Produced by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
WisconsinWatch.org (http://wisconsinwatch.org/)
Madison Magazine Editor Karen Lincoln Michel has been elected president of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism Board of Directors, the first change in the post since the Center was incorporated in 2008.
The Center earns eight awards in the annual competition for its investigations into drinking water problems, skyrocketing prescription drug costs and other problems.
It’s been nearly two years since Republicans in the state Legislature tried to use a secretive, last-minute measure just before the July 4 holiday weekend to gut Wisconsin’s open records law. This effort, once publicized, was met with public outrage and abandoned. This was the most egregious but by no means only example of lawmakers trying to slip bad ideas into the state budget bill in the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, under what is known as a 999 motion. As lawmakers prepare to wrap up the 2017-19 state budget by July 1, the 999 motion remains a serious threat to open government and the public interest. Originally intended to address technical issues and correct problems in the budget bill before it goes to the full Legislature, 999 motions have increasingly been used by both parties as a hiding spot for pet projects.
The Society of Professional Journalists names ‘Failure at the Faucet’ the top investigative story among small independent news sites for 2016.
FBI admits errors in 90 percent of hair and fiber cases, including 13 in Wisconsin. Such errors are now a factor in one-fifth of all DNA exonerations.
The FBI, the New York-based Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers are examining nearly 3,000 cases nationwide in which the FBI may have misused microscopic hair comparison.
Lauren Fuhrmann, associate director of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, is among 10 mid-career professionals selected for the first Investigative News Network Emerging Leaders Council, a peer group of leading business and news leaders who will meet for a year to work on news industry challenges, build support networks and develop professional skills.
Prisoners recount suicide attempts, mental harm and lack of services in solitary confinement; former Waupun psychologist describes harsh treatment of inmates.
When he returned from a medical leave in early 2016, psychologist Bradley Boivin discovered a troubling pattern among Waupun Correctional Institution inmates who had been held in solitary confinement. Thirteen of his patients’ mental health classifications had been changed without Boivin’s knowledge — and in his opinion, without proper assessment.
LaRon McKinley, who spent 28 years in administrative confinement, says the state needs to return to rehabilitation and end long-term solitary confinement
Journalists and advocates for open government gathered at the seventh annual Wisconsin Watchdog Awards to celebrate efforts to keep the public informed while vowing to remain vigilant in the face of pushback from politicians.
The award-winning Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism is seeking to hire a public engagement and marketing intern for the 2017-18 academic year.