From Sawyer County Record: The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), a Madison-based research and reporting group, is currently in settlement negotiations with the state attorney general's office over an open records case.
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Read More… from The Center for Media and Democracy may settle open records case
From Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council: Sandy Whisler was surprised to see her name appear on the Wisconsin State Journal’s editorial page — not in a letter to the editor, which she sometimes writes, but in a Nov. 20 editorial.
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Read More… from Bill Lueders: Lawmaker contacts shouldn’t be secret
From Wisconsin State Journal: Gov. Scott Walker eventually got it right — after being sued.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, got it wrong and is still being challenged in court.
Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, wasn’t even close in her latest response to an open records request.
Too many elected officials in Wisconsin are blacking out information on public documents for no good reason.
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From Portage Daily Register: The First Amendment is very clear in its 45 words that it protects a “free press” along with our rights to religious freedom, free speech and the rights to assemble and petition.
But the founders, in effect, placed a responsibility on that free press in return for being the only profession named in the Bill of Rights: The news media were to be a “watchdog on government,” providing us with the facts, perspective and sometimes contrarian views that help citizens better chart the course of their government.
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Read More… from Gene Policinski: John Doe cast tests press freedom
From Journal Sentinel: The secret investigation into the Milwaukee County executive’s office is over — over for more than seven months now. But thousands of Milwaukee County documents and emails that were part of the inquiry remain secret.
That simply should not be.
The Journal Sentinel is seeking these documents on behalf of the public. The county records belong to the citizens of Milwaukee County, and the citizens of Milwaukee County have a legal right to know what’s in them.
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Read More… from Editorial: John Doe records should be released
From The Chippewa Herald: A group of media outlets and organizations advocating for freedom of information filed a motion Tuesday in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals aimed at ensuring that records involving a former aide to Scott Walker are not kept secret.
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Read More… from Media companies seek to intervene in ‘John Doe’ case
From Journal Sentinel: Madison — The Journal Sentinel will move to intervene in the appeal of a former aide to Gov. Scott Walker if anyone attempts to seal records in the case, an attorney for the newspaper wrote in a Friday letter to the Court of Appeals.
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Read More… from Newspaper says it will intervene in John Doe appeals case if records sealed
From The Nation: In the two years since the ALEC Exposed project revealed the role that the secretive American Legislative Exchange Council plays in shaping the laws of states across the nation, the group has had a much harder time hiding its meddling.
In fact, so much national attention has been paid to ALEC’s role in promoting restrictive voter ID laws and controversial Stand Your Ground initiatives that ALEC officials announced last year that they would shut down the task force that was responsible for promoting those measures.
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Read More… from Blocking the public’s right to know about ALEC
From SFGate: BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. — A Jackson County judge who sealed the identities of defendants in three criminal cases defended the move as an effort to protect the innocent, but open-records advocates blasted the action as a violation of the public's right to know.
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Read More… from Wisconsin judge’s sealing of records raises concerns
