Monthly Archives: May 2020

Fourteen Wisconsin radio and TV stations won 25 regional Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).

RTDNA has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of electronic journalism.

Wisconsin is part of Region 4, which also includes Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota.

The following stations won awards:

• WTAQ-AM/FM, Green Bay – 1
• WISC-TV, Madison – 1
• WKOW-TV, Madison – 2
• WMTV-TV, Madison – 2
• WXOW-TV, La Crosse – 1
• WBAY-TV, Green Bay – 2
• WGBA-TV, Green Bay – 1
• WTMJ-AM, Milwaukee – 3
• Wisconsin Public Radio – 3
• WUWM-FM, Milwaukee – 4
• WISN-TV, Milwaukee – 2
• WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee – 1
• WITI-TV, Milwaukee – 1
• PBS Wisconsin – 1

Here are the awards:

Small Market Radio

News Series
Return To Nam
WTAQ
Green Bay, WI

Small Market Television

Overall Excellence
WISC-TV
Madison, WI

Breaking News Coverage
Substation Explosion
WKOW-TV
Madison, WI

Excellence in Social Media
Escape After 88 Days
WKOW – TV
Madison, WI

Excellence in Video
Hogs For Heroes
WMTV
Madison, WI

Excellence in Writing
Morgan Wolfe Writing Composite
WMTV
Madison, WI

Feature Reporting
Pictures With a Purpose
WXOW-TV
La Crosse, WI

Investigative Reporting
Redgranite Prison Guard Harassment
WBAY-TV
Green Bay, WI

News Documentary
Return to ‘Nam
WBAY-TV
Green Bay, WI

Newscast
Jayme Closs Found Alive
WGBA-TV
Green Bay, WI

Large Market Radio

Overall Excellence
WTMJ
Milwaukee, WI

Breaking News Coverage
Officer Down – The Shooting Death of Officer Rittner
WTMJ
Milwaukee, WI

Excellence in Innovation
High Tolerance
Wisconsin Public Radio
Madison, WI

Excellence in Social Media
WUWM 89.7 FM – Milwaukee’s NPR
WUWM-FM
Milwaukee, WI

Feature Reporting
The Ledge-Sit That Brought The Who To Milwaukee In 1982
WUWM
Milwaukee, WI

News Documentary
Classroom Frequency: Student Voices from Wisconsin
Wisconsin Public Radio
Madison, WI

News Series
Project Milwaukee: Great Lakes, Troubled Waters
WUWM
Milwaukee, WI

Newscast
Wis. Afternoon News
WTMJ
Milwaukee, WI

Podcast
Derailed
Wisconsin Public Radio
Madison, WI

Sports Reporting
It’s Root, Root, Root For The … Sausage?
WUWM
Milwaukee, WI

Large Market TV

Breaking News Coverage
Officer Killed
WISN-TV
Milwaukee, WI

Excellence in Innovation
Qwan’s World
WTMJ-TV
Milwaukee, WI 

Excellence in Sound
Bedside Baritone
WITI-TV
Milwaukee, WI

Multimedia
WisContext
PBS Wisconsin and Wisconsin Public Radio
Madison, WI

Newscast
Classroom Police Shooting
WISN-TV
Milwaukee, WI

Find the full list of winners here.

From RTDNA:

The Freedom Forum Power Shift Project and RTDNA will hold a virtual town hall on May 27 at noon CT sharing the great work local journalists are doing on TV, radio and digital platforms to serve their communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

We are looking for a group of “featured presenters” to lead things off with their stations’ stories.

If you’re interested in participating, please email karenh@rtdna.org to let us know by May 13 with three quick things:

• Who you are, where you work and how to get in touch with you.
• The story, series or project your station has produced recently that you’d love to share.
• A sense of the impact it has had.

Our goal in selecting up to 15 featured presenters is to represent the diversity of powerful local broadcast and digital news – by platform, group, geography, gender, ethnicity – while inviting the entire community of RTDNA members and supporters to chime in, too – or just tune in to pick up great ideas!

General registration will open shortly.

Investigative Reporters and Editors is hosting a free webinar on Tuesday about how journalists can track the COVID-19 pandemic in local nursing homes.

“As the coronavirus tears through nursing homes in North Carolina, state officials have refused to identify facilities with outbreaks. Reporters from six local news organizations teamed up to challenge this policy and investigate the situation. Hear from the reporting team about what made the collaboration work and pick up some tips on pursuing a similar investigation in your market.”

The webinar is Tuesday at noon CT. Learn more and register here.

Investigative Reporters and Editors is sharing advice on to create a culture of inclusivity, regardless of job title, in your newsrooms.

The advice comes in the form of tips from five journalists and includes topics like building partnerships, editorial space, and pronouns.

Check it out here.

“Dress for Success”

What does that really mean? During our YP committee meeting awhile back we discussed how on-air appearance isn’t something that gets touched on too much in college. That means some reporters or new anchors either dress like they’re 50 or dress far too causal because they’ve had no guidance.

In my mind, WSAW-TV anchor Kassandra Sepeda stands out. To me, her wardrobe is professional and her look is consistent.

“I don’t want what I’m wearing to be the first thing viewers notice. I want their attention on the graphics on-screen or video we are showing. So I try not to wear clothes that are too distracting,” she said.

Those missing the mark may not understand the difference between ‘looking nice’ and ‘looking professional’.

