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Wisconsin Watch is pleased to announce the hiring of Jack Kelly as its new statehouse reporter.

Kelly, 26, joins Wisconsin Watch after two years as a statehouse reporter for the Capital Times based in Madison. Before that he worked as a contributing reporter with Wisconsin Watch reporting on judicial and environmental issues. He has also covered Congress, keeping tabs on South Carolina’s congressional delegation for McClatchy.

In Wisconsin Kelly covered the driving forces behind state politics over the last two years. He wrote about the partisan investigation of the state’s 2020 presidential election and conducted an in-depth probe of a Republican effort to abolish the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. He also profiled some of Wisconsin’s top policymakers, including Gov. Tony Evers and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu.

He has a bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison and a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He was named the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s 2022 Rookie Reporter of the Year. His reporting has also earned several other awards from the WNA and the Milwaukee Press Club.

“I am drawn to Wisconsin Watch’s commitment to fearless and fair journalism,” Kelly said. “Whether it’s thorough examinations of ‘election integrity’ proposals or a news-you-can-use guide to help formerly incarcerated people navigate voting, every story Wisconsin Watch publishes leaves readers better equipped to pursue meaningful change in their communities.”

Kelly, who starts Aug. 7, is based in Madison. He can be reached at jkelly@wisconsinwatch.org.

The Wisconsin Watch statehouse team focuses its nonpartisan investigative reporting on state government and political issues, including disinformation, governmental overreach, threats to Wisconsin’s democracy and issues affecting Wisconsin’s most vulnerable communities. The team works closely with the entire Wisconsin Watch staff and other news outlets to investigate government integrity and quality of life issues including environment, education, economy, racial and criminal justice, and health.

Other members of the statehouse team include:

— Matthew DeFour, the statehouse bureau chief, previously worked for 16 years at the Wisconsin State Journal as a local government, education and statehouse reporter and editor. DeFour is based in Madison and can be reached at mdefour@wisconsinwatch.org.

— Jacob Resneck, a Report for America corps member, previously worked in Juneau, Alaska as an editor and reporter for the nonprofit public media consortium CoastAlaska. Resneck is based in Oshkosh and can be reached at jresneck@wisconsinwatch.org.

— Phoebe Petrovic covers disinformation for Wisconsin Watch and previously worked with Kelly to produce Justice Deferred, a Wisconsin Watch and WPR investigation that examined the unusual sentencing practices of an Outagamie County judge. Elements of that reporting were included in Petrovic’s Open and Shut podcast, which has won several awards, including a regional Edward R. Murrow. Petrovic is based in Madison and can be reached at ppetrovic@wisconsinwatch.org.

Kelly emerged as the top choice from a very competitive application process. More than 30 journalists with varying levels of skill and experience applied.

“From insightful interviews with top political leaders to producing one of the state’s best political newsletters, Jack Kelly has quickly established himself as a major force in Wisconsin journalism,” DeFour said.

Wisconsin Watch’s mission is to increase the quality, quantity and understanding of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future generations of investigative journalists. Our work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy. Wisconsin Watch distributes its content for free to newspapers, radio and TV stations, and news websites in Wisconsin and nationwide. In 2022, Wisconsin Watch produced 65 major stories that were picked up by more than 280 news outlets, reaching an estimated audience of more than 49.9 million readers.

To support the Center’s work, click here. All financial support is publicly acknowledged to protect the integrity of our journalism.

For more Wisconsin Watch news straight to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters.

Wisconsin Watch hires Jack Kelly as new statehouse reporter is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Wisconsin Watch, a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to producing high-quality, high-impact journalism across Wisconsin, is seeking a Chief Executive Officer to lead the organization’s next stage of growth. The successful candidate will have passion for independent journalism’s critical role in a healthy democracy, executive leadership experience, demonstrated fundraising ability for a mission-driven organization, and strong perspective on leading an organization committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

‍Leading this organization will place the successful candidate at the forefront of a movement to further make journalism a foundational part of civic life across Wisconsin by strengthening the kind of reporting that holds power to account and truly addresses the information needs of communities.

Organization Overview

Wisconsin Watch is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that reports on government accountability and quality of life issues, including criminal and racial justice, education, health, the economy and environment.

We dig into under-covered issues, document inequitable and failing systems, do meaningful data analysis and put our findings into regional and national contexts and explore potential solutions. We aim to spark change that improves people’s lives and keeps the powerful accountable Every investigation is meticulously fact-checked to ensure that our reporting is accurate, fair and in context.

We also train the next generation of journalists and news entrepreneurs through workshops, internships, and fellowships. We collaborate with students, journalism classes and other newsrooms. And we share information about journalistic practices, ethics and impact with the public.

We believe in collaborating with rather than competing against other news outlets as we strive to build a better and more sustainable news ecosystem. We push the traditional boundaries of investigative reporting in search of better ways of connecting with and serving the public.

Wisconsin Watch approaches its work through these key strategies:

• Producing independent journalism that is supported by authentic documents and data and protects the vulnerable, exposes wrongdoing, and explores solutions.
  
• Supporting the news ecosystem by collaborating with others to close coverage gaps, share content, and make more local journalism available to all Wisconsinites who need it. Working closely and effectively with other media leaders is an essential component of this role.
  
• Building a movement to strengthen local news in partnership with civic and community leaders and universities and train the next generation of journalists.
  
