Monthly Archives: June 2021

Wisconsin Watch and Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) have joined the NEW News Lab (Northeast Wisconsin News Lab), a new collaborative that provides technology support, capacity building and additional funding to boost local journalism and newsrooms. 

The collaboration includes six news organizations: Wisconsin Watch, WPR, FoxValley365, The Post-Crescent, Green Bay Press-Gazette and The Press Times. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Journalism Department is an educational partner. 

Microsoft is providing financial support to the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation and Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region to fund the initiative.

The Microsoft Journalism Initiative Fund recently awarded grants to the six NEW News Lab news organizations, who will produce in-depth local reporting on topics including racism as a public health crisis, lack of affordable housing, funding of local schools and coverage of local judicial systems. 

In the coming weeks, NEW News Lab members will release the first group of stories supported by the partnership, and to the greatest extent possible, each project will be available for free publication by other news organizations across the state and nation.

“By teaming up with new local partners and our long-time partners at Wisconsin Public Radio, and by drawing upon these new resources, we’ll expand residents’ access to information about important issues affecting quality of life,” said Andy Hall, executive director of Wisconsin Watch, the news outlet of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. 

“These reports will serve the public in Northeast Wisconsin, and also statewide, as we highlight not just problems, but potential solutions. We’re deeply appreciative of this opportunity.” 

Microsoft selected Northeast Wisconsin as its fifth local news pilot in the United States as part of its , donating a total of $300,000 to the . Wisconsin Watch has received $25,000 in the initial phase of the project; WPR has received $15,000.

“Local newsrooms are the heart of their communities, and we’re glad to support this partnership as part of our Journalism Initiative,” said Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, who grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin. “By supporting these newsrooms in Northeast Wisconsin and providing them tools, technology, and funding, we can ensure the region has healthy journalism for generations to come.”

As a three-year pilot effort, the community foundations are encouraging other organizations, businesses and individuals to also make supporting local journalism an important focus through donations to the .

“This pilot program has the potential to transform how newsrooms collaborate to bring the community important stories that impact us all,” said Dennis Buehler, president and CEO of the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation. “The better our communities understand the issues we face, the better it can form responses to those challenges.”

Journalism and news are facing an accelerating crisis, Microsoft noted in an October explaining its decision to support local news organizations. Changes in digital advertising and in the way in which people receive their news — news aggregators, search engines and social media — have had a significant impact on journalism and its business model. Nationwide, newsroom employment has dropped by half, and 2,100 newsrooms have closed in the past 15 years. The COVID-19 pandemic created extra stress, with 11,000 U.S. newsroom jobs cut in the past year.

“A flourishing, connected and engaged community results from people who care about getting involved,” said Curt Detjen, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region. “Vibrant and robust news coverage is essential to call our attention to understanding issues needing to be addressed. The media also offers a forum for lifting up underrepresented voices. We see great potential in this opportunity.” 

Last year, Microsoft launched its Journalism Initiative, which aims to preserve and protect journalism and local newsrooms. Other pilot programs are operating in Seattle and Yakima, Washington; Fresno, California; the El Paso, Texas and Juárez, Mexico region; and Jackson, Mississippi. 

Are you on social media? Of course you are. But what is the best platform for journalists?

Sara Maslar-Donar is the anchor of WKOW’s Wake Up Wisconsin Weekend morning show and reports for the weekday morning show. She was also recipient of the WBA’s ‘Best Online Personality” award, placing second.

She shares her thoughts.

Each social media platform reaches a different audience – but I think Twitter is my go-to social media platform for the job because it benefits and enhances all parts of what we do: it’s conducive to sharing up to the minute news updates, you can share your stories to a wider audience, and connect with viewers and other journalists easily. Multiple generations use Twitter, while it’s clear that younger generations are moving away from Facebook. And older generations haven’t quite gotten the hang of Instagram yet. I also love Twitter because I can be more myself there in a casual setting, and tweet my thoughts on everything from funny memes I want to share to the last season of Game of Thrones (it was a literal disgrace, obviously).

Have questions for Sara? Email Smaslardonar@wkow.com, send her a Facebook message, or tweet at her, @saramdnews.

Heather Poltrock
WSAW-TV, Wausau

A months-long investigation into Wisconsin’s broken unemployment system earned TMJ4 News a 2021 Walter Cronkite Award, a national award from the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center. The award honors journalism that seeks truth, examines inequities, serves the public and demonstrates the indispensability of a free and trustworthy press.

“In his time, Walter Cronkite had the courage to report the reality of the Vietnam War to the American people,” said Annenberg professor Marty Kaplan, director of the school’s Norman Lear Center, which administers the award. “In our time, these Cronkite Award winners have the courage to report that reality really exists.”

The Walter Cronkite Awards recognized the TMJ4 I-Team for its series, “Unemployment System Collapse.” The investigation began in March 2020 when businesses shut down and people lost their jobs due to the onset of COVID-19. Over the course of a year, consumer investigator Kristin Byrne, producer Marty Hobe, and photojournalist Tamott Wolverton regularly reported on the state’s overly complicated and neglected unemployment system that collapsed under the pressure of the pandemic. Policies implemented years before, as well as missteps made early in the pandemic, led to thousands of people stuck waiting for unemployment benefits, some becoming homeless in the process.

The I-Team collaborated with non-profit news service, Wisconsin Watch, to obtain open records, documents and data used in the series.

“To this day we continue to hear from unemployed Wisconsinites waiting in limbo for their benefits,” said Nicole Buckley, senior manager of investigative and enterprise content for TMJ4. “This is not an issue that popped up overnight but was certainly magnified during the pandemic. It’s our job to shed light on problems happening in our community, hold our officials accountable and give a voice to those who feel they aren’t being heard.”

To date, the TMJ4 I-Team has helped 83 people collect nearly $400,000 in unemployment back pay.

The Walter Cronkite Award jury commended the TMJ4 I-Team’s “great storytelling and selfless tenacity” as “a great example of journalism as a public service.”

The deadline for a fellowship for photographers is Tuesday, June 1.

The Rick Jowett Fellowship was established in 2017 by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation to support educational opportunities for photographers and videographers who work in media in Wisconsin.

Recipients of the fellowship can use the grant for professional development in the areas of photography and videography. Applicants must specify how the funds will be used.

Potential uses include but are not limited to courses offered by the National Press Photographers Association, the Poynter Institute, or any accredited college or university.

This fellowship intends to award a total of up to $2,000 in grants annually to multiple recipients to cover part or all of the recipients’ expenses.

Submission deadline is June 1. Apply here

About Rick Jowett

Rick grew up in a media family. His grandfather was CEO of Forward Communications which owned several television stations throughout the country. His family was also involved in the print media, the Wausau Herald. While in high school Rick began his career as a photographer working for the Wausau Herald.

Rick Jowett completed his degree in journalism (UW-Madison) in the late 70s. Following graduation, Rick started his career in broadcasting as a still photographer at WMTV-TV, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Rick began working with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association in 1985 as the Association’s event photographer. He served graciously and unconditionally until his passing.