Last month, as the current legislative session ground to a close, Wisconsin became the 39th state to pass a shield law for news reporters.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
New project: Wisconsin InfoLink
Ron Larson — part librarian, part local history aficionado, part new blogger for WisconsinWatch and a lifelong Wisconsin resident — introduces Wisconsin InfoLink, resources about the Badger State on WisconsinWatch.org.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Ethics report urges openness in nonprofit investigative centers
Nonprofit investigative newsrooms need to be open about their fundraising practices to protect the integrity of their journalism, according to a report released today by three journalism centers, including WisconsinWatch.org.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Author warns of ‘national epidemic’ of campus sexual assaults
In this academic year, between 200,000 and 450,000 college students will be raped.
That’s what author Jessica Valenti and founder of the Feministing blog told a UW-Madison audience Thursday night. She calls it a “national epidemic,” and she blames what advocates call our rape culture.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
No new penalties for hiring illegal immigrants
The state senate rejected a measure to impose strict penalties on companies found to have employed an undocumented worker. The bill’s failure is big news for Wisconsin’s dairy farmers, who increasingly rely on Hispanic immigrants to milk their herds. A report by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism in November revealed the difficulties dairy farmers face finding legal workers for their operations.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Research tool: Old papers
A trove of papers at the Wisconsin Historical Society reminds us that not everything is on the Internet.
Posted inNews about Wisconsin Watch
NEWS ABOUT US: Do you like our remodeling project?
New features on our newly redesigned website.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Wisconsin needs rules for sealed warrants
Last fall, area police and a Walworth County’s SWAT team executed a no-knock search at a residence in Delavan. It was a full-scale exercise of police power involving heavy weaponry and equipment. But details of the search were kept secret for a full month. Law enforcement officials, prosecutors and court clerks refused to comment on the operation or the whereabouts of the search warrant files.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Don’t erode access to court records
Once again, Wisconsin’s online circuit court access program (commonly called CCAP) is under attack.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
March 2010: WisFOIC’s Opee Awards
As part of national Sunshine Week (sunshineweek.org), March 14-20, 2010, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is bestowing its fourth annual Opee Awards to people and institutions that have had an impact on open government in Wisconsin.
Posted inWisWatch Blog
Guest column for Sunshine Week
Citizen oversight of the workings of government is essential to democratic government and our confidence in it. Citizen access to public records and meetings of governmental bodies is a vital aspect of this principle. As the state’s chief law enforcement officer, I am deeply committed to promoting compliance with Wisconsin’s open meetings and public records laws.