• Embracing anti-racism, diversity, equity and inclusiveness in all of our journalism and operations.

Our most recent impact report can be found on our website.

News stories produced by Wisconsin Watch are free to access and are available for republishing with credit to Wisconsin Watch, which works in partnership with a growing list of outlets to increase the volume of relevant, original local reporting available to all residents.

The Role

The CEO will lead strategic planning, coordinate the organization’s fundraising efforts across a diverse mix of revenue streams, and oversee the financial, human resources, and administrative infrastructure to support fast-paced growth while cultivating an equitable organizational culture. As a champion of the editorial team (which will report to the CEO), the CEO will be an advocate for the newsroom. As director of the business team, the CEO will maintain relationships with funders and sponsors while protecting the independence of the editorial staff.

Responsibilities & Priorities

Strategic vision

• Work with the organization’s board, editorial, and business leaders to develop a multi-year strategic plan.
• Advocate relentlessly for the organization and its mission in venues across the state and nation.
• Initiate a brand strategy to bring awareness to the organization’s vision and increase its audience.
• Ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion remain key parts of the organization’s framework, particular in the regarding hiring, retention, compensation, and editorial coverage.
• Expand on a culture of innovation and collaboration between internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead and inspire staff to meet the goals of the organization’s strategic vision while also supporting the needs of the communities they serve.
• Support editorial leaders in the implementation and management of daily newsroom operations that produce strong, community-oriented accountability journalism.
• Create an environment where editorial leaders are encouraged to produce culturally relevant narratives to amplify the voices and lived experiences of traditionally underserved and misrepresented communities.
• Lead editors to produce news coverage that centers on the perspectives and concerns of culturally diverse communities impacted by the subject matter.
• Work with editorial leaders to build new products that will enhance Wisconsin Watch’s role as the leading statewide nonprofit news organization.

General management

• Ensure the organization’s day-to-day operations and programs are professionally and efficiently administered, holding the organization to the highest levels of transparency, accountability, and consistency; set benchmarks for program spending and delivery without losing commitment to the communities being served.
• Develop, manage, and provide oversight of the organization’s operating budget; ensure that financial systems, budgets, and planning strategies accurately reflect the financial realities of the organization; achieve ambitious but realistic and attainable financial projections and ensure fiscal stability.
• Provide oversight of systems for measuring and evaluating the organization’s progress and success (as well as the progress and success of team members); track and disseminate information about impact internally, to funders and to partners.
• Provide oversight of core administrative functions including HR, finance, development and marketing.
• Manage compliance for all grants and contracts including public and private funders and regulatory bodies.
• Ensure the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion commitment and programming spans across all levels of program, staff development and operations.

Fundraising and revenue

• Develop and implement a long-term funding and sustainability plan for the organization.
• Manage the organization’s fundraising pipeline, including funding from foundations, major donors, underwriters, and corporate sponsors.
• Build and oversee a development team, and coordinate with the editorial team as necessary to galvanize funding support.
• Personally cultivate and solicit new donors and maintain active partnerships with all of the organization’s funders.
• Explore and strategically deploy opportunities for new revenue streams, including sponsorships, appropriate advertising, events, and membership, to diversify revenue and protect the independence of the newsroom.
• Implement best practices in growth management including the development of financial models for new initiatives and newsroom expansion plans.

Board relations and development

• Serve as a contact for the organization with its board of directors and be evaluated by benchmarks created by the board.
• Engage and update the board of directors on matters related to revenue and operations; in partnership with the editorial leadership, consistently update the board on relevant progress and impact.
• Partner with the board to recruit new board members, including members that reflect the diversity of the populations served.
• Partner with the editorial leadership and board on issues related to strategic planning.

You’re a good fit if…

• You’re passionate about independent, nonprofit investigative journalism and serving the information needs of Wisconsin residents.
• You have executive management experience, including managing revenue and expenses and reporting to and working with a strong board.
• You prioritize and have a track record of building an equitable and inclusive organizational culture.
• You have a proven track record of fundraising for fast-growing organizations or programs.
• You have a proven track record of attracting, retaining, and evaluating top talent.
• You are the kind of leader who brings teams together, fosters a collaborative, high-trust work environment, and motivates people to work toward a common goal.
• You believe that an independent free press is crucial to a local community’s civic engagement and you are deeply committed to journalism values and ethics.
• You’re committed to learning and inspiring others around you to do the same.

Location: Madison or Milwaukee

Salary: $115,000 – $135,000

Benefits: Generous vacation (five weeks) plus holiday time (six days of your choosing), paid sick days, 12 weeks paid family and caregiver leave, subsidized medical and dental premiums, vision coverage, short term & long term disability, on-demand telehealth, $300/year transportation allowance and self-funded 403(b) retirement plan.

To apply: Please submit a PDF of your resume and answer some brief questions in this application form.

Wisconsin Watch embraces anti-racism, diversity and inclusiveness in its journalism, training activities, hiring practices and workplace operations. The complex issues we face as a society require respect for different viewpoints. Race, class, generation, gender and geography all affect point of view. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.

Wisconsin Watch seeks Chief Executive Officer is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

On July 5, we’re introducing a new newsletter. We’re excited about our changing newsletter lineup and hope you will be too.

The new weekly newsletter is The Wednesday Report. It will provide stories by Wisconsin Watch and our partners and offer exclusive access to behind-the-scenes insights on our investigations.

