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Pubs try to boot Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism from UW facilities

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KingOrfeo

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From the Green Bay Press Gazette:

MADISON — A provision that would force the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism off the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus blindsided the center’s leader, who said Wednesday he’s still trying to understand why his group was specifically targeted.

The center, a nonpartisan investigative news organization that offers its stories free to mainstream media outlets, operates rent-free out of two offices in the university’s journalism school, said Andy Hall, the group’s executive director. Under an agreement signed in 2011, the school covers the cost of utilities and Internet access, and in exchange the center hires some of its students as paid interns and provides academic support.

Hall and the school, who agree the arrangement has been mutually beneficial, stopped short of interpreting the move as some sort of political payback. But the budget modification, proposed early Wednesday by two Republicans, left the center and the school scrambling for answers.

The proposal, one of several put forth by state Sen. Alberta Darling and state Rep. John Nygren, would do two things: Prohibit the Center for Investigative Journalism from occupying facilities on any UW property and prohibit UW employees from doing any work related to the news center.
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In the WCIJ's words:

On June 5, the Wisconsin Legislature’s budget-writing committee, with no public warning, approved a measure evicting the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism from its campus offices and forbidding university employees from working with the Center. The full Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker have the power to remove the measure before approving the budget, but only days remain. Many journalists, journalism educators and members of the public across the nation say the Center’s collaboration with the school must be saved because it’s an important experiment in a future model for investigative reporting and journalism education — one that already is producing high-impact stories that strengthen democracy, while training young journalists at no direct cost to taxpayers.
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In the spirit of fairness I would quote/link an editorial or something supporting this decision -- except that I can't seem to find any such by Googling. (Well, whaddaya expect? If you mess with journalists-as-such, you won't get good press unless you buy it.) But here's some rich anti- editorials:

Chris Rickert: Guilt by association snares Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

Speaking at the Joint Committee on Finance Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Robert Wirch called it “shameful” to bar the center from working with UW-Madison staff or using UW-Madison facilities “at a time when newspapers are disappearing before our eyes” and “we have scandals in government.”

But Republican JCF co-chairman John Nygren suggested WCIJ was as biased in favor of liberal causes as media outlets MacIver Institute, Media Trackers and Fox News are toward conservative causes.

If this was about “providing state facilities, state support for one those (conservative) organizations, you might have a little different view on that,” Nygren told Wirch. “We’re just being consistent.”

They aren’t being consistent.

Fox is a business, not a donor-supported nonprofit like WCIJ. And while Media Trackers and MacIver are nonprofit, too, that’s where the similarity ends.

The MacIver Institute keeps its donors secret, and Media Trackers allows its donors to remain anonymous. Neither lists donors on their website. WCIJ lists its donors on its website along with the amounts of large donations.

The center also follows the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics and bars donors from dictating news coverage. And while Media Trackers and MacIver didn’t respond to inquiries about whether they do the same, conservatives generally aren’t interested in such mainstream journalism standards because they think mainstream journalism is out to get them.

The belief that those who produce the news at mainstream media organizations lean Democratic only pours fuel on that particularly paranoid right-wing fire.

And therein lies the rub. It’s not just that the center has made the right look bad (because it’s made the left look bad, too). It’s that the people and organizations that produce its product include alleged liberals.

The Open Society Institute, for example — founded by liberal leviathan George Soros — has given the center $535,000 since 2009. The center’s money and politics project editor worked for 25 years at the left-leaning weekly Isthmus.

But it’s also received funding from the Ford Foundation, the McCormick Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. (And full disclosure: My employer and some of my co-workers have given, too.)

The Center’s getting hit with a favorite weapon of the nakedly partisan — selective guilt-by-association. Another recent example is the way Madison’s leftists jumped all over Urban League of Greater Madison CEO Kaleem Caire’s conservative-leaning associations to help do in his nonunion charter school proposal.
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From a prof at the UW-Madison's School of Journalism and Mass Communications:

Under attack

So everyone associated with WCIJ was blindsided by an overnight move to expel the center from its offices within our journalism program. The school provides no funding to the center, which is supported entirely by outside grants. It receives free space through a facilities-use agreement, in return for guaranteed paid internships for students like Koran, as well as guest lectures, class visits and educational support.

The state’s legislative Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday added a budget measure barring UW from housing the center in its space. But even more critically –- and dangerously -– the measure purports to end any interaction between journalism faculty and staff and the center:

“In addition, prohibit UW employees from doing any work related to the Center for Investigative Journalism as part of their duties as a UW employee.” (See the full motion from Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette)
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This direct attack on our collaboration with WCIJ is an assault on our academic freedom, as well as on student learning. I had the privilege of meeting with Koran when he was just beginning his look at recidivism in the criminal justice system as a WCIJ intern. I told him I was astounded to learn of the proportion and cost of returning offenders to jail in the state and encouraged him to hunt for angles related to that. I did this in my capacity as a journalism professor, for which I am compensated by the university.

Threat to freedom and independence

To be clear: As written, the legislative budget measure would bar this conversation. Bar it. It would similarly prevent other things I have done with the center over the years -– reviewing intern applications, teasing out ideas from datasets, consulting on leads. And my association with the center pales in comparison with that provided by some of my colleagues.
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Milwaukeemag.com: "The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism's Puzzling Rebuke: Why would Republican lawmakers turn on an organization dedicated to remaining nonpartisan?"
 
