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A crumpled illustrated bill on a wooden surface shows a dome building, a central figure holding a gavel and text including “STATE OF WISCONSIN,” “SUPREME COURT” and “144.5M”
In a three-part series, Wisconsin Watch examines why our state set back-to-back national records in Supreme Court election spending and what can be done about it. (Elena Delzer for Wisconsin Watch)
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Our newsroom’s investigation of “obscene” spending in state Supreme Court elections has won top honors at the 2026 Online Journalism Awards.

The awards, run by the Online News Association, have since 2000 honored excellence in digital journalism around the world. Judges awarded Wisconsin Watch first place for explanatory reporting in the small-newsroom division for its three-part series Supreme Costs.

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The series — a mix of explanatory, accountability and solutions journalism — examined why Wisconsin set back-to-back national records for spending on state Supreme Court elections, culminating in a record $144 million in spending in 2025, and what can be done about it. 

Edited by State Bureau Chief Matthew DeFour, with reporting by freelancer Larry Sandler and Data Investigative Reporter Hongyu Liu, video by Trisha Young and illustrations by freelancer Elena Delzer, Supreme Costs explained how races meant to select impartial judges transformed into extraordinarily partisan, expensive national political battles.

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Why are Wisconsin Supreme Court elections breaking national records? Earlier this month, Wisconsin Watch published Supreme Costs, a three-part series by freelancer Larry Sandler that examined why Wisconsin Supreme Court elections have become so expensive — and what might curb those costs. The project included graphics by data reporter Hongyu Liu, illustrating just how unprecedented the $144.5 million spent on the 2025 race was compared with past elections. In this interview, Sandler sits down with Wisconsin Watch video journalist Trisha Young to break down why Wisconsin is an outlier in Supreme Court spending and what’s next for the state. Read Larry Sandler’s full series at wisconsinwatch.org. #wispolitics #wisconsinsupremecourt #wisconsin #springelections

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“Judges were big fans of Supreme Costs — thorough, deep reporting paired with smart visualizations and mixed formats that made an otherwise impenetrable topic accessible, even enjoyable,” contest organizers noted. “They especially praised the comparative analysis and the architecture of the series, which anticipates readers’ questions and carries them through a complex story about campaign financing with remarkable clarity.”

Other finalists in the explanatory journalism category among small newsrooms included: 

We don’t do this work for awards; we do it because we want our journalism to make a difference in Wisconsin. But it is especially gratifying to receive this kind of recognition from peers we respect so much.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.

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Jim Malewitz oversees Wisconsin Watch's statewide newsroom from Madison. He joined the organization in 2019, initially as investigations editor. He has worked almost exclusively in nonprofit, public affairs journalism. He previously reported for Bridge Magazine, the Texas Tribune and Stateline. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and POLITICO Magazine. Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Grinnell College and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Iowa. He was the former board president of the nonprofit Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, which is now a division of Investigate Midwest.