]]>Records advocates plan traveling show
Among the many remarkable things about the defeat of the proposed overhaul of the Wisconsin Public Records Law over the July 4 weekend last summer was the way the media, open government groups, advocacy organizations on the left and right, and the public coalesced to point out how ill-conceived the idea was.
The reaction to this sneak attack on open government was immediate, overwhelming and decisive. No other issue in state government in recent years has generated such a uniform—and effective—response. Gov. Scott Walker and the legislature leaders backed down within 48 hours.
Lawmakers seemed chastened, but advocates of open government must remain vigilant. In fact, the efforts to restrict the public’s access to information have not stopped.
It’s not a stretch to suggest that open government in Wisconsin is threatened; some might say it’s under attack. That’s because the attempt to gut the records law is just one of several examples from the past year suggesting lawmakers’ disregard for the public’s right to know.
In response, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists are joining with open government advocates from both sides of the political aisle and media groups to bring what we’re calling the Open Government Traveling Show to communities across the state.
For three days in mid-March, during the nationwide celebration of open government known as Sunshine Week, we’ll be offering a 90-minute tutorial and presentation on the state’s open records law in eight Wisconsin cities. The goal is to help Wisconsin residents understand how the law can be used and why it is important.
In addition to WFOIC, SPJ-Madison and lawyer April Barker of Schott, Bublitz and Engel S.C., the conservative groups the MacIver Institute for Public Policy, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the liberal groups the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and the Center for Media and Democracy will take part in the Open Government Traveling Show. Despite their differences on many policy issues, these groups agree on the importance of open government.
And in fact, representatives of the MacIver Institute and WILL, along with Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel, were among the most influential voices last year opposing the records changes at the Capitol.
Also supporting the Traveling Show is the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
From March 15 to 17, the tour will visit eight cities: La Crosse, Eau Claire, Wausau, Green Bay, Appleton, Sheboygan, Waukesha and Janesville. If it’s successful, we’ll consider another tour in the future.
Wisconsin’s open records law is a vital component of our representative democracy. It should be strengthened, not weakened. And we must fight to protect it.
Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (www.wisfoic.org), a nonprofit group dedicated to open government. Council member Mark Pitsch is an assistant city editor at the Wisconsin State Journal and president of the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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]]>February 23, 2016
Contact: Mark Pitsch, (608) 252-6145; Bill Lueders, (608) 669-4712
Open Government Advocates to Take Show on the Road
Advocates of open government in Wisconsin are planning a three-day, eight-city informational tour to highlight the importance of the state’s open records law, in the wake of unprecedented attacks from state lawmakers and others.
“An open society depends on open government. Wisconsin residents understand that,” says Mark Pitsch, president of the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and an assistant city editor at the Wisconsin State Journal. “Last summer’s attempt to gut the records law is just one of several recent examples of official disregard for the public’s right to know. It’s time for education and vigilance.”
The “Open Government Traveling Show” will take place from Tuesday, March 15, through Thursday, March 17, as part of national Sunshine Week, the annual “celebration of access to public information.”
The events—free and open to the public—are aimed at helping Wisconsin residents understand the open records law and how to use it. Each 90-minute presentation will feature a tutorial on the records law and examples of its use by journalists and advocates.
Participants will include representatives of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, the Center for Media and Democracy, the MacIver Institute for Public Policy and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
The tour is also supported by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism. Each stop has its own local sponsor.
The traveling show will take place in the following locations:
La Crosse: March 15, 2 p.m. La Crosse Public Library. Local sponsor: La Crosse Tribune.
Eau Claire: March 15, 7 p.m. Centennial Hall, Room 1614, UW-Eau Claire. Local sponsor: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, UW-Eau Claire chapter, Society of Professional Journalists
Wausau: March 16, 10 a.m. Marathon County Public Library. Local sponsor: Wausau Daily Herald-USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Green Bay: March 16, 2 p.m. Green Bay Public Library. Local Sponsor: Green Bay Press-Gazette-USA TODAY NETWORK-WISCONSIN
Appleton: March 16, 7:30 p.m. Appleton Public Library. Local sponsor: Appleton Post-Crescent-USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Sheboygan: March 17, 10 a.m. Sheboygan Public Library. Local sponsor: Sheboygan Press-USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Waukesha: March 17, 2 p.m, Waukesha Public Library. Local sponsor: Schott, Bublitz and Engel S.C.
