Monthly Archives: February 2022

RTDNA released a statement to journalists working in Ukraine as fighting got underway in the country.

You can read the statement here.

Poynter is offering a free data journalism workshop series is designed to help local journalists track and analyze how the American Rescue Plan and other federal stimulus funds are used in their communities.

Areas of focus include: public health, public safety, infrastructure and environment.

You can read more and apply here to attend.

Gabriella Garza will be the weekend morning news anchor on WISN 12 starting March 9.

Along with meteorologist Molly Bernard, Garza will anchor ‘WISN 12 News This Morning’ from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, Garza will provide in-depth reporting on WISN 12 News throughout the week.

“Gabriella’s roots are right here in the Midwest, but her insight is expansive,” said Jan Wade, president and general manager of WISN 12. “Her storytelling and interviewing skills will get at the heart of what really matters in our community.”

Garza was born and raised in Hartford, Michigan, a small city in southwest Michigan. In 2016, she graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

“After nearly six years away, I’m so excited to be back in the Midwest, a place that has always felt like home. It’s truly an honor to be able to work alongside the journalists at WISN 12,” Garza said.

Prior to joining WISN 12, Garza worked as a weekday morning anchor at KRGV-TV in Weslaco, Texas. She has also served in a variety of other roles in the state, such as a weekday reporter and host of a weekly news program. Garza originally started as an intern, being exposed to a wide range of responsibilities in local news.

“From the moment I stepped into the newsroom I knew it was exactly where I wanted to be. I can’t wait to get to work and learn more about the other side of the lake” Garza said.

Aside from her passion for news, Garza enjoys traveling to new places, meeting new people, and spending time with her husband and their nearly two-year-old son, Bowie.

Google announced a change this week aimed at improving the visibility of and traffic to local news websites.

“The improvement to Google’s ranking system would enable local news sources that are deemed authoritative and relevant to appear more often alongside national publications in features such as Top Stories. This ensures that people will be able to find coverage from authoritative local news sources, helping them see how national stories can impact them locally.”

Read more here.

A survey by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications shows journalists are finding notable changes at their media organizations, including new training programs, hiring procedures and policies related to language used about communities of color.

You can read more here.

In recent years, the news business in Wisconsin has seen a lot of bad news. Dozens of newspapers have closed. Revenues are way down. Staffs are being trimmed. And “vulture” hedge funds are circling, threatening to pick clean the bones of this once robust industry.

But there is at least one piece of good news: A bipartisan bill working its way through the Wisconsin Legislature would help local news outlets by offering a tax break to small businesses that advertise in newspapers, TV or radio stations or online media in the state.

The Wisconsin Local Media Advertising Tax Credit would offer credits to advertisers with fewer than 100 employees and less than $10 million in revenue. The credit would be based on 50% of the cost of advertising in local media, for a maximum of $5,000.

Sen. Roger Roth, R-Appleton, and Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, former editor of the Dodgeville Chronicle, are co-sponsors of Assembly Bill 762.

“Having worked in the newspaper industry for 25 years, I think this proposed credit will make a real difference,” Novak told fellow lawmakers during a Jan. 19 Assembly Ways and Means Committee hearing. “I believe this advertising incentive creates a win-win scenario for small businesses that want to advertise, customers and workers, and for local media.”

Steve Waldman leads the national Rebuild Local News Coalition, which backs the measure. He said the Wisconsin bill could be a model for other states — and Congress.

“I think its significance is in the leadership and the nature of the coalition. It’s led by Republicans and backed by an amazing collection of groups — both news orgs and business groups (restaurants, banks, chiropractors, small businesses etc.),” wrote Waldman, who also is president and co-founder of Report for America.

Beth Bennett, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, said the measure’s impact is twofold: helping businesses reach their customers, and supporting local journalism by increasing local advertising dollars. The state estimates the tax credit would save businesses at least $65.7 million a year in taxes — meaning twice that amount would be spent on ads.

In 2018, about 163,000 small Wisconsin businesses claimed deductions for advertising expenses, according to the bill’s fiscal note. The cost of the tax break could be “significantly higher” than $65.7 million if many of them claim the tax credit, it said.

Richard Lee, president of the Inter-County Cooperative Association, told lawmakers the bill would provide needed revenue to a newspaper group that saw ad sales drop 20% in two years.

The cooperative owns a weekly newspaper, the Inter-County Leader in Frederic, and five shoppers covering a 5,000 square-mile region. It was founded in 1933 by area farmers hungry for local information. Nearly 90 years later, keeping people informed in northwestern Wisconsin is still a struggle, Lee said.

Many of Lee’s readers get their TV news from Minnesota. And internet access is spotty. Without the ads he runs for available jobs, restaurant specials and grocery sales, Lee said, “Many of the small businesses don’t have a way to let the local residents know what is happening.”

AB 762 deserves to pass, because preserving the public’s right to know hinges on keeping local news outlets — and the local businesses that advertise with them — alive and well.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. Dee J. Hall is the managing editor of Wisconsin Watch and secretary of the Wisconsin FOIC.