As a result, we will stop emailing alerts about every new Wisconsin Watch story. If you currently get our story alerts, you’ll automatically get The Wednesday Report. If not, please subscribe, so you never miss a story.

If you’re a fan of Wisconsin Weekly, our Friday newsletter, don’t worry. You will still receive this summary of the most important stories from around the state curated by Statehouse Bureau Chief Matthew DeFour. 

We could not report these stories and create these newsletters without your support. Please consider becoming a member of Wisconsin Watch by making a donation of any size. Thank you for helping us continue to grow.

Have questions or comments? Contact our audience director Kiran Saini at ksaini@wisconsinwatch.org

We’re changing our newsletter lineup at Wisconsin Watch. Here’s what to know is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Are you passionate about ensuring access to fair, nonpartisan information for everyone? Do you believe that communities across our state deserve access to information about the issues that affect their lives?

Wisconsin Watch is excited to announce a search for a Director of Institutional Giving who is energized by our mission to drive positive change through investigative journalism and rebuilding local news. You can play a pivotal role in securing critical resources that support the goals of our growing newsroom. As an integral part of our team, you will leverage your expertise in cultivating relationships with foundations, corporations, and philanthropic organizations to generate sustainable funding that allows us to achieve our vision. Your strategic thinking, persuasive communication skills, and ability to articulate the transformative power of investigative journalism will enable you to forge strong partnerships and secure vital financial support. Together, we will empower the public with accurate, unbiased, and timely news, making a lasting difference in our changing world. Join us and become a catalyst for change in Wisconsin and beyond.

This role is funded by the American Journalism Project and is part of a multiyear partnership between Wisconsin Watch and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service to reshape the local news ecosystem in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive institutional giving strategy aligned with Wisconsin Watch’s mission and funding needs.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with current and prospective institutional donors through regular communication, meetings and networking events.
• Prepare compelling grant proposals, applications and reports in collaboration with program and development staff and ensure timely submission.
• Work with the Development Operations Manager to identify and research potential institutional donors that align with the organization’s goals.
• Collaborate with the finance and operations team to ensure compliance with grant requirements and reporting obligations.
• Manage a portfolio of institutional donors, tracking key deadlines, deliverables and stewardship activities.
• Assist in planning of special events designed to engage corporate and foundation program officers.
• Stay informed about trends, best practices and policies in institutional giving and incorporate them into fundraising strategies.
• Represent Wisconsin Watch at relevant industry conferences, events and meetings to enhance visibility and networking opportunities.

Qualifications:

• A strong commitment to the mission and values of Wisconsin Watch and a passion for nonprofit journalism.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in institutional fundraising, including grant writing, donor cultivation and relationship management.
• Proven track record of successfully securing grants from foundations and corporations.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex concepts clearly and compellingly.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines effectively.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, including institutional funders and program staff.
• Familiarity with the Wisconsin philanthropic landscape and knowledge of relevant funding sources is highly desirable.
• Proficiency in using fundraising databases, CRM systems and other relevant software tools.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative and contribute to a collaborative team environment.

Location: The Director of Institutional Giving should be located in Wisconsin, preferably in the greater Madison or greater Milwaukee areas, and expect to travel to those cities at least twice a month and other Wisconsin locations as needed. 

Salary: Starts at $80,000

Benefits: Generous vacation (five weeks) plus holiday time (six days of your choosing), paid sick days, paid family and caregiver leave, subsidized medical and dental premiums, vision coverage, short term & long term disability, on-demand telehealth, $300/year transportation allowance and self-funded 403(b) retirement plan.

Deadline: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

To apply: Please submit a PDF of your resume and answer some brief questions in this application form. If you’d like to chat about the job before applying, contact Lauren Fuhrmann, Associate Director, via email: lfuhrmann@wisconsinwatch.org 

Wisconsin Watch embraces anti-racism, diversity and inclusiveness in its journalism, training activities, hiring practices and workplace operations. The complex issues we face as a society require respect for different viewpoints. Race, class, generation, gender and geography all affect point of view. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.

Wisconsin Watch seeks Director of Institutional Giving is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Are you passionate about ensuring access to fair, nonpartisan information for everyone? Do you believe that communities across our state deserve access to information about the issues that affect their lives?

Wisconsin Watch is excited to announce a search for a Director of Major Giving who is energized by our vision to ignite a movement of support for independent local journalism. As a vital member of our team, you will leverage your exceptional interpersonal skills to build relationships with individuals who believe in the importance of access to information and the power of accountability. Your ability to connect with donors, understand their values, and communicate our mission will enable you to cultivate a strong and engaged community of supporters. Through targeted campaigns, events, and personalized outreach, you will inspire philanthropic contributions that directly impact our ability to deliver credible, thought-provoking news to the public. Join us and become a catalyst for change as we shape the future of Wisconsin together.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive individual fundraising strategy that aligns with Wisconsin Watch’s mission and fundraising objectives.
• Work with Development Operations Manager to identify, research and qualify potential major donors.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with current and prospective major donors through regular communications and meetings, donor-focused events, and on-going stewardship.
• Create compelling proposals and presentations that effectively communicate Wisconsin Watch’s impact and the value of major donor support.
• Collaborate with board members, staff and volunteers to engage major donors in fundraising efforts and develop donor stewardship plans.
• Ensure timely and personalized stewardship of major donors, including regular communication, recognition and impact reporting.
• Work with Development Operations Manager to maintain accurate and up-to-date donor records in the organization’s CRM database and provide regular reports on major donor fundraising activities to the Associate Director.
• Represent Wisconsin Watch at relevant fundraising events, community gatherings, and donor cultivation activities to expand the organization’s network and visibility.

Qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, with a demonstrated track record of success in major gifts fundraising.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships with high net worth individuals and foundations.
• Proven ability to develop and implement effective major gifts fundraising strategies.
• Experience working with CRM databases and fundraising tools for donor management and prospect research.
• In-depth knowledge of fundraising best practices and trends in major gifts fundraising within the nonprofit sector.
• Strong organizational and project management abilities, with the capacity to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Self-motivated and able to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Passion for supporting independent journalism and a deep commitment to the mission of Wisconsin Watch.

Location: The Director of Major Giving should be located in Wisconsin, preferably in the greater Madison or greater Milwaukee areas, and expect to travel to those cities at least twice a month and other Wisconsin locations quarterly. 

Salary: Starts at $80,000

Benefits: Generous vacation (five weeks) plus holiday time (six days of your choosing), paid sick days, paid family and caregiver leave, subsidized medical and dental premiums, vision coverage, short term & long term disability, on-demand telehealth, $300/year transportation allowance and self-funded 403(b) retirement plan.

Deadline: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

To apply: Please submit a PDF of your resume and answer some brief questions in this application form. If you’d like to chat about the job before applying, contact Lauren Fuhrmann, Associate Director, via email: lfuhrmann@wisconsinwatch.org 

Wisconsin Watch embraces anti-racism, diversity and inclusiveness in its journalism, training activities, hiring practices and workplace operations. The complex issues we face as a society require respect for different viewpoints. Race, class, generation, gender and geography all affect point of view. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities.

Wisconsin Watch seeks Director of Major Giving is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Listen to Andy and Dee Hall discuss their retirement on WPR’s The Morning Show, WORT community radio and Civic Media’s As Goes Wisconsin.

Andy and Dee J. Hall, the investigative journalists who co-founded Wisconsin Watch in their family basement, are leaving after building one of the nation’s most successful nonprofit news and training organizations.

The Wisconsin Watch board of directors announced the planned departures as part of a succession plan that will ensure stable leadership. Four veteran staff leaders will continue to guide the editorial and business operations under interim executive director Barbara Johnson, a longtime journalism executive and Wisconsin Watch volunteer. The board will begin a search for a new CEO immediately.

“The institution Andy and Dee brought into reality through their inspired and courageous leadership remains a vital resource for the people of Wisconsin and one of the jewels of this nation’s nonprofit news ecosystem,” said Michael Louis Vinson, chair of the Wisconsin Watch board of directors. “Their remarkable legacy will be evident for years to come through the ongoing work of this organization, which is well-positioned to lean even more fully into its mission and to serve audiences in new and imaginative ways.” 

Andy Hall, 64, who as executive director has overseen news and business operations since becoming Wisconsin Watch’s first employee in January 2009, is moving June 30 to a role as co-founder at large. He will assist the board and staff through Dec. 31, when he will retire from Wisconsin Watch after completing 15 years with the organization. During his tenure, Wisconsin Watch has grown from an initial budget of $160,000 to a nearly $2 million operation employing two dozen people.

Dee J. Hall, 62, who as a volunteer managed interns for six summers before becoming managing editor in 2015, plans to leave the organization on June 30. Dee has run the daily news operations, serving as editor and reporter on more than 70 award-winning projects recognized in state, regional and national contests. She also taught a popular University of Wisconsin-Madison investigative reporting class that collaborated with Wisconsin Watch on high-impact projects. Dee plans to take some time off while assisting the news team in a smooth transition.

With Andy’s retirement on the horizon, the Halls decided it made sense for Dee to step aside as well to make space for a new leader to shape Wisconsin Watch.

“We join in celebrating the impact of Wisconsin Watch and the visionary leadership of Andy and Dee, who together have made Wisconsin a far better place for so many,” said Jason Alcorn, VP of Growth Investments at the American Journalism Project, a major funder of Wisconsin Watch. “We look forward to continuing to partner with Wisconsin Watch and its board of directors to ensure that all Wisconsin communities have the local news they need.”

Dee and Andy said they are “filled with gratitude for the thousands of people — supporters, employees, funders and collaborators — who have joined in this journey over the years, stretching back to 2006, when we began to dream of a news outlet that would serve all of Wisconsin and its residents with in-depth, impactful news, while training the next generation of investigative journalists.” 

Stories are made available at no charge to the public at WisconsinWatch.org and to hundreds of news organizations, which in turn distribute them to their audiences across the state and nation.

The Halls said they appreciate the news sources who have entrusted Wisconsin Watch with sensitive details of their lives and struggles in order to hold the powerful accountable and explore solutions to systems producing inequitable or ineffective outcomes. 

Foundations and other institutions, including the American Journalism Project, have funneled millions of dollars into Wisconsin Watch’s efforts to increase the quality and quantity of  investigative journalism to inform people, strengthen democracy and rebuild local news across Wisconsin. 

