to the WCIJ Board of Directors pursuant to Section 4 below by any WCIJ Representative with knowledge of such conflict of interest:
- (a) any real or apparent conflict of interest between a donor or the subject of a WCIJ publication or report and a WCIJ Representative;
- (b) a WCIJ Representative’s ownership of an equity interest in a person or entity that is or will be the subject of a WCIJ publication or report; and
- (c) failure to disclose to WCIJ all relationships between the subject of any WCIJ publication or report and any WCIJ Representative or close relatives of the WCIJ Representative.
- Conflict Procedure:
(a) If a WCIJ Representative or party related to a WCIJ Representative has an interest in any contract, action or transaction to be entered into with WCIJ, a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest exists. Any WCIJ Representative having knowledge that such a conflict of interest exists or may exist (an “Interested WCIJ Representative”) will so advise the Board of Directors promptly. An Interested WCIJ Representative will include in the notice the material facts as to the relationship or interest of the Interested WCIJ Representative in the entity proposing to enter into a contract, action or transaction with WCIJ.
(b) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Board of Directors may authorize any committee appointed pursuant to the WCIJ by-laws (a “Committee”) to act in lieu of the Board of Directors in determining whether an action, contract or transaction is fair to WCIJ as of the time it is authorized or approved by the Committee.
(c) At any time that a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest is identified, the Chair of the Board or a Chair of the applicable Committee will ensure that such conflict of interest is placed on the agenda for the next meeting of the Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable. The notice of such meeting of the Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, will include, to the extent available when the notice is sent, a description of the conflict of interest matter to be discussed. By notice before the meeting or at the meeting, the directors on the board or the Committee, as applicable, will be advised that a vote will be taken at the meeting and that, in order to authorize the relevant contract, action or transaction, an affirmative vote of a majority of disinterested directors present at the meeting at which a quorum is present will be required and will be sufficient, even though the disinterested directors constitute less than a quorum of the Board of Directors or the Committee.
(d) Reasonable effort will be made to cause the material facts concerning the relationships between the individuals and WCIJ which create the conflict to be delivered to and shared with the members of the Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, prior to the meeting to enable the directors to arrive at the meeting prepared to discuss the issue. In the event it is not practicable to deliver the information prior to the meeting, it will be delivered to the directors at the meeting, and the directors can act upon the matter with the same authority as if notice had been given prior to the meeting.
(e) The Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, will invite all parties to the conflict of interest to attend the meeting, to make presentations and to be prepared to answer questions, if necessary. The Board or Directors or the Committee, as applicable, will also invite outside experts if necessary.
(f) At the meeting, providing a quorum is present, the conflict will be discussed to ensure that the directors present are aware of the issues and the factors involved. The interested directors may be counted for purposes of a quorum, even though they may not take part in any vote on the issues.
(g) The Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, must decide, in good faith, reasonably justified by the material facts, whether the action, contract or transaction would be in the best interest of WCIJ and fair to WCIJ as of the time it is authorized or approved.
(h) All interested directors must abstain from voting and, if necessary, leave the room when the vote is taken.
(i) The Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, will maintain a written account of all that transpires at the meeting and incorporate such account into the minutes of the meeting and disseminate it to the full Board of Directors. Such minutes will be presented for approval at the next meeting of the Board of Directors and maintained in the corporate record book.
(j) To the extent that the conflict of interest is continuing and the contract, action or transaction goes beyond one (1) year, the foregoing notice and discussion and vote will be repeated on an annual basis.
Diversity Statement
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism embraces diversity and inclusiveness in its journalism, training activities, hiring practices and workplace operations. The Center recognizes that its mission and society in general are strengthened by respecting individuals’ cultural traditions, beliefs and viewpoints. The Center further acknowledges that for its journalism, and our democracy, to attain their highest potential, a robust supply of reliable information about key issues must be accessible to all.
Inclusiveness is at the heart of thinking and acting as journalists. Our guiding principles: Protect the vulnerable. Expose wrongdoing. Explore solutions. The complex issues we face as a society require respect for different viewpoints. Race, class, generation, gender and geography all affect point of view. Reflecting these differences in our reporting leads to better, more-nuanced stories and a better-informed community.
Part of our commitment to diversity means being transparent about our own staff. Our latest demographic survey data may be found here. Information about the composition of the Center’s workforce in past years may be found in its responses to the American Society of News Editors Newsroom Employment Diversity Survey from 2017 and 2018. ASNE, now the News Leaders Association, paused data collection in 2020 to redesign the survey.
The Center recognizes that Wisconsin law bars employers from discrimination on the basis of:
Age, Ancestry, Arrest Record, Color, Conviction Record, Creed, Disability, Genetic Testing, Honesty Testing, Marital Status, Military Service, National Origin, Pregnancy or Childbirth, Race, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Use or nonuse of lawful products off the employer’s premises during nonworking hours. Employees may not be harassed in the workplace based on their protected status nor retaliated against for filing a complaint, for assisting with a complaint, or for opposing discrimination in the workplace.
Approved Sept. 8, 2010, updated May 8, 2018, by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism Board of Directors
Our anti-racism stand and a pledge of action
On August 5, 2020, we published a statement representing the views of the entire Wisconsin Watch staff, including a pledge of action developed through weeks of discussion, research and reflection. The statement includes the following commitment.
We pledge to:
— Investigate and expose the histories and disparate impacts of systems on the lives of people of color.
— Explore solutions to problems not just through the perspectives of experts traditionally sought out by journalists, but also through the lived experiences of people who are finding ways to navigate existing societal systems.
— Embrace anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusiveness in all of our journalism, and in our own newsroom, including collaborative efforts, the framing of news coverage and selection of news sources, plus in our training activities, hiring and retention practices, and workplace operations.
— Listen to your story ideas and welcome your contributions to our opinion and letters to the editors pages as forums for all voices.
Read the full statement and pledge of action here.
Related content:
Our DEI Board Task Force and Staff Committee
Wisconsin Watch is now capitalizing the ‘B’ in Black. Here’s why.
Diversity Staffing Report
Related content:
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative JournalismDEI Board Task Force and Staff Committee
Our anti-racism stand and a pledge of action
Wisconsin Watch is now capitalizing the ‘B’ in Black. Here’s why.
Demographic breakdown by gender and race
Jan. 13, 2021
Corrections Policy
Mistakes happen.
We’ve developed fact-checking protocols here at the Center. But when an error slips by us, the best thing we can do to keep our readers’ trust is own up to it.
Our policy is to correct stories promptly and openly. If we find an error, we will fix the story and note on the page what has been corrected.
As most news outlets do, we distinguish between corrections (for mistakes) and clarifications (for vague or misleading content).
If you think we’ve made a mistake in a story, tell us!
