Five Appointed to Boards

WE SALUTE our service members

The WNA oﬃce will be closed Monda y , M ay 30 for Memorial Day

THE

Bulletin

May 26, 2016

News and information for the Wisconsin newspaper industry

WNA Board

Five appointed to boards

opposes overtime ruling

Johnson becomes president of the WNA Foundation

BY JAMES DEBILZEN

Communications Director

e Wisconsin Newspaper Association Board of Directors appointed three new members to the WNA Foundation Board and two new members to the WNA Services Board during its
A new set of federal rules that were announced last week regarding overtime pay has sparked concern among publishers in Wisconsin’s newspaper industry.
e Wisconsin Newspaper Association Board of Directors during its May 19 meeting in Madison voted unanimously to go on record opposing the overtime

Rusty Cunningham

John Halverson Tim Lyke

Greg Mellis

Scot Peterson

funds and other resources for

Board of Directors.

Meanwhile, publisher and other activities not related

to WNA membership.

quarterly meeting on May 19 at the beneﬁt of Wisconsin’s news-

paper industry.

the Madison Club.

Greg Mellis of the Shawano

Leader and Scott Peterson, editor-in-chief of the Journal Community Publishing Group, were appointed to serve on the WNA Services Board. WNA Services, Inc. is a wholly John Ingebritsen; a WNA daily owned for-profit subsidiary of the WNA. e five-member
Members are appointed by the WNA Board of Directors to serve one-year terms and include the immediate past president of the WNA, Carol O’Leary; first vice president,
Joining the WNA Foundation are Rusty Cunningham, editor of the La Crosse Tribune; Tim Lyke, publisher of the Ripon Commonwealth Press; and John appointed as the foundation’s Halverson, who recently retired new president. Johnson sucas general manager of the Lake Geneva Regional News.
e WNA Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that solicits, manages and disburses director position on the WNA
Foundation board member Andrew Johnson, publisher of the Wisconsin Free Press Group based in Mayville, was

changes, which doubles the level of pay a professional worker must receive before ceeds Kris O’Leary, publisher of e Record Review in Edgar, who was elected in April to ﬁll a WNA Services Board oversees vacancy for the northeast region the operation of News Tracker publisher (Mellis) and a WNA weekly publisher (Peterson), neither of whom serve on the WNA board; and the WNA executive director, Beth Bennett.

See OVERTIME, Page 3

(the WNA’s clipping service)

Training watchdogs

Committee to review public notice law

Scope includes

‘Make no mistake;

qualiﬁcations for there are some

‘oﬃcial newspapers’ legislators who

want to get rid of

Veterans photos on display this weekend

legal notices as

they stand toda y . ’

Members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Board of Directors were given an update during the board’s May 19 meeting in Madison on the creation of a “legislative study committee”

MARK GRAUL

WNA Lobbyist

n

that will review the state’s statutes are created by the Joint Legisla-

on the publication of legal notic- tive Council with the purpose

An exhibit featuring a

photo for each of the 1,161 Wisconsinites listed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. will be displayed May 27-30 during Brat Fest in Madison.

es in newspapers.

of studying “major issues and

problems identified by the Legislature,” according to the council’s website. Study committees are appointed by the council and include members of the Legislature
According to the description for the “Study Committee on Publication of Government Documents and Legal Notices,” the committee’s goal is to
For the past two years, the WNA and its members have joined the effort to find all of the photos of Wisconsin Vietnam veterans who are listed on the memorial. WNA members have been credited with finding more than 450 of the photos and were integral in the project’s completion just before Memorial Day 2015. update state law regarding public and citizens who are interested notices “to reflect technological advances and remove obsolete provisions,” including a review of “qualifications for official or knowledgeable about the topic. e committee’s findings can prompt the introduction of new legislation. newspapers” and the possibility e legal notice study commitof allowing “for information to tee is one of seven being formed be made available only electron- in 2016. It is chaired by Rep. John