Partners — Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, Wisconsin Public Radio, and many others including the news outlets in the NEW (Northeast Wisconsin) News Lab — have stepped up to collaborate, complementing and amplifying Wisconsin Watch’s journalism. 

The faculty and students of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and more recently the Marquette University Diederich College of Communication, continue to provide Wisconsin Watch with offices and invaluable opportunities to experiment. To date, Wisconsin Watch has trained more than 80 fellows and interns as investigative journalists and news entrepreneurs. 

The Halls praised their co-workers for their “tireless and courageous efforts” to expose threats to democracy, the environment, the justice system, education, health and more in nonpartisan, fact-checked reports, while illuminating the path to potential solutions and coming up with the means to sustain this critical work. They also thanked board members who have “given freely of their time and expertise to guide policy making and exercise their fiduciary duties.” 

They described their tenure as “both exhilarating and difficult.” Challenges included launching during the Great Recession, the failed 2013 attempt by the Legislature to evict Wisconsin Watch from its UW-Madison offices, the 2019 flood in Vilas Hall that forced the news outlet to find temporary quarters, the pandemic, which upended life and work, and managing a rapidly growing staff and budget. 

Andy said that before he leaves Wisconsin Watch at the end of the year, he plans to reflect on what retirement might look like, beyond the obvious opportunities to spend less time on Zoom and more time camping, enjoying sunsets and get-togethers with family and friends. And he will consider opportunities to remain engaged in supporting and rebuilding local journalism.

“We have always done what we believed to be in the best interests of Wisconsin Watch, guided by three values: Protect the vulnerable. Expose wrongdoing. Explore solutions,” the Halls said. “Soon, those decisions and challenges will be in the hands of our successors. We will be cheering for their success. The mission of Wisconsin Watch endures now, and, we hope, for decades to come.”

If you support fact-checked, nonpartisan reporting, please consider donating to Wisconsin Watch. And to keep up with the latest Wisconsin Watch news, sign up for our newsletters. 

Wisconsin Watch co-founders, creators of one of the nation’s top nonprofit news outlets, leaving as leadership transition begins is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read more about our partnership.

Fact briefs address widely circulating claims about current events and policies that can be answered yes or no. We avoid outdated or obscure topics or claims with low engagement. We strive to write in a neutral, educational voice, avoiding buzzwords and politically charged language. 

Our objective is to verify facts, not debate political opinions. We strive to separate the claim (the fact) from the claimant (the individual or organization that is using it). We occasionally do spot-checks to ensure that we are achieving as much partisan/political balance as possible.

Related: How Wisconsin Watch fact checks our stories

We include the leaning or affiliation when citing groups as sources, such as in this brief. As a nonprofit organization, Wisconsin Watch has no commercial interests that conflict with our fact-checking. 

We are members of both the Trust Project and the Institute for Nonprofit News, which require transparency in funding and even-handedness in reporting, including no membership in any party, or work aimed at boosting any politician or political campaign. Here is our list of funders.

All of our fact briefs have at least two sources linked below the fact brief. We occasionally add original reporting in the form of data analysis or email exchanges.

We strive to always use primary sources but will occasionally use secondary sources, if primary sources are not available. 

We use at least two sources for each fact brief. Each brief is fact-checked by two editors, one at Wisconsin Watch and one at Gigafact.

We disclose political leanings of sources and any qualifiers on the information they provide. In this brief, for example, we make it clear the group making the ranking is conservative and that rankings are based on bills handpicked by the group.

Our yes/no format means we avoid certain questions that fall into the category of sometimes or maybe. When important context is needed, we add that. In this fact brief, for example, we said while some businesses would see a tax increase, the overwhelming majority would not, undercutting the claim that 95% of businesses would see an “automatic” tax increase.

In addition to claims that are partially true or false, we are unable to check claims for which there are no credible, available sources to verify or dispute them. Fact briefs are limited to 150 words, so some claims are simply too complicated to be explained with such brevity.

Usually, the sources for the claims are readily available online. But when they are not, we contact the claimant to ask for the source. If we are unable to obtain either online sources or sources from the claimant, we skip them.

And sometimes we just want to have fun. So occasionally you’ll see a fact check like this one: Did Tony Evers say ‘holy mackerel’ in announcing his win early Wednesday morning?

How Wisconsin Watch checks claims for its Gigafact fact briefs is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup.

In 2009, we established ourselves as the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, a nonprofit, nonpartisan and independent news outlet. Our mission since we started has been to produce reporting that fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.

Reporting fearlessly on broken systems and holding power to account remain core to who we are. But as we’ve grown dramatically in recent years, we began delivering other forms of journalism and partnering with others across the state. 

In collaboration with Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, we launched News414, a texting project that delivers information to underserved Milwaukee neighborhoods. We opened a two-person statehouse bureau. We began collaborating with five other news outlets in Northeast Wisconsin to provide news through the NEW News Lab. We created short Fact Briefs to counter disinformation on social media.

Not everything we now produce is deep-dive investigative journalism. Thus the change. 

Since our founding, we have referred to ourselves by a number of names, including “Wisconsin Watch,” “Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism,” “WCIJ” and “the Center.” As we continue to grow, we want to use the Wisconsin Watch name consistently to avoid confusion as to who we are and to convey the breadth of what we do.

Wisconsin Watch will now be used exclusively on our website, our bylines, our logos and in our communications with you, our audience.

Our legal name, for the time being, will still remain Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (WCIJ Inc.).