Ownership Structure, Funding
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization that is primarily funded through grants from foundations and donations from individuals and corporations. Additional revenue is obtained through sponsorships of its events and activities, and from earned income — payments for providing services such as fact-checking, collaborating with students or producing investigative journalism projects.
More than 850 individuals, foundations, news organizations and other groups have contributed financially to the Center since its launch in 2009.
As a matter of policy, funders exercise no control over the Center’s editorial decisions, and all funders are publicly identified.
The Center’s first major grant, a gift of $100,000 in general support, was awarded by the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation in 2009.
The Oklahoma-based foundation continued to support the Center with grants of $100,000 in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015; $75,000 in 2016; $50,000 in 2017 and 2018.
In 2010, the Center received a two-year $75,000 matching grant from Challenge Fund for Journalism VI, a joint program of the Ford Foundation in New York, the McCormick Foundation in Illinois and the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. The Center successfully completed a campaign to raise those matching funds in 2011.
The Foundation to Promote Open Society, which works in cooperation with the Open Society Foundations in New York City, awarded the Center general support totaling $50,000 in 2009, $100,000 in 2010 (to be spread over two years), $35,000 in 2011, $350,000 in 2012 (to be spread over two years), $350,000 in 2014 (over two years) and $200,000 in 2016.
In 2011, the Center announced a partnership with MAPLight.org to investigate the influence of money in Wisconsin state politics and policymaking. The project was supported by the Open Society Institute. The Center received about $25,000 for this project in 2011 and a similar amount in the first half of 2012.
In 2013, The Joyce Foundation became a major supporter of the Center. The Chicago-based foundation awarded a $100,000 grant that was split by the Center and MinnPost, a nonprofit news organization, to support in-depth coverage of key issues in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The grant funded coverage of political reform, environmental protection and gun violence issues in Wisconsin, as well as political reform in Minnesota. In 2014, Joyce awarded the Center $50,000 to support coverage of democracy, the environment and gun violence prevention. That was followed by a two-year grant in 2016, awarding $50,000 annually to support coverage of democracy, the environment and gun violence prevention. In 2018, The Joyce Foundation awarded the Center a two-year grant of $100,000 a year. In 2020, the foundation awarded the Center a two-year general support grant of $150,000 a year.
The Evjue Foundation, the charitable arm of The Capital Times in Madison, is a major supporter of the Center. The foundation made contributions to WCIJ in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and in 2013, significantly increased its support to $20,000 — the largest single contribution received from a Wisconsin donor. Evjue repeated its $20,000 support in 2014 and 2015, and increased its giving to $30,000 in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. It contributed $10,000 in 2020.
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, based in Miami, became a major donor in 2014 with a $75,000 general operating grant (spread over two years). In December 2016, the foundation designated the Center as one of 57 nonprofit news organizations eligible for up to $25,000 in matching funds through its NewsMatch program. As 2017 began, the Center successfully completed the match, thanks to 168 donors.
At the end of 2017, the Center was awarded $28,000 from NewsMatch, now funded by an expanded number of donors, for meeting the program’s fundraising goals, and in 2018, the Center was awarded $27,000 from NewsMatch. The Center successfully attained its 2019 NewsMatch goal and also was selected to receive an additional $10,000 from REI Co-op.
In 2014, the Center and UW-Madison journalism school obtained a $35,000 grant that was among the inaugural awards at 12 universities under the Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education, created to encourage experimentation in ways to provide news and information. The competitive program was managed by the Online News Association and funded by the Excellence and Ethics in Journalism Foundation, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Democracy Fund and the Rita Allen Foundation.
In 2015, the Vital Projects Fund, based in New York City, became a major supporter, contributing $25,000 to support the Center’s coverage of criminal justice issues. It provided $20,000 in 2016, $15,000 in 2017 and $20,000 in 2019.
The Reva & David Logan Foundation, based in Chicago, became a major supporter of the Center in 2017 with a general support grant of $100,000. The foundation awarded the Center $125,000 grants in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, the foundation awarded the Center a three-year grant of $150,000 a year.
The Center also is grateful for support it received from the Peters Family Foundation in Utah in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019; the Wisconsin State Journal in 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2014; and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and its related foundation, which provided $10,000 in 2014 and 2015, $14,000 in 2016, $20,000 in 2017, and $5,000 in 2019 and 2020.
In 2016, the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication received a grant from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment to establish a class in fact-checking and to create The Observatory website to publish fact-checked reports and information about fact-checking. The Center, in turn, received a contract of $15,000 in the first year and $10,000 in the second to develop and launch the website and assist in fact-checking, editing and distribution of content. The Center is training students and raising the supply of high-quality verified journalism.
In 2017, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication received a three-year grant totaling $120,000 from the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment to collaborate with the Center on production of investigative reports by students that are published on the Center’s website and distributed to media partners across the state and nation. The Center was paid through a contract.
In 2019, Houston philanthropists Laura and John Arnold, founders of Arnold Ventures, became major supporters of the Center, with a $100,000 gift of general operating support. They also provided a gift of $100,000 in 2020.
In 2019, the Lau and Bea Christensen Charitable Foundation donated $10,000 to support the Center.
In 2019, Mary and Ken Rouse donated $50,000 to the Center from the estate of their friend, Roger “Whitey” Bruesewitz.
In 2019, Susan Troller Cosgrove and her husband, Howard Cosgrove, established a fund in memory of her mother, Dorothy Mae Johnson Troller, a 1949 UW-Madison journalism graduate, to support the work of journalism students at the Center. They are contributing $10,000 a year in the first phase of the fund.
In 2019, the Wm. Collins Kohler Foundation awarded the Center a gift of $35,000 a year for three years to support fact-checking and other efforts to strengthen the integrity of journalism.
LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman became a major supporter of the Center in 2019 with a $100,000 gift of general operating support.
Members of the Center’s Board of Directors, who serve as volunteers, are financial supporters of the organization.
The Center has received revenue for producing reports and conducting interviews through arrangements with the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative news organization in Washington, D.C.; WBEZ Public Media in Chicago; American University’s J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism; Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting; Sarah Colt Productions in New York City; HuffPost; and NPR.
In 2017, the Center launched the Watchdog Club to enrich members’ experience with investigative journalism, and to involve these loyal members in efforts to transform the Center into a larger, more financially resilient organization. These members donate $1,000 or more a year per household.