Julia Hunter photo

The Mid-America Press Institute’s Watchdog Journalism seminar, co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, was held Tuesday at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The seminar featured sessions on using the web and social media to assist in investigative pieces, digging deeper into data, open records and more. The sessions were led by Investigative Reporters & Editors Training Director Alex Richards and Ellen Gabler of the Journal Sentinel, pictured above.

ically or through nontraditional media outlets.”
Spiros, R-Marshﬁeld, with Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, serving as vice-chairman. Seven representatives of the WNA applied to serve as public
“Make no mistake; there are some legislators who want to get rid of legal notices as they stand today,” said WNA lobbyist Mark Graul.
For more information about Brat Fest, visit www.

bratfest.com.

See REVIEW, Page 4

Legislative study committees

|

2

THE BULLETIN MAY 26, 2016

Member News

Prominent execs join WCIJ to boost business operations

FOIC: Court records facing new threats

e president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information

‘What is troubling about

BY LAUREN FUHRMANN

Wisconsin Center for

marily with Wang Laboratories, Inc. and NCR Corporation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from UW-Madison and a master’s in business administration from Rivier

today’s proceeding is the extent to which the justices ... seemed to agree on the

Council has alerted council members to recent action and comments by state Supreme Court justices indicating the court’s willingness to consider removing some records from

Investigative Journalism

Two senior executives with distinguished careers in philanthropy, management

need for changes to remove

College (now Rivier University)

certain information from the system.’

the state’s online court record database. In a memo to FOIC members, president Bill Lueders said and journalism have joined the in Nashua, New Hampshire. Wisconsin Center for Investi- Johnson launched the gative Journalism to strengthen Rowland Reading Foundaits ability to generate revenue. Christopher J. Glueck, a former senior director of development at the University of Wisconsin Foundation, is a develoption, which developed and published materials for young readers, in 2003 for Pleasant Rowland, a Madison entrepreneur and philanthropist. e foundation

BILL LUEDERS

the state’s high court on May

President, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council

16 voted 5-2 to dismiss a 2009 “rules petition” that sought to formalize a process allowing the

n

expungement of court records where criminal charges were dismissed or an acquittal was reached. is included removing records on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website, better known as CCAP. tices, despite their diﬀerences, which at times were scarcely coherent, seemed to agree on
WCCA … has ruined their lives,” Lueders said. “None of these claims were subjected to even ment consultant for the Center. Barbara Johnson, most recently president of the Rowland Reading Foundation in Madison, serves as senior strategic adviser for the Center. sold its assets in 2015. She joined the Center as a volunteer this year, shortly after retiring. Before joining the Foundation, Johnson spent her career in publishing, working as a reporter and editor for magazines and newspapers before moving into business roles. She served under Steven Brill as president of American Lawyer Media, the legal publishing and cable TV division (Court TV) of Time Warner in New York. After the sale of ALM in 1998, she worked with Seth Godin at Yoyothe need for changes to remove the most rudimentary investigacertain information from the system (CCAP).” tion to determine their credibility, and, as I have reported in the past, at least some of these claims have proven to be
Chief Justice Pat Roggensack

and justices David Prosser,

e petition – ﬁled by the

State Bar of Wisconsin - was dismissed with the understand- man and Rebecca Bradley voted
Annette Ziegler, Michael Gable- demonstrably untruthful.
“e justices demonstrated a

Christopher Glueck

ing that the petition would be refiled, giving the court a fresh opportunity to review the issue Shirley Abrahamson and Ann
Walsh Bradley voted against dismissal, though Bradley said tion) Council has long support- she opposed the motion bein favor of dismissal, paving the wholesale willingness to believe way for a fresh petition. Justices these unproven claims, as when
“e biggest challenge facing
Prosser said that repercussions to people on WCCA occur ‘often in situations where they were not involved and were found investigative journalism today is how to sustain it financially,” said Andy Hall, co-founder and executive director of the nonpartisan and nonprofit Center. “We are fortunate that Barbara and Chris, who possess deep expertise and contacts across the nation, are dedicatagain.
“e (Freedom of Informa-

ed public access to online court cause “it is our responsibility to not guilty,’” Lueders continued. records and fought against eﬀorts to remove information,” Lueders said. “… What is trousolve this problem.” “at the records system would
“Several justices spoke about provide clear and irrefutable

the parade of citizens who

conﬁrmation of the not guilty

verdict apparently was not

bling about today’s proceeding came before the court in 2010

is the extent to which the jus-

to attest to the various ways that deemed relevant.”

