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‘Opees’ honor and chastise

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 Sunshine Week, March 12-18.  Five winners and one loser were selected from among an uncommonly large number of nominations.

Honorees include a group of residents concerned about the impact of a local park redevelopment, a school board member who blew the whistle on his colleagues for being too secretive, and a longtime city official who has made a habit of accessibility.

Center for Journalism Ethics to host ‘Ethics, Urgency & Climate Journalism’ on April 28

The UW-Madison Center for Journalism Ethics will host its 14th annual conference on Friday, April 28, at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in Madison. It is free, open to the public and made possible by generous sponsorships from craig newmark philanthropies and the Evjue Foundation. The WNA also is among the conference's participating sponsors.

"Ethics, Urgency & Climate Journalism" 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. 

The road signs of spring

The classic harbingers of spring are the return of the robins, the maple sap run or the first blooms to sprout from the thawing earth.

Borowski named editor of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Greg Borowski, who has worked at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for 25 years, has been named the top editor of his hometown newspaper. He succeeds George Stanley, who retired at the end of last year after serving more than 43 years in journalism.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, he graduated from Messmer High School and Marquette University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1989. He joined the Journal Sentinel in 1998, covering politics and city government for a decade. For the last four years, he has served as deputy editor for news, projects and investigations.

Dining critic Carol Deptolla leaving Journal Sentinel

Carol Deptolla, who has served as dining critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for the past 15 years, is retiring from the newspaper, she announced in a farewell column Monday.

Deptolla, who succeeded Dennis Getto after his death in 2007, previously served as assistant chief of the Journal Sentinel's night copy desk. A Milwaukee native, she joined the newspaper as a reporter and features editor in the late 90s, after serving as a senior public relations specialist for the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

Bob Heisse retires after 44 years in journalism

Bob Heisse, who has served as executive editor of the River Valley Media Group for the past 2 1/2 years, is retiring after 44 years in journalism. He is being succeeded by Todd Krysiak, whose first day in the role was March 1.

Heisse joined the news group, which is owned by Lee Enterprises, in 2020. During his tenture, he oversaw newsrooms at the La Crosse Tribune, The Chippewa Herald and Winona (Minn.) Daily News. For the last two years, Heisse served as executive editor of the Kenosha News

Todd Krysiak named editor of River Valley Media Group

Todd Krysiak, a longtime journalist with 24 years of newsroom experience, has been named executive editor of River Valley Media Group. His first day in the new role was March 1. He succeeds Bob Heisse, who is retiring after 44 years in journalism.

Krysiak earned his degree in journalism from Northern Illinois University, where he wrote for the student newspaper, Northern Star. He joined Lee Enterprises in 2006 as a staff reporter for the Portage Daily Register before assuming the role as editor at The (Sauk City) Star News, the Baraboo News Republic and the (Reedsburg) Times Press.

Wisconsin Newspaper Association