Wisconsin Watch makes audio fact briefs available to partner radio stations

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Since our founding in 2009, Wisconsin Watch has offered our in-depth, informative reports to news outlets for free. Last year our work appeared in more than 900 partner publications, from the Monroe Times to the New York Times.

But the way the public consumes information is constantly evolving. Reading a 3,000-word investigation can be essential to understanding an issue, but people are busy. Short videos on social media and podcasts are increasingly vital ways to connect our communities with accurate information. And (at least until self-driving cars without AM stations get more popular) radio news remains an important touchstone of American life.

That’s why we’re excited to offer minute-long audio versions of our fact briefs to partner radio stations. Since 2022, we’ve worked with Gigafact to publish hundreds of 150-word fact briefs, which use evidence-based reporting to answer yes/no questions drawn from surprising or dubious claims circulating in the infosphere. More than 200 news outlets published those print fact briefs last year alone.

Now, starting in early October, Civic Media has been the first to air our audio clips, produced by Wisconsin Watch audio/video producer Trisha Young based on fact briefs mostly written by Tom Kertscher. A new clip each week has been running eight times a day across Civic’s 10 news/talk stations, from Amery to Milwaukee.

Here are a few recent examples:

Do some rankings put Wisconsin among the bottom 10 states in job creation and entrepreneurship?

Does Wisconsin have any mountains?

Are National Guard troops generally trained in law enforcement?

“One of our core values is to champion quality, fact-based journalism that advances the truth and earns the trust of our audience without manipulation or malicious reframing,” said Civic Media CEO Sage Weil. “We are thrilled to partner with Wisconsin Watch in piloting this innovative way to combat misinformation over the airwaves.”

If you’re a radio station producer or listener and want to hear our audio fact briefs on your favorite station, send me an email at mdefour@wisconsinwatch.org.