Wisconsin Watch named finalist in 12 Milwaukee Press Club categories for coverage in 2021

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Wisconsin Watch has been named a finalist in 12 categories in the Milwaukee Press Club’s 2021 Excellence in Journalism contest.

Whether the entries won gold, silver or bronze will be announced in May. Three of the awards are shared with news partners and one award is shared with students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Here are the winning entries:

Best pandemic story that appeared online

This entry documented the exceedingly high level of COVID-19 infections among Wisconsin people who are incarcerated. Reporter Vanessa Swales found the infection rate among imprisoned people was five times the rate of the general population. The story featured Calvin Johnson, who died of COVID-19 after unsuccessfully petitioning a judge for release, citing his myriad underlying health conditions that made him susceptible to serious complications. Also contributing reporting was Deputy Managing Editor Jim Malewitz. Coburn Dukehart, Wisconsin Watch’s digital and multimedia director, produced photos for the story.

Best investigative story or series

Flawed Forensics, a joint investigation by Wisconsin Watch and the Anchorage Daily News, documents the questionable diagnoses of a former University of Wisconsin child abuse pediatrician. The investigation found that at least 12 families and caregivers in Wisconsin and Alaska had been accused by Dr. Barbara Knox of child abuse — allegations that were later rejected by child welfare authorities, the courts, law enforcement or other doctors. The stories were reported by Wisconsin Watch’s Brenda Wintrode and Dee J. Hall along with Anchorage Daily News reporter Michelle Theriault Boots. Dukehart and Anchorage Daily News photographer Emily Mesner produced photos. Wisconsin Watch’s Claire DeRosa produced an illustration for the series.

Stacy Hartje was accused in 2007 of abusing a 3-year-old child who collapsed while in her care. She saw a county prosecutor issue and then drop charges due to a lack of evidence — only to later face two trials on revived state charges. A jury found Hartje not guilty of all charges in October 2015. Hartje’s saga was among a dozen cases Wisconsin Watch found in which Dr. Barbara Knox’s assessment of child abuse was rejected by the criminal justice system, child protective services officials or other physicians. This image was part of the winning series Flawed Forensics. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch

Best coverage of a single news topic or event

Wisconsin Watch broke news in June by reporting on a new federal study showing that the No. 1 factor for acute gastrointestinal illness in Kewaunee County’s private drinking water wells is cow manure. The findings raise questions about the effectiveness of existing regulations aimed at protecting residents from tainted drinking water. The story was reported by Dukehart, who also produced photos for the story. Her father, Tad Dukehart, also produced images.

Best long hard feature story

The scourge of depression and suicide among Wisconsin dairy farmers was the subject of this entry, which featured a Rio couple coping with the aftermath of their son’s decision to take his own life. Jack Kelly, reporting for Wisconsin Watch, found rising concern for the mental well-being of dairy farmers in Wisconsin, who cope with numerous stressors. These include financial uncertainty caused by wildly fluctuating milk prices; severe weather ruining crops and buildings; and grueling working conditions with a lack of available employees to help lighten the load. Dukehart produced photos for the story.

David and Amy Fischer stand together in the milking barn on their 350-cow dairy farm, Darian Acres, in Rio, Wis., on Dec. 18, 2020. Their son, Brian, died by suicide in 2016. “It don’t go away,” David Fischer said about the heartache he feels. “He should be here.” Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch

Best public service story or series

This series explored the slow pace of lead water pipe replacement in Milwaukee and statewide — four years after the Flint, Michigan lead-in-water crisis. Reporter Diana Butsko found that it would take 70 years at the current rate to replace all of the lead service lines in Milwaukee, where thousands of children are lead poisoned each year. Madeline Fuerstenberg also reported on Eau Claire’s efforts to get the lead out. Fuerstenberg and Isaac Wasserman produced photos for the series.

Best explanatory story or series

Color of Money was produced by students in Hall’s Investigative Reporting class in the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The series explored why wealth and income levels among white residents far exceed those of people of color in Wisconsin, where the disparities are among the worst in the nation. Contributing to the series were students Ben Baker, Molly Carmichael, Alexa Chatham, Sonya Chechik, Martha Daniels, Molly Davis, Harrison Frueck, Gretch Gerlach, Alyssa Huglen, Kirien Sprecher, Gaby Vinick and Zhen Wang. DeRosa produced the logo for the series.

Best photo essay or series & best feature photograph

Isaac Wasserman’s photography is recognized in two categories. In the category of best photo essay, Wasserman explored life along Madison’s polluted Starkweather Creek, which in 2019 contained higher levels of hazardous PFAS than any other waters tested that year. Wasserman’s portrait of a bartender contemplating leaving the service industry because of the pandemic is a finalist for best feature photograph.

Jamie McPeters, 44, is seen at Harmony Bar and Grill in Madison, Wis., on June 28, 2021, where he works one shift a week. After losing work during the COVID-19 pandemic, McPeters says he will leave the industry after 20-plus years to pursue a graphic design career. McPeters says he won’t miss the low wages — or occasionally rude clientele. He says trying to enforce mask-wearing during the pandemic was a challenge. This photo won an award for best feature photo from the Milwaukee Press Club. Isaac Wasserman / Wisconsin Watch

Best hard feature story (online)

Malewitz reported on the discovery of ancient human remains at the proposed Kohler Co. golf course near Sheboygan. The discovery added to the growing concerns about the 18-hole championship course, which critics say would damage the fragile ecosystem along Lake Michigan. Hall provided additional reporting and photos.

Best investigative story or series (online)

While on the trail of another story, reporter Phoebe Petrovic discovered that a Wisconsin judge was using a questionable sentencing scheme that required defendants to stay under his supervision for months — even years — after sentencing. Multiple legal experts told Wisconsin Watch and WPR that Outagamie County Circuit Judge Vince Biskupic’s use of “de facto” probation was, at best, a gray area of the law. Some said it was illegal. Justice Deferred was reported by Petrovic, Mario Koran, Jack Kelly and Madeline Fuerstenberg on behalf of Wisconsin Watch and WPR. Petrovic also produced an audio version of the story for WPR. The stories were produced through the NEW News Lab, a local news collaboration in Northeast Wisconsin.

Best public service story or series (online)

At a time when the public increasingly calls for accountability from the police, reporter Peter Cameron found a little-known loophole that allows fired Wisconsin law enforcement officers to leave behind their checkered pasts and join police departments elsewhere in the state. Cameron — reporting for The Badger Project and Wisconsin Watch — found 200 police or sheriff’s officers currently employed in Wisconsin had been fired from previous jobs in law enforcement, resigned in lieu of termination or quit before completion of an internal investigation.

Best explanatory story or series (online)

As vandalism and violence mixed with peaceful protests in response to the 2020 police murder of George Floyd and other incidents, Wisconsin communities turned to a time-trusted tool in the name of protecting public safety: curfew enforcement. Reporters Malewitz and Clara Neupert found this type of enforcement disproportionately targeted people of color in Milwaukee, subjecting peaceful protesters to hefty $691 fines.

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