We are proud of what we’ve accomplished in the past 14 years. Last year our work was published or cited by more than 280 news organizations, and we had an estimated audience of 138 million readers. We won more than a dozen national, regional and statewide honors for our work in 2022 alone.

Your support makes Wisconsin Watch possible. Thank you for helping us continue to do it. Please consider making a donation of any size and become a member of Wisconsin Watch. 

Have questions or comments? Contact our audience director Kiran Saini at ksaini@wisconsinwatch.org 

We will now only be known as Wisconsin Watch. Here’s why. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Wisconsin Watch’s 2022 coverage of issues including casino gambling, false child abuse allegations, the state of abortion after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the baby formula shortage and culture wars that erupted in Kiel, Wisconsin won top honors Friday in the Milwaukee Press Club’s Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism competition. 

Open and Shut, Wisconsin Watch’s investigative podcast produced in collaboration with WPR, continued its winning streak, earning best original podcast in the contest.

The podcast already has been honored by the American Bar Association and with a regional Edward R. Murrow Award. And Wisconsin Watch’s Phoebe Petrovic, host and reporter for the podcast, and freelance producer Nina Earnest are finalists for a national Livingston Award for top journalists under the age of 35 for their work on Open and Shut.  

The honors bring to more than 140 the number of awards Wisconsin Watch has won in the state’s premier all-media competition. Some of the stories were reported in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch reporting partners, including University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism students, WPR, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and the Anchorage Daily News.

Here are the first-place gold winners:  

Best Business Story or Series

Mario Koran, Ilana Bar-av and Jim Malewitz reported and photographed a story examining the impact and future of casino gaming on the Ho-Chunk Nation’s economy. One tribal official commented on the need to diversify the nation’s revenue base: “We’ve got to get gaming out of our blood.” Wisconsin Watch later held a forum in Black River Falls in which Ho-Chunk citizens called for more transparency from their government — and for more support for entrepreneurship. The story was produced in collaboration with Indian Country Today.

Best Investigative Story or Series

Brenda Wintrode and Hope Karnopp of Wisconsin Watch and Michelle Theriault Boots of the Anchorage Daily News took top honors for the series, Flawed Forensics, which documents how a former University of Wisconsin pediatrician wrongly diagnosed at least a dozen children as abused — and the heart-rending consequences that followed.

Best Explanatory Story or Series

Phoebe Petrovic explored the impact of Wisconsin’s “tangled” abortion laws and the question of whether abortion is ever medically necessary, the varying interpretations of Wisconsin’s 173-year-old abortion ban, whether even children who are victims of sexual assault could have abortions; a comprehensive guide to the abortion-related stances of 2022 candidates and their endorsements by major anti-abortion rights groups. Petrovic also examined Wisconsin’s “punitive” fetal protection law and how a more compassionate model could accomplish the same goals.

Best Consumer Story or Series   

Hope Karnopp of Wisconsin Watch and Matt Martinez of Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service teamed up to explore the baby formula crisis in Wisconsin. Karnopp explained how the single-source system of government-subsidized formula exacerbated the shortage. Martinez explored how families could get the types of formula their infants need. Karnopp followed up with a story about how families could navigate the lingering shortage. 

Best Original Podcast

The seven-part Open and Shut investigative podcast and online series exposes the gaps in the U.S. justice system that allow its most powerful actors to use their nearly unchecked authority to win questionable cases, convict the innocent and pervert the pursuit of justice. The podcast from Wisconsin Watch and WPR was inspired by reporting spanning 20 years on how a pair of Wisconsin prosecutors misused their authority with tragic consequences. Phoebe Petrovic was the host, reporter and producer with additional reporting, technical production and support from nearly two dozen other Wisconsin Watch and WPR staff members and freelancers. The project was produced as part of the NEW (Northeast Wisconsin) News Lab, a consortium of six news outlets covering northeastern Wisconsin.

Best Explanatory Story or Series (online)

Mario Koran’s three-part series on Kiel, Wisconsin showed how culture wars that erupted over racial and anti-trans bullying of students threatened to dismantle democracy in the community. Bomb threats closed the community’s schools, Kiel school board members were ousted and a Black student was forced to transfer to a district 45 minutes away. One Kiel resident told Koran:  “I feel like my town has been hijacked.” The series also was a NEW News Lab project.

Second-place silver honors were earned in the following categories:

Best Public Service Story or Series           

Reporters Matt Mencarini, Phoebe Petrovic, Jacob Resneck and Matthew DeFour took silver honors for Wisconsin Watch’s Democracy on the Ballot series, which recounted threats to Wisconsin’s elections and democracy including extreme partisan gerrymandering, intimidated poll workers and disenfranchised voters.

Best Explanatory Story or Series

WPR producer Jenny Peek, in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch, won for her story showing how the lack of paid parental leave was fueling the labor shortage and anxiety among working parents. Despite broad public support, the United States is the only country among 41 European Union and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development nations that fails to guarantee paid parental leave. Just one in four American workers had the benefit in 2021.

Third-place bronze honors went to the following coverage:

Best Multi-Story Coverage of a Single Feature Topic or Event

UW-Madison journalism students in collaboration with Wisconsin Watch produced a multipart series, Beyond Hunger. The students examined the problem of food insecurity in Wisconsin, including barriers to obtaining and keeping federal food assistance, the impact of free school meals, efforts to bring fresh food to Wisconsin’s food deserts and the barriers to reducing food waste.