Janesville: March 17, 7 p.m. Blackhawk Technical College. Local sponsor: Janesville Gazette
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]]>VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
July 3, 2015
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos
Dear Sen. Fitzgerald and Rep. Vos:
James Madison, Father of the Bill of Rights, Federalist Papers author, and the man for whom our capital city is named, was perhaps the nation’s first public records advocate. He argued that citizens must gain access to information to be full participants in its government:
“A popular Government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy, or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
Indeed. Perhaps this is why so many — conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, journalists and open government advocates, and others – have expressed outrage in the last 24 hours at the language inserted into the 2015-17 budget gutting our public records law.
The Madison professional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists urges you and your chamber to please take heed of Founding Father Madison’s advice: Remove this language from the budget bill and arm the public with the knowledge that will help it be full partners in our democratic republic.
For decades, Wisconsin has had a proud tradition of open government, and the language inserted Thursday by the Joint Finance Committee through a 999 Motion would nearly eliminate any opportunity for the public to discover how its taxpayer-funded elected officials work.
Further, the language would wipe out nearly a century of drafting-file history. Founded in 1901, the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau has maintained records that help the public understand how and why legislation is drafted. These records provide a crucial historical purpose but are also a valuable contemporary resource for the public, scholars and journalists.
The press has a responsibility to serve as a watchdog on the work of government officials. We are the eyes and the ears of the public. As a result, public officials may have, at times, an uneasy relationship with us. Public officials may not always appreciate the work we do, or like the stories we write and produce. Under this proposal, you may avoid an unflattering news story now and again, but you will have done lasting damage to the democratic process in Wisconsin.
It is also disappointing that the Joint Finance Committee included this language in the 999 Motion on the final day of its work with little opportunity for public debate, and on the day before a long July 4th holiday weekend during which our country celebrates its freedom and independence – including the First Amendment. James Madison, lover of liberty and guardian against tyranny, would be appalled.
Sincerely,
Mark Pitsch, president, SPJ Madison; Joe Radske, director, SPJ Region 6
Cc:
Gov. Scott Walker
Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling
Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca
Senator John Nygren
Senator Alberta Darling
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]]>By Mark Pitsch
As part of national Sunshine Week, March 16-22, members of the Madison student and professional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists fanned out across the capital city, handing out fortune cookies.
We dropped a handful in the offices of the elected officials, from Madison School Board to Gov. Scott Walker, as well as some unelected boards like the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents.
Each cookie contained a wise and honorable message: “You will be open and transparent when conducting public business.” “You will uphold the letter and the spirit of the Wisconsin open records and open meetings laws.” “A year of good fortune showers those who revere open government.”
The fortune cookies and their messages serve as a reminder to those elected or appointed to do the public’s business that they work for you — the voting and taxpaying public. Here are some examples from over the past year that illustrate why these Sunshine Week reminders, no matter how gimmicky, are needed:
- We now know how brazenly Walker’s Milwaukee County executive office was in seeking to hide its business from the public, to the point of setting up a secret email system. Investigators suspect, and common sense suggests, Walker knew about the secret system, and the overt commingling of his public and campaign staffs. No one begrudges politicians from considering political calculations when making decisions, but we expect them to stay on the right side of the law.
- Sen. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen have argued Vukmir and all lawmakers are exempt from the records law for their entire terms in office — an unprecedented legal position that would let lawmakers ignore the law.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach opens his Sunshine Week fortune in his office on March 19, 2014.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, is fighting a legal battle to shield the names of constituents who contact him — an approach adopted by some of his legislative colleagues but rejected by other elected officials, includingWalker.
- In the waning days of the legislative session, lawmakers are considering a bill to eliminate numerous records from the state online court database. This website simply includes information that is already public record in courthouses across the state; putting it online and making it available to the public only makes sense.
- State lawmakers snuck numerous last-minute measures into the 2013-15 state budget, including ones to create a bail bonds system and expel an investigative journalism center from UW-Madison. Credit Walker for vetoing them.
- The same budget writers used obscure language to direct funding to a politically connected sportsmen’s group that had publicly obscured its tax status and whose leader had run afoul of hunting law. Literally, this was the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.