Barbara Johnson

dyne, the Internet’s ﬁrst direct marketing company, and started an email publishing business. Johnson has served on the boards of

UW-Milwaukee student wins
SPJ’s First Amendment contest

ing themselves to invigorating the Center’s financial operations. Whatever lessons we learn here will be freely shared, public and private companies to support other efforts to in- and as an operating partner of form the public and strengthen a private equity firm. She is a
A University of Wiscon- corporation counsels and the sin-Milwaukee student reporter Attorney General are places political campaign of Republican presidential candidate

Donald Trump.

for Media Milwaukee has won

the John Patrick Hunter First where people can ﬁle complaints of alleged violations
Amendment Contest for college of the Open Records Law or reporters. the Open Meetings Law,” said Stevan Stojanovic, a journal- Stojanovic.

our democracy.”

graduate of the University of

Michigan. Since July 2009, the Center has produced more than
Editor-in-chief Marcus White of the Promethean defended the right of the newspaper to publish under its First Amendment right of freedom of the press and fought back against a call for an investigation of the newspaper.
Johnson and Glueck join development consultant Gail Kohl, who has more than 30 years of fundraising experience 250 major news reports that for statewide and local organi- have been cited, published or zations and has worked for the broadcast by more than 350 Center since 2010, on the Cen- newspapers, radio and TV ter’s Development Team, along stations and news websites in ism student at UW-Milwaukee, received the award from the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Use of open meetings and open records laws is vital to maintaining a free press through the ﬂow of public

information.

A university oﬃcial said the

newspaper overstepped “the with Mara Jezior, the Center’s public engagement and marketing intern. e team is led by Associate Director Lauren Fuhrmann and overseen by Hall. At the Foundation, Glueck spent 12 years working with alumni and friends of UW-Madison, primarily on
Wisconsin and nationwide. e estimated audience of the Center’s reports exceeds 53 million people. e Center has received 40 Milwaukee Press Club Awards and three ﬁnalist citations in the Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards student category.
e inaugural John Patrick Hunter First Amendment Con- boundaries of journalism” test for high school and college while the program manager of

journalists is aimed at building the Gender Equity Resource

Stojanovic’s

work was recognized for an extensive awareness of freedom of the press and other freedoms. Hunter was a Madison Capital Times reporter who asked
Center demanded an apology because of “demeaning lang u a g e .” survey he conducted of district attorneys and
e Promethean published

Stevan Stojanovic

101 people to sign a copy of the an editorial in which it said

Housed in the UW-Madison

Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights on July 4, 1951. Only one person signed the document. it stood by its right under the U.S. Constitution of the First Amendment for freedom of the press. behalf of the College of Letters School of Journalism and Mass & Science before his retirement Communication, the Center municipal officials in Wisconsin’s 72 counties about how they respond to open meetings last year. Glueck had a broad focus, traveling throughout the nation and succeeding in helping a significant number has a staff of four full-time professional journalists, three to four paid student interns who work as investigative reporters
e Promethean, the student and open records requests. e newspaper at the University of
Four Madison high school students received certificates survey covered three years, dating back to 2013. In Stojanovic’s investigation
14 counties did not respond to requests about their data.
Wisconsin-Superior, received a acknowledging their undercollege newspaper award for its standing of the First Amenddefense of freedom of the press. ment in articles they submitted of people realize their interests and public engagement and in supporting the university in marketing assistants, part-time a variety of ways, ranging from staff members and skilled vol-
e newspaper printed a satirical April Fool’s edition, for the Simpson Street Free Press, a Madison teen newspaper. annual gifts to scholarships to chairs and professorships. Prior to that, Glueck spent
30 years in the high-tech field working in sales, product unteers who assist in journalistic and financial operations. More details about the Center’s journalistic and financial operations are available at:

http://www.wisconsinwatch. org/about/

Stojanovic’s research showed called the Pessimist with a that many oﬃces do not keep track of the number of complaints they receive. tag line of “More Truth an Trump,” a take-oﬀ on the New York Times logo of “All the Truth at Fits” as a jab at the
e students are Enjoyiana Nurudin, Virginia Quach, Diamond Washington and Leila Fletcher. management, marketing and

management positions, pri-

“Usually district attorneys,

|

THE BULLETIN MAY 26, 2016

3

Member News

—30—

Free Member Content

This weekly free con/en/, accessible a/ htpp ::/inyurl.com:WNAfreecon/en/

is available for use a/ no cos/ /o WNA members.
,

Helen Royle

e newspapers included
e Waterloo Courier, e

Star-Countryman (now e

Helen Royle, 96, of Sun

Prairie, died on Friday, May 13 Star, Sun Prairie’s newspaper), at St. Mary’s Emergency Clinic. e Dodge County IndepenShe was born on July 8, 1919 in dent-News, and e Deerﬁeld Sandstone, Minn., the daughter of James and Nellie (Hall) Kelroy.
Independent in addition to e Advertiser. Even after her husband
She moved to Waterloo, Wis., in 1951 along with her husband, Dan, to start their career in newspaper publishdied, Royle attended Wisconsin Newspaper Association functions until the early 1990s, including the annual Better Newspaper Association awards banquets, where she often entertained with an unusual instrument: e stump ﬁddle. She is survived by her

The Wisconsin Cen/er for Inves/iga/ive Journalism has

made available a package exploring the use of trauma-informed care in Wisconsin. The state has been pushing this more “humanistic” approach in a variety of setings, ranging from county social service agencies to schools to the state’s two juvenile prisons.

This week’s Discover Wis- consin column highlights the

food truck revolution as it continues to spread across the state. Evening revelers depend on food trucks for sustenance on a night out, while business people line up at lunchtime to add some spice to the workday. In most food truck-friendly cities, the trucks can really get around. Fans follow their favorite truck’s whereabouts via social media or texts hoping it will stop nearby.

ing. In 1966, the family moved to children, Sharon (Robert) Prieve of Mesa, Ariz., Ronald of Sun Prairie, Kathie (Kevin)

Mat

Pommer

State Capitol Newsletter

Helen Royle

Sun Prairie where they founded Maloney of Sun Prairie, Penny Royle Publishing Company (Tim) Wiesner of Necedah and While Royle worked as an ed- Patty (Steve) Brock of Delaﬁeld; itor, production artist and man- daughter-in-law Faye Royle of ager for Royle Publishing, the stable of publications included dren, and 13 great-grandchilweekly newspapers, two professional football publications, two snowmobile publications and a deer hunting magazine as well as many special marketing sections for the weekly newspapers.
Minocqua; eight grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Dan and son Richard. A memorial service was held in Sun Prairie on Tuesday, May 24.

In his State Capitol News-

leter, WNA columnist Mat Pommer looks at the recent

Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling overturning a 2011 law that gave the governor more authority over the actions of the state superintendent. Pommer, known as the “dean” of State Capitol correspondents, has covered government action in Madison for 35 years, including the actions of eight governors – Warren Knowles, Pat Lucey, Martin Schreiber, Lee Dreyfus, Tony Earl, Tommy Thompson, Scot McCallum and Jim Doyle.
The stories may be published as standalone pieces, used on a single day or run as a multiday series in whatever form best meets the needs of your audience.