In 2019, the Center created the Leadership Circle, a group of Watchdog Club members taking a leadership role in sustaining investigative reporting and the training of investigative journalists. These members donated $5,000 or more in 2019:
Laura and John Arnold
Mary Burke
Lau and Bea Christensen Charitable Foundation
Susan Troller Cosgrove and Howard Cosgrove
Evjue Foundation
Wendy Fearnside and Bruce Meier
Andy and Dee J. Hall
Larry Hands and Karen Kendrick-Hands
Phil and Tricia Hands
Sally Mead Hands Foundation
Reid Hoffman
Barbara Johnson
Wm. Collins Kohler Foundation
Reva and David Logan Foundation
David and Marion Meissner
Peters Family Foundation
Mary and Ken Rouse
In 2019 and 2020, the Center received subsidies (50% in year one, 33% in year two) to support the salary of a Report for America journalist who is producing an investigative podcast on police and prosecutorial misconduct in Wisconsin.
In 2019 and 2020, the Center received a total of $234,000 from the Google News Initiative to support the launch of News414, a collaborative project of the Center, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Outlier Media. News414 engages residents of underserved Milwaukee neighborhoods, responds to information requests via text message, investigates residents’ most pressing needs and delivers accountability journalism.
In 2019 and 2020, the Center received $100,000 grants from the Facebook Membership Accelerator, to support its development of a membership program and improvements to its digital infrastructure. The Lenfest Institute collaborated in the grantmaking.
In 2020, the Center received $8,500 from the Walton Family Foundation for its role in a collaborative reporting project on rural education during the pandemic. Six other newsrooms participated in the project, with assistance from the Institute for Nonprofit News.
In 2020, the Center received separate $5,000 payments from the Google News Initiative and the Facebook Journalism Project to support its reporting on the pandemic.
In 2020, the Center received a $93,581 forgivable loan under the federal Paycheck Protection Program to support its operations through the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.
In 2020, the Center received $20,000 from First Draft to support the work of Howard Hardee, one of First Draft’s fellows reporting on misinformation and disinformation in the 2020 election.
In 2020, Craig Newmark Philanthropies provided a $70,000 grant to the Center for its role in the Election Integrity Project to safeguard the voices of voters. The Center collaborated with the UW-Madison Center for Journalism Ethics, which also received grant money, to produce tools for the public and journalists to discern what’s credible, and what’s not.
In 2020, ProPublica’s Electionland project provided a 25% subsidy of a Center reporter’s salary to support coverage of voting issues.
In 2020, the Center received $51,000 from Votebeat, a nonprofit newsroom covering local election administration and voting in eight states, created by Chalkbeat. The Center works with two reporters and an editor on stories focusing on Wisconsin elections and voting.
Our financial supporters
(Updated November 2020)
| A to Z Produce and Bakery |
| Lisa Aarli and Gail Owens |
| Helen Aarli |
| Abbotsford Tribune Phonograph |
| Linda and James Adams |
| Jason Alcorn |
| Amazon Smile |
| Judy Amery-Ryland |
| Diane Ames |
| Noel Anderson |
| Elizabeth Andre |
| Margaret Andrietsch |
| Mary Anglim |
| Lynn and Dr. Tom Ansfield |
| Charles Anstett |
| David Antonioni |
| Susan Applegate |
| Appleton Post-Crescent Community Fund |
| Claudia Apuzzo |
| Laura and John Arnold |
| Michael Arnold |
| Joan Arnold |
| Alexandra Arriaga |
| Alicia Artus |
| Jeff Ash |
| Russell Attoe |
| Jan Axelson |
| Elizabeth Backes |
| Adam Balin and Karin Mahony |
| Bunny Balk |
| Ellen Balthazor |
| Robbi Bannen |
| Daniel Barr |
| Jeffrey Bartelll |
| Eileen Bartos |
| Bastian Family Foundation |
| Frank W. Bastian |
| Janet Battista |
| Chuck Bauer and Charles Beckwith |
| Mary Kay Baum |
| Herman Baumann and Kay Schwichtenberg |
| Keith and Juli Baumgartner |
| Eileen Beamish |
| Sheridan Bearheart |
| Steven Beatty |
| Beaver Dam Daily Citizen |
| Joseph and Josefina Beck |
| Barbara Beck |
| Madeleine Behr |
| Ann Behrmann |
| Barbara Bend |
| Daniel Bennett |
| Tracy Benton |
| Jacob Berchem |
| Laura Berger |
| Eyoel Berhane |
| Bill Berry |
| Stephen Berry |
| Paul Bickford |
| Tom and Katherine Bier |
| Kathy Bissen |
| Lynn Bjorkman |
| Kayla Blado |
| Bev Blietz |
| Karen Blofeld |
| Blue Valley Farms |
| Matthew Boben |
| Walt Bogdanich |
| Teri Boggess |
| Rod Bohn |
| Jane Boland |
| Peter Bonnes |
| Eric Booth |
| Alan Borsuk |
| Deanna Bowden |
| Nicholas Boyle |
| Maureen Brady |
| Nancy Bralick |
| Daniel Brand |
| Sirianna Brand |
| Kathleen Brazaitis |
| Elizabeth Brenner and Steve Ostrofsky |
| Malcolm and Penny Brett |
| Elizabeth Brixey |
| Dylan Brogan |
| Aimee and Karl Broman |
| Craig Brooks |
| Sandra Kay and James Brooks |
| Wesley Brooks |
| Suzanne Brooks |
| Sue Brouillette |
| Martha Brown |
| Joanne Brown |
| Kelly Bryant |
| Roger Buffett |
| Roland Buhler |
| Brian and Margaret Bull |
| Jay Bullock |
| Tucker Burch |
| Jim and Catherine Burgess |
| Elaine Burke |
| Mary Burke |
| Jane Burns |
| Brad Burrill |
| Jay Burseth |
| Paul Burton |
| Helen Bush |
| Michael Cain |
| John Calabrese |
| Stephen Caldwell |
| Linda and Edward Calhan |
| Tom and Patti Cameron |
| Peter Cameron |
| Marsha and Peter Cannon |
| Capital Times |
| Denis Carey and Carol Koby Carey |
| Duncan Carlsmith Carlsmith |
| Dick and Kim Cates |
| Julia Cechvala |
| Louisa Cenatiempo |
| Janice Chernik |
| Robert Christofferson |
| Joel Christopher |
| Dave Cieslewicz |
| Catherine Cleary |
| Pamela Clinkenbeard |
| Ned Cochrane and Bonnie Cox |
| Marcus and Sheila Cohen |
| Sarah Cohen |
| Scott Cohn |
| Rebecca Cole |
| Joanne and Jim Collins |
| Comfypac |
| Sara Companik |
| Daniel Conley |
| Tim Conroy |
| Linda Cooke |
| Bill Cooney |
| Marcy Cox |
| Craig Newmark Philanthropies |
| Mike Crane |
| David Crawford |
| Robert Crawford |
