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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.

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Determining child custody in Wisconsin

Mar. 29, 2022

I recently re-watched “Mrs. Doubtfire” – a classic, family-friendly comedy from the 1990s that also deals with the serious topics of divorce and child custody. (Spoilers ahead.)

Nominations sought for Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award

Mar. 11, 2022

Nominations are being sought for the annual Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award, recognizing an individual’s extraordinary contributions to open government or investigative journalism in Wisconsin.

Letters of nomination are accepted from journalists, news organizations and other individuals and organizations involved in open government and investigative journalism issues. Self-nominations also are welcomed. The nomination deadline is March 21.

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names ‘Opee’ winners

Mar. 10, 2022

The winners of this year's Openness Awards — or "Opees" — bestowed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council include a citizen concerned about plans to develop a city park, an alderperson who felt his colleagues broke the law and a district attorney who filed charges against a town for open records violations.

They'll all be recognized during the Wisconsin Watchdog Awards reception and dinner, on Thursday, April 21, at The Madison Club in Madison, beginning at 5 p.m.

Trucker shortage and Canadian blockade threaten newsprint supply, especially for smaller, rural newspapers

Mar. 9, 2022

A shortage of truckers and blockade bottlenecks have put a crimp on newsprint deliveries to the nation’s newspapers.

Those delays, combined with fears of a newsprint shortage, have raised publishers’ anxiety and put a premium on delivery schedule planning.

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Equity to be focus of Center for Journalism Ethics’ annual conference

Feb. 25, 2022

The Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will host its 13th annual journalism ethics conference at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on Friday, April 29, in Madison. The conference is free, open to the public and made possible by generous sponsorships from Craig Newmark Philanthropies and the Evjue Foundation.

The Wisconsin Newspaper Association, which is also a conference sponsor, will send out a link to the virtual conference to WNA members on the day of the event.

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NNA announces virtual fellowship program on March 15

Feb. 25, 2022

The National Newspaper Association Foundation this week announced that this year's News Fellows program will go virtual.

The fellowship will focus on climate change and be held on March 15. There were seven open spots as of Tuesday, which will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested students or those wishing to nominate a Wisconsin college student for the fellowship should contact Lisa McGraw, public affairs manager for the Michigan Press Association, at lisa@michiganpress.org.

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UW Varsity Band Concert tickets now on sale

Feb. 17, 2022

Tickets for the University of Wisconsin’s annual Varsity Band Spring Concert are now on sale. This year’s concert is the band’s first since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will feature two shows, each beginning at 7:30 p.m., on Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23, at the Kohl Center on the UW-Madison campus.

Concert highlights this year will include “Bohemian Wait for It,” “Country Classics,” “The Music of Panic at the Disco,” and classic UW favorites like “Space Badgers,” “If You Want to Be a Badger” and the signature Badger Band finale. All proceeds from the event benefit the band.

WNA, Rebuild Local News testify on behalf of advertising tax credit bill

Jan. 21, 2022

Members of the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Ways and Means heard testimony on Wednesday in support of a bill that would provide small businesses with a tax credit to advertise in local media.

Speaking on behalf of the members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association were Mike Hollihan, Multi Media Channels, Richard Lee, Inter-County Cooperative Publishing Association, WNA President Gregg Walker, The Lakeland Times (Minocqua) and WNA executive director Beth Bennett. Representatives of Wisconsin-based media were joined in supporting the measure by the Rebuild Local News Coalition.

Volunteers needed to judge Arkansas advertising contest

Jan. 21, 2022

As part of our 2022 contest judging partnership, the Arkansas Press Association needs at least 10 volunteers from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association to judge its advertising contest next month. The deadline to sign up is Friday, Feb. 4. All judging will be done online and is scheduled to begin Monday, Feb. 7, with a deadline of Friday, Feb. 18.

If you have any questions, email WNA Membership & Programming Specialist Jordan Schelling at jordan.schelling@wnanews.com.