Briefing Archives | Page 7 of 28 | Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Revamped Journalism Competition and Preservation Act aims to help smaller news outlets

Apr. 7, 2022

Newly revamped federal legislation aimed at helping news publishers negotiate deals with tech giants would create an arbitration process to settle disputes and wouldn’t apply to the biggest media companies, Alexandra Bruell and Keach Hagey report for The Wall Street Journal.

Several media organizations had expressed concerns that an earlier proposal, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, would mostly benefit the largests news companies with the greatest leverage, stifling the voices of smaller outlets. The amended legislation, which would only apply to organizations with fewer than 1,500 employees, seems to take those worries into consideration.

Washington Post’s Jessica Contrera wins 2022 Shadid Award

Apr. 1, 2022

Jessica Contrera of The Washington Post is the winner of the 2022 Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics, the Center for Journalism Ethics at UW-Madison announced Tuesday.

Contrera earned the award for her stories on child sex trafficking in the U.S. She will accept the award May 17 during a ceremony at the University Club in New York City. The ceremony also will include a conversation on journalism ethics with NBC's Lester Holt and award-winning journalist and author David Maraniss.

Ross McDuffie appointed to WNA Board of Directors

Apr. 1, 2022

Ross McDuffie, president of Madison Media Partners and publisher of the Wisconsin State Journal, is the newest member of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Board of Directors. McDuffie was appointed to the board during its quarterly meeting March 24 at The Madison Club.

He replaces Chris White, who formerly served as publisher of the State Journal.

Andrew Johnson, WNA past president, wins seat on Dodge County Board

Apr. 1, 2022

Andrew Johnson, past president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, WNA Foundation and National Newspaper Association, has been elected to the Dodge County Board of Supervisors, the (Beaver Dam) Daily Citizen reports. In a race for the county’s District 9 seat — to which he was appointed in June 2021 to fill a vacancy — 72% of ballots were cast for the former publisher.

Johnson sold his trio of newspapers — the Dodge County Pionier, the Campbellsport News and the Kewaskum Statesman — to Multi Media Channels in March 2020.

Spring Green Valley Sentinel joins WNA

Apr. 1, 2022

Join us in welcoming the WNA's newest member, the (Spring Green) Valley Sentinel. The Valley Sentinel is a bi-weekly newspaper, publishing every other Thursday. Its coverage area in southwestern Wisconsin also includes Arena, Lone Rock, Plain, and the surrounding areas in Sauk, Iowa and Richland counties.

Owners Nicole Aimone and Taylor Scott started the newspaper in October 2020, adopting a hybrid model that focuses on community engagement. Aimone is the newspaper's editor-in-chief and Scott serves as managing editor.

Pull the plug on shadowy business courts

Mar. 31, 2022

In the latest "Your Right to Know" column, Attorney Richard Niess says that anyone who doubts that secrecy in government breeds poor public policy should take a look at the Business Court Pilot Project launched by our Wisconsin Supreme Court.

"For the last five years, the project has granted large commercial interests outsized influence over our court system’s handling of their cases," he writes. The business court pilot debuted in 2017 in Waukesha County and the 8th judicial district (encompassing Brown, Marinette, Kewaunee, Oconto, Door, Outagamie and Waupaca Counties). It was expanded to other districts and, in a surprise move, to Dane County in 2020.

How a summary can make your ad presentations more memorable

Mar. 25, 2022

When advertisers and prospective clients remember the key points of your presentation, they are more likely to buy.

In his latest "Ad-libs" column, veteran sales trainer John Foust offers three tips on how a brief summary at the end of a presentation can make it more memorable.

state bar of wisconsin, legal rights, legal advice

‘Know Your Legal Rights’ column coming soon from State Bar of Wisconsin

Mar. 23, 2022

A variety of legal topics will be the focus of a new twice-monthly column — Know Your Legal Rights — produced by lawyers at the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service.

The stories will be made available to WNA members for republication at no cost, beginning April 1.

Poll results show mixed impact of higher gas prices

Mar. 23, 2022

Polco users and readers visiting WNA member websites from March 9 to 22 were asked how they were adjusting to higher gas prices, which hit record highs earlier this month. More than half of respondents said they hadn't made any changes, while 29% were driving less and 13% said they were spending less elsewhere.

This poll question and results were made available through a partnership between the WNA and Polco to help Wisconsin newspapers better engage readers and access enhanced data and insights.

UW-Oshkosh professor rallies support to oppose restrictions on student media

Mar. 18, 2022

Vincent Filak, a journalism professor at UW-Oshkosh and former adviser for The Advance-Titan student newspaper, has been rallying support this week to oppose restrictions the school has been accused of placing on student media organizations.

Filak reached out to university officials following a report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education that student journalists were required to get approval to interview any university employees. He has detailed his exchanges on his blog, offered his views on how to resolve the issue and shared an update Thursday following a meeting between the newspaper and university officials.