| Julie Crego |
| Dorothy Crenshaw |
| Sue Cross |
| Kathleen Culver |
| Nora Cusack and Brent Nicastro |
| Betty and Corkey Custer |
| Annette Czarnecki |
| Debra Dahlke |
| John Daigle |
| Tim Damos |
| James Danky and Christine Schelshorn |
| Susan Davenport |
| Judith Davidoff |
| Brian A. Davis and Deborah M. Umstead |
| Thulani Davis |
| Dead Bird Brewing Co. |
| Jason Dean |
| Dorothy Dean |
| Catherine Decker |
| Brenda DeJong |
| Carroll Delaney |
| Ann Delwiche |
| Martha Deming |
| Democracy Fund |
| Pam Dempsey |
| Ann Dencker |
| Jerry Depew |
| Matt DeRienzo |
| Claire and Chris DeRosa |
| Glenn Deutsch |
| Fernando Diaz |
| Mary Dibble |
| Robert Dohnal |
| Linda Donnelly |
| Richard Doxtator |
| Betsy Draine |
| Robert and Lynn Drechsel |
| Robert Dreps and Elizabeth Koehl |
| Joel Dresang |
| William and Gretchen Dresen |
| Kathleen Drew |
| Robert Dreyfus |
| Thomas and Andy Dukehart |
| Coburn Dukehart |
| Caroline Dunham |
| Bill Dunn |
| Sharon Dunwoody and Stephen Glass |
| Claire Duquette |
| John Durbrow |
| Kristen Durst |
| Margarita Dusek |
| Krista Eastman |
| Kaye Eckert |
| Karen and Anthony Eclavea |
| Jennifer and John Edmondson |
| Jane Edson |
| Richard Eggleston |
| Lynne and Bill Eich |
| Joe Eisele |
| El Grito Taqueria |
| Loren Elkin |
| Eric Englund |
| Marlene Enright |
| James Erickson |
| Dale Erlandson |
| Kathleen Esqueda |
| Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation |
| Mark and Sara Eversden |
| Evjue Foundation |
| John Eyster |
| Facebook Journalism Project |
| Facebook Membership Accelerator |
| Kristeen and Todd Fansler |
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| First Draft |
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| Kelvin Fodolfo |
| Ford Foundation |
| Susan Fowler |
| Philip Fransen |
| Georgette Frazer |
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| Kathy Freise |
| Caroline Fribance |
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| Fund for Environmental Journalism |
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| Kathleen Golden |
| Dorothy Golush |
| Dr. Lawrence and Hannah Goodman |
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| Google News Initiative |
| Linda Gorens-Levey and Michael Levey |
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| James Grayson |
| Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Nickel Fund |
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| Katie Harbath |
| Colette Harbort |
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| Kathie Hart |
| Linda Hartwich |
| Celinda Harvey |
| Miriam Hasan |
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| Nick Hasler |
| Jay Hatcher |
| Wendy and Shaun Hathaway |
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| Shanta Hattikudur |
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| Julie Hayward |
| Lorie Hearn |
| Philip Heckman |
| Carol Heim |
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| Marieka Heinlen |
| Haley Henschel |
| Carl Herrmann |
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| David Hetzel |
| Nick Heynen |
| Nancy Heyser |
| Kristin Higgins |
| Richard Hinderholtz |
| Jon Hochstetter |
| Susan and Leslie Hoffman |
| Reid Hoffman |
| Sam Hoisington |
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| Vincent Holmes |
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| Julie Horn Alexander |
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| Brant Houston |
| Diana and Kermit Hovey |
| Leslie Ann Howard |
| Mary Hubl |
| Sue Kelley Hudson |
| Robert Huff |
| Morgan Hughes |
| Timothy Hundt |
| Rex Hutcheson |
| Mukhtar Ibrahim |
| Rachel Imsland |
| Frances Ingebritson |
| Institute for Nonprofit News |
| John Intrieri |
| Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment |
| Isthmus |
| Mike Ivey and Vicki Elkin |
| Jevon Jaconi |
| Forrest and Margaret Jafuta |
| Janesville Gazette |
| Stanley Janowiak |
| Christine Javid |
| Kathleen Jaworski |
| Vince Jenkins and Stefanie Moritz |
| Mara Jezior |
| Jolanta Jimenez |
| John K. MacIver Institute |
| John S. and James L. Knight Foundation |
| Barbara Johnson |
| John Johnson |
| Kelley Johnson |
| Roberta Johnson |
| Paul and Diana Johnson |
| Gerald Johnson |
| Freda Johnson |
| James Johnson |
| Kathleen Johnston |
| Judy and Gary Jolin |
| Erin Jonaitis |
| Margaret Jones and David Linton |
| Yvette Jones and John Lombardo |
| Patricia and Edward Jones |
| Seth Jovaag |
| Joyce Foundation |
| William M and Claudia Kaiser |
| John Kalson |
| Thomas Kaminski |
| Jerry Kammer |
| Elizabeth Kanel |
| Corliss Karasov |
| Amy Karon |
| Karon Medical Writing, LLC |
| Lukas Keapproth |
| Rita and Tim Kehl |
| Heddy Keith |
| Katherine Keller |
| Kelly Kelley |
| Gerould Kern |
| Judi Kesselman-Turkel |
| Kathryn Kienholz |
| Patricia Kilburn |
| George M Killenberg |
| Marc Kinzelman |
| Karin Kirchoff |
| Sean Kirkby |
| Debra Klebesadel |
| John Klein |
| James Kleist |
| Knight Foundation Donor Advised Fund at The Miami Foundation |
| Ellen Kobs |
| Gail Kohl |
| Harvey Kohn |
| Dennis Koi’s Sr. |
| Sarah Kolbe |
| Magda Konieczna |
| Debbie Konkol |
| Mario Koran |
| Jeffrey Kosbie |
| Thomas Kozlovsky |
| James Kramer and Shoko Miyagi |
| William Kraus and Toni Sikes |
| Marilyn and Lawrence Krause |
| Ann Krooth |
| Frederick Kruger |
| Dorothy Kruse |
| Tracy Kuczenski |
| Rebecca Kuick |
| Todd M. Kursel |
| Jeff Kursel |
| Eileen LaBarre |
| Cynthia LaConte |
| Julie Lacouture |
| Ann Lacy |
| Annette Laing |
| Ruth Lalley |
| Austin Landgraf |
| Mark Landmark |
| Ruthanne Landsness |
| Jeffrey Lange |
| Kathleen Lapp James |
| Serena Larkin |
| Lois Larsen |
| Lau and Bea Christensen Charitable Foundation |
| Janet and Douglas Laube |
| Michele Laux |
| Brian Lavendel |
| Barbara Lea-Kruger |
| Pat Leavenworth |
| Kristin LeDuc |
| Dr’s Douglas and Martha Lee |
| Monica Lee |
| Ronald Legro |
| Patricia Leone-Thiel |
| Sheryl and Roger Lepage |
| Beth Lepinski |
| Cynthia Lepkowski |
| Jim Leschke |
| Troy Lethem |
| Stuart Levy |
| Donna and Scott Lewein |
| Charles Lewis and Pam Gilbert |
| Linda Lincoln |
| Louisa Lincoln |
