Monthly Archives: March 2023

A Green Bay assignment editor is marking 25 years at WLUK-TV.

Brian Burke will celebrate the anniversary on April 23.

Congratulations Brian!

Poynter is offering the following free in-person educational opportunity. Check it out

In person and online, September 2023 through April 2024 Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, this fellowship for public media journalists is designed to strengthen news leadership skills and the ability to make ethical decisions. Over nine months, participants will receive individual coaching, learn from industry experts, collaborate in small peer groups, and work on a personal project that will benefit their newsroom and their own leadership. Fellows will also participate in online workshops twice a month, and meet with peer groups and coaches. The fellowship kicks off with a one-week conference at Poynter HQ in St. Petersburg, Florida, this September. Cost: Free. Apply by May 15.

From the American Press Institute:

The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) and the American Press Institute (API) are pleased to announce a new partnership providing holistic training and education on online violence. As online attacks against journalists continue to threaten press freedom and journalists’ wellbeing, the organizations will collaborate to bolster digital safety in the news media.

The partnership will build on the IWMF’s unique model of identity-conscious digital safety support by offering ongoing training to combat violence to news organizations in API programs, including alumni of The Table Stakes Local News Transformation program and participants in the Source Matters diversity tracking cohort. Led by digital safety expert Ela Stapley, these sessions will work to improve the policies of API’s news partners in addressing online attacks, as well as help implement mental health and trauma response protocols for staff experiencing abuse online. 

“News organizations depend on us to help them adapt to the needs of their teams and the times, so embracing online safety training is an essential element of our work,” said API Executive Director and CEO Michael D. Bolden. “The IWMF’s first-rate training will enable API to help news leaders better protect their journalists  from online violence so they can advance the critical work of building healthy local news organizations focused on serving their communities.”

As part of the partnership, the IWMF will also take over weekly Monday special editions of API’s ‘Need to Know’ newsletter from March 13 until April 3 to bring digital safety knowledge to broader audiences. Thought leaders in preventing online violence in journalism will share their perspectives on the issue as well as resources and precautions to help journalists stay safe online. API will amplify all of the material through a social media campaign. 

“Online violence is designed to silence journalists’ voices and censor them from reporting the truth,” said Nadine Hoffman, Deputy Director of the IWMF. “We’re thrilled to team up with API to show journalists ways to care for their safety and wellbeing before, during and after an online attack.”

Sign up for API’s newsletter here. For more information on newsroom safety training and 1:1 consultations from the IWMF, visit iwmf.org/programs/online-harassment/. 

For the 17th consecutive year, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council has named its annual Openness in Government Awards, or Opees, in honor of national , March 12-18.  Five winners and one loser were selected from among an uncommonly large number of nominations.

And the Opees go to:

Public Openness Award (“Popee”): Jim O’Keefe. This longtime city of Madison official was nominated by Judith Davidoff, editor of Isthmus newspaper in Madison, for his “extraordinary” accessibility under four mayors. In an era where, she noted, “it is now rare for public administrators to answer their own phones and talk directly to reporters,” O’Keefe goes the extra mile, even intervening to help a reporter who was having trouble getting a call-back from someone else in city government. In recognizing O’Keefe, we also acknowledge the many other public officials in Wisconsin who regard transparency as a blessing and not a burden.

Media Openness Award (“Mopee”): The Badger Project. This nonpartisan, nonprofit and citizen-supported investigative reporting outlet, led by managing editor Peter Cameron, pulled back the veil on police officers who are disciplined and even fired for misconduct only to be hired by other law enforcement agencies. It has to pry loose relevant records against two police departments (La Crosse and Wausau) and used a list maintained by the state Department of Justice to shine a light on these cases. The group’s reporting is ongoing.

Citizen Openness Award (“Copee”): Friends of Frame Park. Concerned about a proposed baseball stadium that would have transformed a local park, this group of Waukesha residents fought all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to defend the public’s right to access records regarding the details of the plan. Sadly, the court’s conservative majority, in a 4-3 vote, reversed an appellate court ruling and the fee-shifting provisions in the state’s open records law, for which a legislative fix is . 

Open Records Scoop of the Year (“Scoopee”): “Cash Not Care,” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This examined the high infant mortality among Black people in Wisconsin while exposing malfeasance in a shadowy network of businesses known as prenatal care coordination companies. Reporters Cary Spivak and Mary Spicuzza spent months filing records requests, reviewing documents, conducting interviews and doing shoe-leather reporting. The series led to increased scrutiny of these companies by state officials.

Whistleblower of the Year (“Whoopee”): Mike Meier. This member of the Wauwatosa School Board that the board met improperly to discuss how to respond to a records request and that he was punished by the board president for being more open than necessary. Meier was quoted about a school administrator who helped steer a contract to consultants who employed her husband. In the end, both the and resigned. Said Meier: “Our whole system counts on the elected officials being watched in the public square as to how they conduct their business.”