Best Business Story or Series

Wisconsin Watch’s Zhen Wang won bronze for her story documenting the toll of Long COVID on Wisconsin’s workforce. At least half a million people in Wisconsin have been hobbled to one extent or another by Long COVID, Wang found, leading to worker shortages, financial hardships and, in some cases, loss of jobs.

Wisconsin Watch takes six golds, four other honors in annual Milwaukee Press Club contest  is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup.

Open and Shut, the Wisconsin Watch/WPR investigative podcast about the power of prosecutors, has won regional honors from the Edward R. Murrow Awards. Open and Shut took first place in the large radio market for best podcast.

The Radio Television Digital News Association announced the Region 4 winners Thursday. Region 4 comprises Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Regional winners automatically advance to the national competition, winners of which will be announced in August. 

The Radio Television Digital News Association has honored outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Award recipients demonstrate the spirit of excellence that Murrow set as a standard for the profession of broadcast and digital journalism.

Murrow Awards are presented to news organizations, not individuals. All awards are presented based on the specific body of work submitted.

Open and Shut exposes the gaps in the U.S. justice system that allow prosecutors, its most powerful actors, to use their nearly unchecked authority to win questionable cases, convict the innocent and pervert the pursuit of justice. The podcast was inspired by reporting spanning 20 years on how a pair of Wisconsin prosecutors misused their authority with tragic consequences.

The podcast launched in April 2022 featuring two district attorneys, Vince Biskupic and Joe Paulus, who had a close personal and professional relationship during their tenure as politically ambitious prosecutors in Wisconsin’s Fox Valley. The podcast was part of the NEW News Lab, a collaboration of six news outlets, including Wisconsin Watch and WPR, producing journalism focused on Northeast Wisconsin. 

Open and Shut also is a national finalist in the American Bar Association’s 2023 Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts. Wisconsin Watch reporter Phoebe Petrovic and freelance producer Nina Earnest also are finalists for the Livingston Awards, which recognize the nation’s top early-career journalists under age 35. And Open and Shut is a finalist for best original podcast from the Milwaukee Press Club.

“This three-years-in-the-making project demonstrates the power of collaboration and persistence,” Wisconsin Watch Managing Editor Dee J. Hall said. “We are grateful that the depth of reporting and the richness of storytelling in Open and Shut are receiving national and regional recognition.”

Wisconsin Watch’s team on the podcast included Petrovic, who served as reporter, host and producer; producer Earnest; reporter and digital story editor Hall; editor Karen Given; production assistants Enjoyiana Nururdin and Clare Amari; and Coburn Dukehart, digital project manager and Wisconsin Watch’s associate director.

The WPR team included digital editors Alyssa Allemand and David Hyland; technical director Brad Kolberg; music director Karl Christenson; art director John Thomas Nichols; marketing specialist Angela Woodward; and digital designers Amanda Starich, Anna Rueden and Jane Jiumaleh.

Legal review for Open and Shut was provided by Christa Westerberg and Aaron Dumas of the Pines Bach law firm in Madison. Additional support was provided by Wisconsin Watch Executive Director Andy Hall, intern Madeline Heim and volunteer sound engineer Wesley Lethem. Noah Ovshinsky, WPR’s interim senior content director, and reporter Bridgit Bowden provided additional support.

Open and Shut podcast by Wisconsin Watch and WPR wins Murrow honors is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

The initial application period for this position is now closed.

Wisconsin Watch is hiring an investigative reporter to focus on the state Legislature, governor’s office, state agencies and Supreme Court in a deeply polarized state where democracy itself is in peril.

This position is ideal for a relentless reporter who knows how to navigate bureaucracies to uncover the effects of state legislation, policies and laws on the lives of people in Wisconsin. The coverage will amplify the voices of underserved residents and expose efforts to weaken democracy in the state through government secrecy, disinformation and other strategies. 

This reporter will be the third member of our Wisconsin Watch statehouse bureau. Strategic partnerships with other Wisconsin news organizations, built upon more than a decade of collaboration, will provide the reporter with insights to inform and increase the impact of our journalism.

Start date for the position is negotiable, although we would love to have someone in place by July 2023. Salary is $60,000 to $70,000, commensurate with skills and experience. 

Wisconsin Watch is a nonpartisan, independent nonprofit with offices at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, roughly 1 mile from the state Capitol. 

Our mission is “to increase the quality, quantity and understanding of investigative journalism to foster an informed citizenry and strengthen democracy.”

Our multimedia journalism digs into undercovered issues, documents broken and failing systems, puts findings into regional and national contexts and explores potential solutions. We aim to spark impact that improves people’s lives and holds power to account.

Wisconsin Watch also trains current and future investigative journalists and entrepreneurs through workshops, internships and fellowships, mentoring and collaborations with journalism classes and news organizations. And we share information about journalistic practices, ethics and impact with the public. 

Our guiding values: Protect the vulnerable. Expose wrongdoing. Explore solutions. 

If you have just some of the skills listed below, or others we failed to list, please consider applying for this position, especially if you are a candidate whose experience includes working with diverse members of the public. We are a nimble organization that strives to make the best use of the skills of our staff, and is dedicated to developing them.