| Charles Lincoln |
| Karen Lincoln Michel and Roberto Michel |
| Rory Linnane |
| Chuck Linsenmeyer |
| Mary Lloyd-Jones |
| Jocelyn Loehe |
| Cara Lombardo |
| Willis Long |
| Claudia Looze |
| Tristan Loper |
| Judith Lorenz |
| David J and Madeleine Lubar |
| Martha Luber |
| Patricia Lucas |
| Charlene Lulloff |
| Mary and Timothy Lyke |
| Steve and Susan Macejkovic |
| Griff Madigan |
| James Madlom |
| Reid Magney |
| Mary Lee Maki |
| Linda and David Maraniss |
| Roberta Marck |
| Leonard Marcus |
| Lynn Markham |
| Robin Marohn |
| Daniel and Linda Marquardt |
| James Marrari and Barbara Carstens |
| John Marshall |
| Stuart and Carol Martell |
| Anita J. and James Martin |
| Richard Marx |
| Julie Maryott-Walsh |
| Gordy Maske |
| Jim Massey |
| Kathleen Massoth and Marshall Bruce Edmonson |
| Joseph Mathers |
| Kathi Matthews-Risley |
| Mary Matthias |
| Shirley Brabender Mattox |
| Jane Mawer |
| Michael May |
| Jillian Mayo |
| Brendan McCarthy |
| Robert McClure |
| Mary McCoy |
| Marilyn McDole |
| Ellen McDonald |
| McGillivray Westerberg & Bender LLC |
| Thomas McGovern |
| Rick McGrath |
| Jody McIntyre |
| Patricia McKeown |
| Karen McKim and Keith Nelson |
| Katherine McMullen |
| Bonnie McMullin-Lawton |
| Oma Vic McMurray |
| Brent McNabb and David Macleod |
| Jimi McPherson |
| Howard and Nancy Mead |
| David and Marion Meissner |
| Linda and John Mellowes |
| Dan Melton |
| Janet Mertz and Jonathan Kane |
| Jaclyn Mich |
| Bonnie Michaelis |
| Michael and Susan Michaelis |
| Don Michaelis |
| Rosemary Migas |
| Mark Todd Milbourn and Lisa Heyamoto |
| Sally and Charles Miley |
| Jacob Miller |
| Lori Miller |
| Suzanne Miller |
| Bronwyn Mills |
| Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Connie Milz |
| Catherine Miner |
| Mary Miron and Gene Summers |
| Dale Mitchell |
| Jack and Bonnie Mitchell |
| Doug Moe and Jeanan Yasiri Moe |
| Minerva Montooth |
| Jane Morgan |
| William Morgan |
| Alex Morrell |
| Tim Morrissey |
| Michaela and Greg Moy |
| John Moyer |
| Lyle Muller |
| Kathryn Mulligan |
| James Mundt |
| Hank Murphy |
| Valerie Murphy |
| Will Murphy |
| Diane Murphy |
| Don Myers |
| Kathleen Mykleby |
| Debra Nagel |
| Patricia Nash |
| Mary Joan Nastri |
| Elizabeth Neary and William Bula |
| Henry and Barbara Nehls-Lowe |
| Paul Nelson |
| David Nelson |
| Herb Nelson and Meg Theno |
| Mary Kae Nelson |
| Deborah Nemeth |
| Susan Neuhauser |
| Judy Newman Coburn |
| NewsMatch |
| Daniel Nicolas |
| Jan Norsetter |
| Dawn Nowakowski |
| Gary Nowobielski |
| Ann O’Brien |
| Kara and Ryan O’Connor |
| Vince O’Hern and Linda Baldwin |
| Kristine O’Leary |
| John O’Leary |
| Carol O’Leary |
| Kathy O’Malley |
| Ciara O’Neill |
| Randy OConnell |
| Jonathan OConnell |
| Katharine Odell |
| Pamela Oliver |
| Richard Oliver |
| Carol Oliver |
| Rosemary Olson |
| Open Society Foundations (Foundation to Promote Open Society) |
| Ruth Oppedahl |
| David Otto |
| Cathie and Harvey Ovshinsky |
| Tara and Carlos Pabellon |
| Ron Page |
| Rebecca Palmer |
| Dyan Pasono |
| Susan S. Pastin |
| Joel Patenaude |
| Ken Paulman |
| Jon Peacock |
| Mark and Catherine Pearce |
| Richard and Merry Noel Pearson |
| Janet Pedder |
| Patty Peltekos |
| George Penn |
| Michael Pepin |
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| Marilyn Perr |
| Thomas Perzentka |
| Susan Peters and Jim Cricchi |
| Peters Family Foundation |
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| Pines Bach LLP |
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| Sheila Plotkin |
| Maureen Plunkett |
| Sarah Polenska |
| Ann Pooler |
| Carol Poore |
| Willy Porter |
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| Steven Potter |
| Lynn and Martin Preizler |
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| Charley Preusser |
| Gene Purcell |
| Amy Pyle |
| Robert Queen |
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| Jill Radcliffe |
| John Raihala |
| Richard and Krista Ralston |
| Judith Ranney and Robert Latchaw |
| Carol Rannow |
| Nancy H. and Roger Rathke |
| Cathleen A Razner |
| Ed Reams |
| Dick Record |
| Connie Reddicliffe |
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| Richard Reinke |
| Patrick Remington |
| Report for America |
| Reva & David Logan Foundation |
| Joanne and Gus Ricca |
| John and Julie Rice |
| Richard Thomas Record Living Trust |
| Hilda J Richey |
| Janice Rickert |
| Terry Rindfleisch and Linda Hirsh |
| Nils Ringe |
| Robert Riordan |
| Rita Allen Foundation |
| Jonathan Rivin |
| John Roach |
| Louise Robbins |
| Robert R. McCormick Foundation |
| Peter Robertson |
| Susan Robinson |
| Bonnie Rock |
| Michele and James Rohan |
| James Romenesko |
| Suzanne Rose |
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| Tina Rosenberg |
| Phil Rosenthal |
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| Ronald Rotter |
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| Finn Ryan and Brynn Bemis |
| Rebecca Ryan |
| Marjorie Sable and George Smith |
| Bram Sable-Smith |
| Karen Sage |
| Sally Mead Hands Foundation |
| Mary Sanford and Adrian Bourque |
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| Laurie Sanford |
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| M Santini |
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| Jill Schaefer |
| Irene Schapiro and Norman Fost |
| Lisa Schiltz |
| Eric Scholl |
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| Cynthia Schuster |
| Sid Schwartz |
| Richard Schwartz |
| Adam Schweigert |
| Kifflie Scott |
| Penny Scribner |
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| Ellen Seuferer and Richard Tatman |
| Caryl and Dr. Robert Sewell |
| Vicki Shaffer |
| Billie Shaffer |
| Hemant and Elizabeth Shah |
| Bassam Shakhashiri |
| Michael Shank and Carol Troyer-Shank |
| Eric Sharp |
| Pamela Sharpe |
| Gail and Dan Shea |
| Margaret Sheaffer |
| Terry Shelton |
| Ronald Shenberger |
| Robyn Shingler |
| Mark Shropshire |
| Cynthia Shumway |
| Marcia Signorile |
| Norman Siler |
| Patricia Simms |
| Mark Simon |
| Erin Simpson |
| Randy Slagg |
| Kathleen Slamka |
| PJ and Jana Slinger |