No Friend of Openness (“Nopee”): The Madison Metropolitan School District. It’s rare for a public institution that depends on taxpayer support to be as awful as this one when it comes to public records and accountability. The district, through spokesperson Tim LeMonds, has become notorious for outrageous and , prompting alleging violations of the records law. Tom Kamenick of the Wisconsin Transparency Project has said he has “received more complaints about MMSD than any other government agency.” It is time for the district’s casual contempt for the public’s right to know to come to a screeching halt.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (), a group dedicated to open government. Bill Lueders is the council’s president.

The Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will host its 14th annual journalism ethics conference at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on Friday, April 28, 2023, in Madison, Wisconsin. The conference is free, open to the public and made possible by generous sponsorships from craig newmark philanthropies and the Evjue Foundation. 

Called “Ethics, Urgency & Climate Journalism,” the conference will bring together news media professionals, non-profit news leaders, media innovators, academics, climate change communicators, students and the public to address the ethical dimensions of covering climate change for our local, state, national and global communities. 

Some argue that journalism still isn’t effectively communicating the scope and scale of the climate change problem. And some barriers to conveying climate change urgency  lie within the field and practices of journalism itself, leaving journalists to question hard-baked professional practices and reimagine their position within existing ethical codes and value systems. 

As media organizations and thought leaders continue to call for new, different and improved coverage, the conference will foster important discussions around three areas of ethical concern: who gets heard on climate change?; what are the structural barriers to conveying scope and urgency?; and what are the many ways forward for journalists and other climate change communicators?  

“In this moment, climate questions feel relentless,” said Kathleen Bartzen Culver, James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics and director of the Center. “The public needs effective and ethical journalism to aid in the search for answers to those critical questions. I’m proud this conference will advance those efforts.”

Expert panelists will take on subjects such as climate reporting, equity and justice, how traditional media structures affect what gets covered and how, the contentious role of advocacy in journalism and more. TIME Magazine climate change reporter Justin Worland will provide a keynote address titled, “Justice and Journalism’s Climate Challenge.” 

The Center for Journalism Ethics, housed in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at 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. The Center offers resources for journalists, educators, students and the public, including internationally recognized annual conferences exploring key issues in journalism.

The Evjue Foundation is the charitable arm of The Capital Times newspaper. Since its founding in the 1960s, the Foundation has made grants totaling more than $70 million to worthy educational, cultural and charitable organizations in the newspaper’s circulation area. 

craig newmark philanthropies supports groups that seek to defend values such as fairness, opportunity and respect and strengthen American democracy. The organization drives broad civic engagement by working to advance organizations focused on trustworthy journalism and the information ecosystem, voter protection, women in tech, and veterans and military families. Craig Newmark is the founder of craigslist. 

Registration is open and available here.

Brandon Taylor has been named Evening News Anchor at WKOW-TV in Madison.

Taylor will join Anchor Amber Noggle and the rest of WKOW’s evening team behind the news desk every weeknight.

The announcement was made Friday by Anna Engelhart, General Manager of WKOW.

“We’re thrilled to find someone with such broad experience and talent, and we’re confident Brandon will quickly earn the trust of our viewers,” Engelhart said. “Taylor is excited to move back to Wisconsin and we can’t wait to bring him back. He will be an excellent addition to our news team, our television station, and our community.”  

Taylor has been a TV anchor and reporter for more than a decade. He previously anchored 27 News Wake Up Wisconsin from 2014 to 2018. For the past five years Taylor has been anchoring the news at WLTX in Columbia, South Carolina. Taylor is an award-winning journalist who loves to share stories and connect with his viewers.

“I’m delighted to join the talented WKOW team and to be moving back to Madison,” Taylor said. “I’m thrilled to once again serve southern Wisconsin, and I look forward to reconnecting with this community that feels like home.” 

Taylor graduated from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC with a BA in Communications and Journalism. He is very active in the church community and has spent many years mentoring young people around the country.

Taylor begins his on-air duties this April.

WKOW is also excited to announce we have expanded our award-winning evening news anchor team. Lance Veeser has transitioned into a new position behind the news desk, allowing him to use his skills honed as WKOW’s former Sports Director in an exciting new way.

27 News Anchor Sara Maslar-Donar has made the move to the evenings as well, bringing her experience as anchor of 27 News at 11am to a later audience. “It’s a testament to the quality and versatility of our staff that we are able to have both Lance and Sara join our expanding six person evening news team.” said Dani Maxwell, News Director of WKOW. “We’re excited for our audience to see these familiar faces in a new role, and we know Lance and Sara will continue to bring exceptional coverage and their unique voices to our newscasts.”