Monthly Archives: September 2021

From the UW Center for Journalism Ethics:

The Center for Journalism Ethics will host a public event –  “Just Narratives: Covering Criminal Justice” – at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, at the Memorial Union Play Circle on the UW–Madison campus. Three panelists with expertise in criminal justice and journalism will engage in a public discussion about media ethics and the challenges of covering the justice system in the U.S.

This free event is co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Law School and supported by the Wisconsin Humanities Council. Info about virtual attendance can be found here.

The panelists: 

• Keri Blakinger is a Marshall Project investigative reporter and the 2021 Center for Journalism Ethics journalist-in-residence. Blakinger’s work on criminal justice has led to major changes in medical care in Texas prisons, spurred the creation of a book club in the Harris County jail and sparked the creation of a law better protecting families from the wrongful removal of children by welfare agencies.

• James Causey is an award-winning special projects reporter, editorial columnist and contributing editor for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A former Nieman Fellow, he began his journalism career at the Sentinel at the age of 15 and has covered mental health, employment, housing and incarceration. 

• Keith Findley is a UW–Madison professor of law and the co-founder of the Innocence Project. His areas of expertise include evidence, wrongful convictions, criminal law and procedure, forensic science and policing. He is past president of the Innocence Network and co-founder of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Science. 

Kathleen Bartzen Culver, James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics and director of the Center, will moderate the conversation, which explore topics such as the role of media in reinforcing the status quo, ethical issues in covering a system and representing the people caught up in that system, and the role of “solutions journalism” in engaging the public in criminal justice issues. 

“At a time when people across the country are asking tough questions about our justice systems, it’s critical that journalists do the same,” Culver said. “I’m proud the Center can bring together these expert voices to help us move news coverage of crime and justice forward.” 

Blakinger will be visiting the Center for Journalism Ethics the week of Sept. 27 as part of the Center’s journalist in residence program, an initiative now in its sixth year. The program brings renowned journalists to campus to promote engagement with UW–Madison students and the public. 

The Center for Journalism Ethics, housed in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the UW-Madison, provides an international hub for the examination of the role of professional and personal ethics in the pursuit of fair, accurate and principled journalism. Founded in 2008, the Center offers resources for journalists, educators, students and the public, including internationally recognized annual conferences exploring key issues in journalism.

The Wisconsin Humanities Council supports projects that strengthen the roots of community life through education and cultural programs that inspire civic participation and individual imagination. The mini-grant supporting this event comes in part from funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Any views, finding, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For information, contact Krista Eastman, Center for Journalism Ethics administrator, at krista.eastman@wisc.edu. 

Matt Infield has been named Sports Director at WSAW-TV in Wausau.

Infield joined WSAW in 2018 as a sports reporter.

He replaces Reece Van Haaften who accepted a job in Knoxville last month.

Many states, including Wisconsin, have public records laws. But that doesn’t mean requesters always get the records they seek, or even that the laws are followed.

What provisions in a state’s laws are most associated with compliance?

The answer may surprise you. It’s not the strength of a law’s penalty provisions or whether a state has an ombudsman office to mediate records disputes (Wisconsin does not).  

Instead, a 2019 by University of Arizona journalism professor David Cullier found a significant correlation between compliance and laws that “mandate judges to impose attorney fees” to requesters deemed to have been wrongly denied access to records.  

That’s why a recent Wisconsin court of appeals , in a case known as Meinecke v. Thyes, is good news. It held that if a court orders the release of records—even if it’s only some of the records—the requester has “prevailed” in substantial part and is thus entitled to attorney fees. While Wisconsin’s open records law has a mandatory fee-shifting provision, this case for the first time established that getting an order for records was sufficient to trigger it.

At issue was a village trustee’s request for five categories of records from the village she served.  A circuit court found the village had unlawfully withheld some of the records and ordered them released, but then denied the trustee’s request for attorney fees because the trustee did not obtain access to all the records she sought and that village officials did not act with “wanton disregard” for the law, among other considerations.

That ruling was appealed, with the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, Wisconsin Newspaper Association and Wisconsin Broadcasters Association filing a “friend of the court” in favor of the trustee.  (My law firm authored the brief.)

The appeals court ruled that the trustee was entitled to fee recovery, citing the open records law’s statement that “all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government” and its direction that the law be liberally construed in favor of public access. 

Laws that allow requesters to recover attorneys fees have always been important to ensuring access to information. For example, they allow people who could not otherwise afford  an attorney to hire one on a contingent-fee basis to bring an open records case. 

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is also considering a different attorney fees this term. It will decide whether requesters can get attorney fees when an agency voluntarily produces records after a suit is filed, if the initial denial was unlawful.  

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council joined with four other organizations in filing a “friend-of-the-court” urging a “yes” answer to this question.

A stronger fee recovery standard means a government that is less willing to test the limits of its ability to withhold records. As Cullier pointed out, “Certainly, agencies might not worry about a $1,000 fine or other slap on the wrist, but it appears they pay attention to paying tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to a successful plaintiff’s attorney, not to mention the bad publicity that would create for the agency.”

The court of appeals decision that getting a court order directing the release of records should entitle a requester to fees is a welcome clarification to Wisconsin’s records law.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the (), a group dedicated to open government. Christa Westerberg, an attorney at Pines Bach law firm in Madison, is the group’s vice president.

It’s undoubtedly one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life – buying a house. But how do you know if you’re ready? Or if it’s even a good move, given the fact you most likely have a contract that’s only two or three years?

Reece Van Haaften is the former Sports Director at WSAW-TV in Wausau. He and his wife recently moved to Knoxville, Tennessee to continue his broadcast career at WATE-TV. He spent three years in Wausau and during that time bought and sold a house.

He said he started out renting in Wausau.

“We stayed in an apartment for three months while searching for a house, which my wife, Jess, did a tremendous job at. Unfortunately, it cost us more for doing month-to-month in an apartment, but it paid off in the long run,” he said.

Buying a home in Wausau was their first home purchase.

He says here are the pros: You have an opportunity to make a good investment, you get a place to call your own, and not have to deal with an apartment neighbor. Plus, you’ll save money if you have pets since apartments charge extra for them.

And the cons: You have to have liquid cash available for any maintenance, so that can restrict you. If you plan to move, you could lose out on equity. And of course, yard maintenance.

He said anyone thinking about owning a home should do their research about homeowner’s insurance.

“Jess and I wish we knew more about home insurance because our roof collapsed. It caused us to figure out what our insurance covered really quickly.”

He said when they went to sell their home they profited 44 percent. However, what they didn’t realize was that seller pays the commission to the realtor when the home sells. Typically, about 5-7 percent on the overall sale of the home.

“It helps that housing market is on fire currently. We also renovated our entire upstairs after the roof collapsed, so we did put some money into the house. Unfortunately, the flip side is we aren’t expecting to make as much money in our next house because we’re buying while the housing market is hot.”

If you think you’re ready to buy a home the first step is visiting a bank to get pre-approved. This process involved income and employment verification. You’ll tell the bank what price range of home you are interested in. Then if you’re approved, you’ll receive information about loan options and interest rates. Once you find your home, this information will be finalized.