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| Barbara Smalley |
| Charlotte Smelter |
| Richard Smith and Pat McKearn |
| Ronald Smith |
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| W. Jeffrey Smoller |
| Pam Smykal |
| Norma and Elliott Sober |
| Matt Solomon |
| Brook and Nelson Soltvedt |
| Gail Sonnemann |
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| Mary Spicuzza and Dan Simmons |
| Marianne and Brandon Spoon |
| Eric Squair |
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| George Stanley |
| Sharon Stark and Peter Livingston |
| Kim Starr |
| Terese Stauss |
| Joshua Stearns |
| Molly Steenson |
| Liz Stein |
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| Barbara Stiefvater |
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| William Stokes |
| Heidi Stolt |
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| Marylyn Stroup |
| Nancy Stumpf |
| Paul Sullivan |
| Patricia Swan |
| Wendy Swanberg |
| Victoria and Patrick Sweeney |
| Charles and Victoria Talbert |
| Kent Tempus and Denise Sheedy-Tempus |
| Judith Thayer |
| The Sounder |
| Thomas Thelen |
| Pamela Thompson |
| Lea Thompson |
| Thomas Thoresen |
| Michael Timm |
| Tyler Tokarczyk |
| Emily Toner |
| John Torinus |
| Carol and John Toussaint |
| Tim Townhill |
| Tribune Phonograph TP Printing |
| Susan Troller Cosgrove and Howard Cosgrove |
| Paul Trotter |
| Carol Tumey |
| Brenda Turnbull |
| Bruce Turnbull |
| Meg Turville-Heitz |
| Jan Tymorek |
| David Umhoefer |
| Thomas Underwood |
| Ryan Urban |
| Nancy Utesch |
| Dee Van Ruyven |
| Reinout Van Wagtendonk |
| Vantage Point luncheon series |
| Michelle Vetterkind |
| Riley Vetterkind |
| Vital Projects Fund |
| Michael Wagner |
| George Wagner |
| David Wahlberg |
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| Lonie Walker |
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| Helu Wang |
| Violet Wang |
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| Tom Warren and Anna Marie Benander Warren |
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| We The People |
| Daphne Webb |
| Ralph and Patricia Weber |
| Paul Wechter |
| Carol Weidel |
| Will Weider |
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| Ann Weigl |
| Lynn Welch |
| Christopher Wells |
| Thelma Wells |
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| Steve Wessel |
| Christa Westerberg |
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| Sandra Whitney |
| Brian Wielgus |
| Robert Wilcox |
| Roger and Kristi Williams |
| Brady and Lynn Williamson |
| John Wilson |
| Sam Wiltzius |
| Lori Wirth |
| WISC-TV |
| Wisconsin Broadcasters Association |
| Wisconsin Newspaper Association |
| Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation |
| Wisconsin Public Radio |
| Wisconsin State Journal |
| Trudi Witonsky |
| Dean and Nettie Witter |
| WKOW |
| Wm. Collins Kohler Foundation |
| Lisa Wolters |
| Jill Wootton |
| Kimberlee Wright |
| Pauline Yahr |
| Douglas Yanggen |
| Cynthia Yomantas and Steven Bauman |
| Michael Yunker |
| Thomas Zabriskie |
| Bohdan Zachary |
| Izabela Zaluska |
| Scott Zeinemann |
| James W and Susan Zerwick |
| Randal Zimmermann |
| Dave Zweifel |
Founding Date
2009-01-19
Masthead
We are proud of our team of senior staff, staff and fellows, contributors, interns and consultants, who work together to make Wisconsin Watch strong. Click on the team member’s name to learn more about them.
Part of our mission at Wisconsin Watch is to train the next generation of journalists and those working in the business of journalism. After team members leave our offices, they move on to jobs in journalism and other fields, where they put the skills they learned at the Center to use by holding the powerful to account, creating innovative ways of engaging with the public, sustaining high-quality journalism, and strengthening our society. We celebrate the successes of our former staff, fellows and interns, who are Wisconsin Watch’s legacy.
Founders
Andy Hall
Executive Director
Andy Hall is co-founder and executive director of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Since 2009, he has overseen the Center’s journalistic and financial operations. Previously he spent 26 years at the Wisconsin State Journal and The Arizona Republic and has won dozens of awards, including a Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism and a national award from the Education Writers Association. Hall is a former Investigative Reporters and Editors board member, and current IRE member.
Dee J. Hall
Managing Editor
Dee J. Hall, a co-founder of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, joined as managing editor in June 2015. She worked at the Wisconsin State Journal for 24 years as an editor and reporter focusing on projects and investigations. Previously she was a reporter for eight years at The Arizona Republic, covering city government, schools and the environment. Hall has won more than three dozen local, state and national awards for her work, and is a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors.
Senior Staff
Jay Burseth
development director
Jay Burseth joined the Center in April 2020. His role includes setting the organization’s vision for fundraising growth and building and executing a development plan. Prior to joining the Center, Burseth led fundraising for the Milwaukee County Parks and was the Development Director for WMSE 91.7 in Milwaukee. Burseth holds a Master’s in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from UW-Milwaukee, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History, also from UWM.
Coburn Dukehart
digital and multimedia director
Coburn Dukehart joined the Center in 2015. Her role includes directing the Center’s visual and digital strategy, creating visual content, and managing digital assets. Dukehart previously was a senior photo editor at National Geographic, picture and multimedia editor at NPR, and a photo editor at USATODAY.com and washingtonpost.com. She has received numerous awards from the National Press Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year International and the White House News Photographers Association.