“A pretty sundress with delicate straps and floral pattern is probably nice for a brunch or baby shower but it doesn’t make it professional. When selecting an outfit to be “professional” I like to think of my clothes and how it could reflect credibility. I ask questions like, ‘Will this outfit help me provide information with pride? Do I look responsible? Will it be appealing to my audience?’ she said.

Sepeda said she avoids large prints, low cut tops, short skirts, and big chunky jewelry.

“In general my clothes are pretty plain or for a nice word, ‘classic.’ I don’t want what I’m wearing to look dated after a year because my budget can’t afford a new wardrobe every few months. I’ll leave the cutting edge fashion on the runway,” she said.

She describes her on-air look as ‘comfortable, colorful, and confident’.

“I truly believe everyone looks good in jewel tones; sapphire blue, ruby red, amethyst purple, citrine yellow, and emerald green. Black is always flattering. When it comes to colors I avoid, white is a big no-no. Not only am I afraid I’ll get a stain on it last minute, I find the color too bright and overpowering on set for our lights.”

Sepeda said TJ Maxx is a girl’s best friend when it comes to affordable dresses and tops. She also says don’t be afraid to shop second-hand.

“Amazon.com also has some nice affordable selections but make sure to read the reviews. Another great resource is the ‘Newscasters Closets.’ It’s a Facebook group made up of more than 3,000 journalists that sell and ship clothes, shoes, and jewelry across the country at affordable prices.”

And we had to ask—what would you never wear?

“I’m not afraid to wear small prints like polka dots but big prints… count me out. I think they are distracting. Something that’s often overlooked are seasons. I would never wear a sleeveless dress in the winter or fall because it would look un-relatable to the viewers. I also avoid horizontal stripes. I’m curvy and the stripes seem to emphasize parts of my body I’d rather not. That being said, I don’t like to wear clothes that have absolutely no shape. I like to avoid chunky sweaters too.”

Heather Poltrock, WSAW-TV, Wausau
Heather.Poltrock@wsaw.com

Join IRE on Thursday for a discussion on how to strategize your reporting to hold government officials accountable during COVID-19.

You can register for the webinar here.

Learn how to hold public officials accountable from journalists who are doing it in their COVID-19 reporting. We’ll cover story strategies that show how past budget cuts are affecting reopening efforts in Pennsylvania, how published data from Georgia’s Department of Public Health is causing confusion and how you can use data compiled by The Washington Post to find public companies who have reported receiving money from the Paycheck Protection Program.

Panelists include Willoughby Mariano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Aneri Pattani of Spotlight PA; and Steven Rich of The Washington Post. Lauren Grandestaff and Cody Winchester of IRE will moderate the discussion.

The webinar will also be recorded and posted on the IRE website for those who cannot attend live. The webinar is free and available to members and non-members of IRE.

Time: May 7, 2020 2 PM Eastern Time; 1 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Register here.

Donald Trump says it’s just not fair.

The president, through his campaign, is suing television station WJFW-TV in Rhinelander for airing a political ad that allegedly defamed him.

“The advertisement was the product of an intentional and malicious effort to manufacture a false statement through the use of digital technology,” the lawsuit filed on April 13 in Price County Circuit Court charges. It says the station is liable for airing the “false and defamatory content.”

Produced by Priorities USA Action, a Democratic super PAC, the advertisement included clips from Trump as COVID-19 became a pandemic, including saying “this is their new hoax.” 

Trump’s campaign alleges that the ad implies he called the coronavirus a hoax; it maintains that he was referring to how Democrats were politicizing the pandemic. 

And so the campaign targeted stations in battleground states with a cease and desist letter, saying the ad “stitched together fragments from multiple speeches by President Trump to fraudulently and maliciously imply that President Trump called the coronavirus outbreak a ‘hoax.’”

WJFW received the cease and desist letter but continued airing the ad. Trump’s campaign sued the station for defamation. On April 27, WJFW had the case removed to federal court in Wisconsin. 

Trump is not the only public official testing the language of politics in the courtroom. Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Jill Karofsky also recently sued to block ads she claimed were defamatory. 

The ads aired by outside interest groups alleged that Karofsky, as a Dane County prosecutor, “went easy” on a defendant charged in 1999 with child enticement and first-degree sexual assault of a child. He ultimately pled guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to three years’ probation with no jail time.

Court records show that Karofsky’s involvement in the case did not begin until more than a year after sentencing, prompting the PolitiFact Wisconsin to give the ad a “pants on fire” rating, signifying that it was completely false.

Karofsky sued in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, with her campaign manager declaring, “No organization should get away with spending millions of dollars on ads they know are false.”

But a judge refused to block the ads, saying that to do so before they were determined to be defamatory would constitute an unlawful prior restraint. Karofsky went on to win the election.

Political ad defamation suits are difficult to win. But even the filing of a lawsuit, successful or not, can chill political speech. Filing suits based on negative ads and flooding battleground markets with takedown demands quiets the voice of opposition.

The Trump campaign’s lawsuit against WJFW is also a reminder of the risk broadcasters face by accepting campaign ads. 

Broadcasters cannot be sued for claims made in ads placed by candidates, but suits based on ads from third parties like PACs are fair game.

WJFW may prevail on First Amendment grounds. Supreme Court precedent requires public figures to prove that speakers knew, or should have known, their statements were false but published them anyway.

That is a difficult burden, especially given decisions requiring courts to overlook small inaccuracies and protect substantially true statements — those that capture the “gist and sting” of the truth — from defamation liability. 

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Natalie A. Harris is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and a partner at the Chicago boutique media defense firm Baron Harris Healey.