Responsibilities:

The reporter will: 

• Work with the statehouse bureau chief, managing editor, deputy managing editor and associate director to strategize, frame, report and write news stories. 
• Develop sources in state government and in diverse communities, including urban and rural, and engage members of the public in identifying breakdowns in systems, attempts to dissuade or mislead residents and explorations of potential solutions to problems. 
• Cultivate collegial and productive relationships with other news organizations.
• Work with early-career journalists working as interns and fellows for Wisconsin Watch.
• Collaborate with journalists at for-profit and nonprofit news organizations in Wisconsin and across the nation.

Location: The reporter will be located in the state capital of Madison, with occasional travel throughout Wisconsin. Some evening and weekend work is necessary. Like many organizations, we have a hybrid workplace with some time spent remotely and some in the office. The vaccination rate on the UW-Madison campus is roughly 95%. Madison is routinely ranked among the top cities in the United States for liveability (although there’s not a darn thing we can do about the winter weather)!

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will be able to report and complete complex stories and visualize related multimedia elements while meeting deadlines. The candidate also will be comfortable working with experienced as well as early-career journalists.

Bonus skills: 

• Be able to analyze and visually present data. 
• Familiarity with Wisconsin, its history and its politics. 
• Multimedia skills including photography, audio, video and editing.
• Spanish-language proficiency.

Expected salary range: $60,000 to $70,000 a year, commensurate with skills and experience.

Benefits: Five weeks paid vacation, plus holidays, sick days, family and caregiver leave, subsidized medical and dental benefits, transportation benefits and self-funded 403(b) retirement plan.

Deadline: The initial application window will be open until June 1, 2023. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Wisconsin Watch’s staff includes an executive director who is responsible for the news and business operations, an associate director who runs the daily business activities, a managing editor who runs the daily news activities, a deputy managing editor who edits, manages reporters and facilitates cross-newsroom collaborations, an associate director who runs our audience, product and visuals teams, and a digital producer who is responsible for posting and distributing content.

We have reporters based in Madison, Milwaukee and Oshkosh. 

Wisconsin Watch’s reports are published at WisconsinWatch.org, and content is made available at no charge to the public and to news organizations through our own distribution system plus a nationwide partnership with the Associated Press. 

Wisconsin Watch has won dozens of national, regional and state awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Associated Press Media Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists and finalist awards from the American Bar Association, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Local Independent Online News Association and The Eppys as well as regional Edward R. Murrow Awards.

We’re a flexible, fun workplace that still manages to do hard-core work. 

And we’re a rapidly growing organization, chosen in 2021 to receive a $1.4 million investment from the American Journalism Project to support our efforts with Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service to reshape the local news ecosystem across Wisconsin. We also are teaming up with five other news organizations in the NEW (Northeast Wisconsin) News Lab to strengthen local news, a pillar of our democracy. 

To apply: Please fill out and submit this form. (You may need to create an AirTable account to apply.) It will require you to upload a PDF version of your resume and provide links of up to five work samples plus a list of references with their contact information. If you’d like to chat about the job before applying, contact Statehouse Bureau Chief Matthew DeFour at mdefour@wisconsinwatch.org.

Wisconsin Watch embraces diversity and inclusiveness in our journalism, training activities, hiring practices and workplace operations. The complex issues we face as a society require respect for different viewpoints. Race, class, generation, sexual orientation, gender and geography all affect point of view. Reflecting these differences in our reporting leads to better, more-nuanced stories and a better-informed community.

We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ+ people and people with disabilities. 

We look forward to hearing from you!

Wisconsin Watch seeks reporter to investigate state government, democracy issues is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletter to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup.

Wisconsin Watch will intensify its commitment to combating mis- and disinformation with the promotion of reporter Phoebe Petrovic to the disinformation beat. 

Petrovic has been a reporter for Wisconsin Watch since 2019. She was the host, lead reporter and producer for Open and Shut, a 2022 investigative podcast that explores the nearly unchecked power of prosecutors in the criminal justice system. 

Open and Shut has been named national finalist by the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts for “outstanding work that fosters the American public’s understanding of law and the legal system.” Petrovic also has been named a finalist in the national Livingston Awards honoring the top U.S. journalists under the age of 35. 

“Phoebe is the right person to help us counter the rampant mis- and disinformation that infects social media and political discourse in Wisconsin and across the country,” Wisconsin Watch Managing Editor Dee J. Hall said. “This is one of the greatest threats to our democracy — and we are proud to join the fight against it.”

Petrovic’s coverage of mis- and disinformation is made possible by funding from the National Science Foundation through the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Course Correct project. Researchers will continue development of the Course Correct tool, designed at the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, to help journalists identify and combat mis- and disinformation online. 

Researchers also will study whether disinformation coverage by Petrovic and reporters from The Capital Times and Snopes has an effect on the flow of false information. In 2022, as part of its commitment to combating disinformation, Wisconsin Watch joined a pilot project, Gigafact, publishing bite-sized fact briefs on issues of state importance.

Petrovic is a 2018 graduate of Yale University. She worked for three years as a Report for America Corps member for Wisconsin Watch before joining the staff. Petrovic previously served internships and fellowships with Wisconsin Public Radio, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting/PRX, ideastream and NPR in Boston. 

If you spot something you think is disinformation, share it with us:  disinfo@wisconsinwatch.org. 

New Wisconsin Watch disinformation beat will target deep fakes, lies and propaganda is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.