Lauren Fuhrmann
associate director
Lauren Fuhrmann joined the Center in 2011 after receiving her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Fuhrmann leads revenue development efforts as well as public engagement initiatives, and assists with development of donors and writing of grant reports. Fuhrmann is vice president of the Madison Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She was among five young leaders in the inaugural group of “Future Headliners” honored in 2014 by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
Jim Malewitz
investigations editor
Jim Malewitz joined the Center in 2019. His role includes editing, managing fellows and interns, and investigative reporting. He has worked for Bridge Magazine in his home state of Michigan, was an investigative reporter for the Texas Tribune and Stateline. Malewitz majored in political science at Grinnell College in Iowa and holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Iowa. He was a founding member of the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, where he serves on the board of directors.
Emily Neinfeldt
membership director
Emily Neinfeldt joined the Center in 2017. Her role includes maintaining the digital infrastructure and operations developed under the Facebook Local News Membership Accelerator and leading audience-growth efforts including marketing initiatives. Before working at the Center, she was a news intern at Wispolitics.com and managing editor at The Badger Herald. Neinfeldt is secretary of the Madison Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and holds degree in journalism and political science from UW-Madison.
Staff and fellows
Bevin Christie
project manager, News414
Bevin Christie joined News414, a collaboration between Wisconsin Watch, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Outlier Media, in 2020. Christie is a social entrepreneur and community organizer, with a background in education reform and workforce development. She has partnered with public/private schools, community based organizations, and the Milwaukee community to build upon a belief that healing, equity, and inclusion is key to Milwaukee being a better place to thrive not just survive.
Will Cioci
Multimedia Reporter
Will Cioci joined Wisconsin Watch in 2020. He is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, pursuing a degree in Journalism, Environmental Studies, and Political Science. He has interned for state and local government in the past and works as co-editor-in-chief and photographer for the Daily Cardinal student newspaper at UW-Madison.
Claire DeRosa
graphic designer & animator
Claire DeRosa joined the Center in 2019. As graphic designer, she is responsible for creating project series graphics, logos, ads, page layouts and social media content for the Center. She also serves as lead designer for the collaborative News 414 project. DeRosa graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in journalism and political science in 2020 and studied 3D animation at the School of Motion during quarantine learning how to model, light, color and animate in Cinema 4D. She enjoys deejaying and producing electronic music in her free time.
Enjoyiana Nururdin
Production assistant, Investigative podcast
Enjoyiana Nururdin joined the Center in 2019 as a reporting intern, and was promoted in 2020 to production assistant on the Center’s investigative podcast. Nururdin began her journalism career in middle school, working for the nonprofit Simpson Street Free Press. She currently is a junior studying Reporting and Strategic Communication and Political Economy, Philosophy and Politics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has interned for the Cap Times, WORT Radio and The Weekend Today Show at NBC in New York City.
Phoebe Petrovic
criminal justice reporting project manager
Phoebe Petrovic joined the Center in 2019 as a Report for America corps member. She is leading creation of an investigative podcast examining police and prosecutorial misconduct. She formerly worked at WPR through the Lee Ester News Fellowship and was an editorial intern at “Reveal” from the Center for Investigative Reporting. She also worked as a producer for NPR’s “Here & Now” and a reporter for WCPN ideastream. Petrovic earned a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Yale University, where she founded and led various audio projects.
Bram Sable-Smith
WPR Mike Simonson Memorial Investigative Reporting Fellow
Bram Sable-Smith joined the Center in 2019. Previously he spent five years reporting on health care at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and as a founding reporter of Side Effects Public Media. He also taught radio journalism at the University of Missouri. Sable-Smith has contributed stories to NPR, American Public Media’s Marketplace and Kaiser Health News. His reporting has received two national Edward R. Murrow awards, and two national Sigma Delta Chi awards. He is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.
Vanessa Swales
investigative reporter
Vanessa Swales joined the Center in 2020. Swales is a multilingual British-American-Iranian reporter who has worked in London, New York, San Francisco and Málaga, Spain. She previously was a reporting fellow at the New York Times, and worked for NBC Investigations, Reveal, Diario SUR and SUR in English. Swales is a graduate of the Spanish-language journalism program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, where she specialized in investigative and data journalism.
Contributors
Jack Kelly
Contributing reporter, New News Lab
Jack Kelly reports on politics, health care, and agriculture in Wisconsin and the Midwest. Born and raised in the Milwaukee-area, he is a proud alumnus of both UW-Madison and Northwestern University. Jack’s reporting has been published by the Wisconsin State Journal, The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C., United Press International and dozens of other outlets.
Mario Koran
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER, NEW NEWS LAB
Mario Koran reports on education, immigration and communities of color. He was a 2021 Knight Wallace reporting fellow at the University of Michigan. Previously, he was a west coast correspondent for the Guardian US and covered education for Voice of San Diego, where he was named 2016 reporter of the year by the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. Koran’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Appeal, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and he was a Wisconsin Watch inten in 2013. He holds a BA in Spanish literature and MA in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Interns
Lauryn Azu
public engagement and marketing intern
Lauryn Azu joined Wisconsin Watch in January 2021. She is pursuing a degree in journalism and Latin American studies and a certificate in digital studies. At UW-Madison she is senior copy editor of the online student publication The Black Voice. She has previously interned with the Center for Journalism Ethics as an Election Integrity Fellow, WDET-FM Detroit, the Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy Institute at the University of Notre Dame, and the Detroit Free Press. She’s interested in media literacy, language, technology, ethics, and finding creative ways to share stories that matter.
Dana Brandt
reporting intern
Dana Brandt joined Wisconsin Watch in January 2021 as an editorial intern. She is a senior at UW-Madison, where she studies journalism and English. Brandt has previously worked as a student fellow with the university’s Center for Journalism Ethics, as an investigative intern with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and as college news editor with the Daily Cardinal, an independent student newspaper on campus.
Abigail Steinberg
public engagement and marketing intern
Abigail Steinberg joined the Center in January 2021. Steinberg began communications work as the opinion editor for The Badger Herald, and has held internship positions with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, Madison Public Library Foundation, Planet Propaganda, and the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a senior at UW studying strategic communication, political science, and public policy. Steinberg is also an avid volunteer for the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Foundation.
Consultants
Christopher J. Glueck
development consultant
Christopher Glueck joined the Center in 2015, after retiring as a senior director of development at the University of Wisconsin Foundation. Prior to that, Glueck spent 30 years in tech working in sales, product management, marketing and management positions, primarily with Wang Laboratories, Inc. and NCR Corporation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from UW-Madison and a master’s in business administration from Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Gail Kohl
Development Consultant
Gail Kohl joined the Center in 2010. She has more than 30 years of fundraising experience for both statewide and local organizations, including American Players Theatre, Taliesin Preservation Commission, Frank Lloyd Wright Heritage Tourism Program, United Cerebral Palsy, Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy and Big Top Chautauqua. From 1993 until 2010, Kohl was development director of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.