- Twice, UW officials pushed language seeking to create blanket exemptions for university research. You’d think after one embarrassing beat down they would have learned their lesson. Both measures were stopped in their tracks.
- The university and the UW System also failed to adhere to legal guidance from the Attorney General’s office to reveal the names of five finalists for their top jobs in a timely manner. The System did not release the names of all finalists until after it had chosen a president.
- Finally, municipalities across the state are shielding information on traffic tickets out of fear that they will be sued, under a highly questionable interpretation of a federal court ruling. Curiously, no other state is taking this approach.
Let’s hope the people who received our fortune cookies take them not only to stomach but also to heart.
Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Freedom of Information Council, a nonprofit group dedicated to open government. Council member Mark Pitsch is an assistant city editor at the Wisconsin State Journal and president of the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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]]>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Pitsch, president, Madison pro chapter, Society of Professional Journalists; 608-252-6145
In response to news reports that Rep. Garey Bies is introducing a bill that would require requestors to pay fees for blacking out information in public records, the Madison pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists issued the following statement:
“Amending the state’s records law to let public agencies charge fees to black out certain information amounts to a tax on public information. Maintaining, reviewing and redacting records is a government function for which tax dollars are already allocated. Passage of Rep. Bies’ proposal will discourage the public from seeking records and limit government transparency.”
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]]>A vital democracy requires government transparency and a vigilant press. To that end, the Wisconsin Open Records and Open Meetings laws provide avenues for the media and citizens to serve as watchdogs on government operations. To help you understand your rights under these laws in order to better inform your readers and viewers, the Madison pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is hosting a day-long training session on government transparency.
“Open Records, Open Meetings: Holding Government Accountable,” will be held Friday, Nov. 30 in Madison. The session, in the Capital Newspapers auditorium, 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison, will begin at 10 am and conclude at 3:15 pm, with registration beginning at 9:30 am. It is free for SPJ members or for $30 for non-members
Lunch will be provided with the generous support of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Two complimentary registrations are available for WBA and WNA members on a first come, first served basis.
The SPJ Open Records, Open Meetings training lineup includes some of the state’s top experts in the field. The program is:
10:00 am: Welcome
10:10-11:15 am: Wisconsin’s Open Records Law: Everything you need to know about the law, including the elements of a properly written records request, tips on avoiding excessive costs and answers to your questions. With:
Bill Lueders, president, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council
Mary Burke, assistant attorney general, Wisconsin Department of Justice
11:15-12:15 pm: Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law: Everything you need to know about the law, including what constitutes a government body, grounds upon which a government body can close a meeting, your rights to videotape and record meetings and answers to your questions. With:
Christa Westerberg, lawyer, McGillivray, Westerberg and Bender, Madison
Bruce Olsen, assistant attorney general, Wisconsin Department of Justice
12:15-1:00 pm: Lunch/Networking
1:00-2:00 pm: Using the Open Records Law: What are the practical impacts for journalists and citizens using the records law? With:
Patrick Marley, State Capitol reporter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Dee J. Hall, State Capitol and investigative reporter, Wisconsin State Journal
2:00-3:00 pm: Custodians Respond: Receiving, reviewing and responding to records requests can be difficult and daunting. In understanding governments’ position on the records law, journalists will be better positioned to apply the law themselves. This diverse group of custodians – with representation from the local and state level — can also discuss open meetings. With:
Jennifer Sloan Lattis, senior system legal counsel, University of Wisconsin System
Bill Cosh, spokesman, state Department of Natural Resources
Jina Jonen, in-house counsel/human resources director, Oregon School District
3:00-3:15 pm: Final thoughts and wrap up
To register, SPJ members should contact Mark Pitsch, SPJ Madison chapter president, at [email protected] or 608-252-6145. Journalists who are not SPJ members should register at https://www.eventbrite.com/event/4750186937.
Journalists can also join the Madison chapter of SPJ for $75 annually and attend the Open Records/Open Meetings training and future training opportunities for free. Go to https://www.spj.org/whyjoin.asp to become a member. College and high school journalists can apply to SPJ for complimentary registration. On-site registration may be available depending upon advance registrations.
Capital Newspapers does NOT have universal wireless access. Attendees may want to consider bringing a wireless air card or hot spot.
If you have questions, please contact Mark Pitsch at 608-252-6145.
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