Category Archives: News

Learn to battle bias

Your WBA is offering members free access to a Poynter educational session titled “Battling Bias.”  The session is online on Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. CT. You can learn more and sign up here. Here’s what you will learn: Where do our biases come from? How do we recognize our own biases? Eight kinds of biases… – MORE –

Improve your storytelling abilities

Your WBA is offering members free access to a two-part Poynter workshop on powerful storytelling. Here’s what will be covered: –Finding and developing compelling characters  –Finding sharp story focus  –What goes where in the story and why  –How to make words and video work seamless together even when you have limited video  –How to spot… – MORE –

Wausau reporter receives IRE fellowship

A reporter at Wausau TV station WSAW-TV is one of 20 TV journalists from across the country awarded a fellowship from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). The fellowship means Emily Davies will join the TV Data Journalism Bootcamp taking place in September. The fellowship received financial backing from the Knight Foundation.

Training offered on reporting on suicide deaths

Your WBA is offering free training to newsrooms on how to report on suicide deaths. The free training comes from the Poynter Institute and will be held via webinar on Sept. 15 at 11 a.m. CT. You can register here. Read more: Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, in… – MORE –

Column: Lawmakers seek to keep their misconduct secret

Even Staush Gruszynski didn’t want this to happen. The former state Assembly representative from Green Bay is the subject of an ongoing legal battle over records regarding his sexual harassment of a female staffer. A judge in late June that the Legislature violated the state’s open records law in denying media requesters access to these… – MORE –

Journalist Protection Act introduced in Congress

The Journalist Protection Act (JPA) was introduced Thursday in the 117th Congress.  According to RTDNA, “The Journalist Protection Act would make it a federal crime to intentionally intimidate or cause bodily harm to a journalist or media organization in the course of newsgathering or reporting. It would bring justice to the journalists and media employees… – MORE –

Prepare for release of census data

Poynter is helping journalists prepare for the release of in-depth demographic statistics from the 2020 census, which is expected in the coming weeks. The data will reveal how the ethnic, racial and voting age makeup of neighborhoods, cities, counties and states has changed since the 2010 census, as well as inform political redistricting.  Poynter is offering a… – MORE –

Why reporters should cold-call for more thorough storytelling

cold-call /ˈkōl(d) ˌkôl/ verb make an unsolicited call on (someone), by phone or in person, in an attempt to sell goods or services. Ah, yes. A very popular tool amongst the sales folks. Welp, I’m going to hijack the term and let you know cold-calling is something reporters can add to their toolbox too. How… – MORE –

Local media can promote media literacy

Local radio and TV newsrooms can help in educating the public about media literacy. KMOX news Director Beth Coghlan, writing for RTDNA, wrote this article explaining how they’ve used their broadcasts to include education about media literacy. The newsroom also produced a podcast on the topic.

First president of Wisconsin FOIC dies

Bob Wills, the former editor of the Milwaukee Sentinel and founder and first president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, passed away last week at age 95.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published this story about his life.