Barbara Johnson
senior strategic adviser
Barbara Johnson joined the Center in 2016. As a volunteer, she helps strengthen the Center’s operations, with a special focus on the development of the Center’s business model. Johnson was CEO and COO of four media companies in New York and Madison before her retirement in 2015. She was also a reporter and editor for 15 years before moving into business roles, winning national and state awards for her investigative stories. She has served on the boards of public and private companies and as an operating partner of a private equity firm. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan.
Christa Westerberg
counsel
Christa Westerberg is an attorney at Pines Bach LLP in Madison, Wisconsin, where she practices environmental, civil rights, and open government law. Since 2008, Westerberg has served as the vice president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.
Mission Statement with Coverage Priorities
This can be found at this link.
Fact-checking Standards
At the nonprofit and nonpartisan Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, accuracy is something we think about all the time. An integral step in our process happens after a reporter finishes a story but before the story reaches our readers’ eyes: fact-checking.
Every report we produce goes through a rigorous review. Managing Editor Dee J. Hall, or another fact-checker, typically spends between eight and 12 hours with the reporter verifying each and every word. Tack on the time it takes to vet multimedia elements, and we spend at least two full days scrutinizing each major package we distribute.
We believe it is time well spent.
“We’re in the information and fact business,” Hall said. “It is up to individual news editors to choose to run our stories, and they have to be able to trust us.”
Because even a minor fact error like a misspelled name could undermine the Center’s credibility, we take every measure we can to report with accuracy.
For each individual fact — a name or age, a report’s title, a summary of events, a quote or even an impression — the reporter must produce evidence of it from a reliable source. On a printed copy of the story, the fact-checker numbers the fact, while the reporter shows and marks its supporting evidence, which is also printed.
It is a version of a system graciously shared in 2009 by our colleagues at the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity — one we adopted to improve the accuracy of our journalism after two of our earliest reports contained mistakes.
Every fact-check reveals the need for additional editing to enhance clarity. Hall and the reporter also consider whether a story covers a topic fully and fairly.
“There are times during the fact-checking process where you identify gaps in the reporting,” Hall said. “Let’s say a fact you thought was correct is actually off, what else does that mean?”
It is not unusual for a reporter to be sent to do additional reporting after the first review.
In the end, every story has a thick paper file of fact-checking materials which can be easily referenced and reviewed.
Future journalists trained in fact-checking
In addition to producing high-quality journalism, another key part of our mission is training current and future journalists. We aim to instill our obsession with accuracy in them, too.
In 2016 we began working with The Observatory, a student fact-checking outlet founded by Michael Wagner and Lucas Graves, faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. We assist in fact-checking every story The Observatory publishes.
This page was excerpted from a longer article by Center reporter Cara Lombardo: We take facts seriously at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Here’s why.
Unnamed Sources Policy
Adopted May 8, 2018, by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism Board of Directors
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism’s newsroom guidelines on use of unnamed sources are based on the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, approved in 1996, and adopted in full by the Center in 2009; and guidelines publicly shared by The New York Times in July 2016.
The Center’s guidelines on use of unnamed sources:
— Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources’ reliability.
— Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.
— Any use of anonymous sourcing must be specifically approved by a top editor such as the managing editor or executive director.
— Direct quotes from anonymous sources should be used rarely, and only when such quotes are pivotal to the story.
— At least one editor must know the specific identity of any anonymous source. This in no way reflects a lack of trust between editor and reporter; it’s just a regular part of our diligence in this sensitive area. The reporter should routinely offer this information, or the story editor should ask.
Article Post Types
post
Julie Welch starts each school day by heading down the stairs to her basement. Last summer, she turned her guest room into a classroom for the La Crosse School District’s Coulee Region Virtual Academy, an online charter school created as an alternative to in-person classes this year.
Welch checks email and opens the day’s online lessons for her 6th grade class before starting their morning meeting on Zoom.
“Just like if we were in person when kids arrive, we start the day in a circle, greeting each other and just kind of doing that check in, like ‘Hey, how are you doing? What’s new? What do you have to share?’” Welch said.
For some of her more self-sufficient students, Welch said the 30-minute meeting may be the only time she sees them for the day. The lessons are designed to be done independently, but she offers help sessions for each subject on Zoom and hosts virtual office hours for students who need extra help.
But Welch has been surprised by the relationships she’s built with students and their families without even meeting them in person.
“It’s amazing to me how it’s not the same as being in school and being in a classroom with each other, but it isn’t as remote and lonely as I thought it would be,” Welch said.
She said there’s a special intimacy that comes from seeing into her students’ homes and sharing her home as a Zoom backdrop. Family pets often make cameos during their meetings, and Welch said the class has even collectively experienced loss.
“I lost my dog this year. She died and my kids were heartbroken with me because they knew her. They saw her every day. And so when that happened, they actually helped me through that,” Welch said.
Welch also started what she calls “Club Time” on Fridays, when students can share their passions with their classmates. She said kids have done everything from baking demonstrations to origami lessons and video game demonstrations.
When signing up to teach the online program, Welch worried that she would draw only one type of student in her class: kids from families who could afford to keep them at home.
Education equity has always been important to her, and she worried the online classroom would lack the diversity of students that she had taught in person for the past 30 years.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Yes, I do have families who have made the commitment to stay home or to make sure their child is with a grandparent. And some of my students are the caregiver to their siblings,” Welch said. “I have students that are home because of medical concerns. And I have students who are home because their parents just didn’t want the back and forth (between in-person and online).”
Still, teaching online is different than being together in person, Welch said.
She said some students have struggled with the new form of school because they have poor internet connections or can’t attend help sessions throughout the day because of commitments at home.
Welch said some of her students have also experienced isolation. A survey of more than 3,000 Wisconsin families by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee found that around 3% of families said remote learning impacted their child’s emotional health. A similar number expressed concern about their child’s social development and connections with friends.
Welch said a few of her students switched back to in-person classes after the first semester because of these concerns. She tries to talk with her class about loneliness while seeking ways to foster friendships between students.
“There are times where I’ll finish my lesson and I’m like ‘You’re welcome to go get some work done or I can just leave this Zoom open for 15 minutes and you all can just chat,’” Welch said. “It’s so fun just to listen to them and they’re kids. It’s kind of like sitting in the corner of the room. I’m just there as a guide on the side, but I don’t really say much and I just let them interact and get the socialization that they need.”
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