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It's very difficult for Rapepublicans to enact their "Let Grandma Eat Catfood" legislation with the public scrutiny focused upon them.

This legislation helps to stick a blinding hot poker in the public's eye so that they might better do Republican Jesus' will.
 
State budget vote moves to full Legislature
June 10, 2013

“It’s the height of arrogance, and everybody who voted for it should be embarrassed."
“It smacks of the kind of tactics you would expect from Vladimir Putin or Hugo Chavez, not in Wisconsin.”
- Republican state Sen. Dale Schultz

“I’m a little tired of this soap opera in southeast Wisconsin where your manhood is measured by the size of your tax cut.”
- Republican state Sen. Dale Schultz

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/state-and-regional/accffa84-d1d0-11e2-a115-0019bb2963f4.html


“I think it's humiliating when legislators have to be hauled in there to swear allegiance. My leader (Sen. Scott Fitzgerald) had to
go in and tell Charlie Sykes [Right Wing radio WTMJ-AM ] that we weren't going to allow any new taxes — and that all came off
of a press release from Grover Norquist."
- Republican state Sen. Dale Schultz
 
vetteman said:
~Yawn~

It probably fronts as a Democrat Party propaganda center, on the taxpayer dime.
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The only "taxpayer dime" spent on the WCIJ would be the value, which can't be much, of the free space they've had at UW facilities. (The Pubs' objection appears to be to its private sources of funding, see below.)

For the rest . . . *sigh* . . . here, please read this again, and read for comprehension this time, Mr. Dunning-Kruger.

Republicans’ bid to cut the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism off from the state’s flagship university made me sad — and not because the award-winning center puts out a quality product at a time when traditional news organizations face increasing difficulties.

It’s sad because given a political environment where quality matters less than the company you keep, we could have seen it coming.

Speaking at the Joint Committee on Finance Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Robert Wirch called it “shameful” to bar the center from working with UW-Madison staff or using UW-Madison facilities “at a time when newspapers are disappearing before our eyes” and “we have scandals in government.”

But Republican JCF co-chairman John Nygren suggested WCIJ was as biased in favor of liberal causes as media outlets MacIver Institute, Media Trackers and Fox News are toward conservative causes.

If this was about “providing state facilities, state support for one those (conservative) organizations, you might have a little different view on that,” Nygren told Wirch. “We’re just being consistent.”

They aren’t being consistent.

Fox is a business, not a donor-supported nonprofit like WCIJ. And while Media Trackers and MacIver are nonprofit, too, that’s where the similarity ends.

The MacIver Institute keeps its donors secret, and Media Trackers allows its donors to remain anonymous. Neither lists donors on their website. WCIJ lists its donors on its website along with the amounts of large donations.

The center also follows the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics and bars donors from dictating news coverage. And while Media Trackers and MacIver didn’t respond to inquiries about whether they do the same, conservatives generally aren’t interested in such mainstream journalism standards because they think mainstream journalism is out to get them.

The belief that those who produce the news at mainstream media organizations lean Democratic only pours fuel on that particularly paranoid right-wing fire.

And therein lies the rub. It’s not just that the center has made the right look bad (because it’s made the left look bad, too). It’s that the people and organizations that produce its product include alleged liberals.

The Open Society Institute, for example — founded by liberal leviathan George Soros — has given the center $535,000 since 2009. The center’s money and politics project editor worked for 25 years at the left-leaning weekly Isthmus.

But it’s also received funding from the Ford Foundation, the McCormick Foundation, the Joyce Foundation and the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. (And full disclosure: My employer and some of my co-workers have given, too.)

The Center’s getting hit with a favorite weapon of the nakedly partisan — selective guilt-by-association. Another recent example is the way Madison’s leftists jumped all over Urban League of Greater Madison CEO Kaleem Caire’s conservative-leaning associations to help do in his nonunion charter school proposal.

Center director Andy Hall said he was “blindsided” by the finance committee’s move.

I miss the days — if they ever existed — when what you did meant more than who you did it with.
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bronzeage said:
Why haven't you checked with Brietbart to find out what your opinion should be?
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Is there any need to check? I think we all know what Breitbart's gonna say -- pretty much what vette already has said in this thread and not much more, though they'll take more words to say it.
 
Please stop calling them "pubs". Pubs are nice. Pubs dispend beer.
 
Liar said:
Please stop calling them "pubs". Pubs are nice. Pubs dispend beer.
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What's wrong with "Pubs"? It's simply the convenient-one-syllable-shorthand counterpart to "Dems." And far preferable to "Repugs," "Rethuglicans," "Repukes," etc., as "Dems" is far preferable to "Dhimmicrats," "Dummocrats," "Demonrats," "Democrat Party," etc.
 
Boxlicker101 said:
You either didn't look very hard or else you cherry-picked what you cited.

http://mediatrackers.org/wisconsin/...wisconsin-center-for-investigative-journalism

Like me, this guy believes anything supported by George Soros would be detrimental to the US.
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Well, that makes him an idiot, but you are not obliged to follow his example.

KingOrfeo said:
In the spirit of fairness I would quote/link an editorial or something supporting this decision -- except that I can't seem to find any such by Googling. (Well, whaddaya expect? If you mess with journalists-as-such, you won't get good press unless you buy it.)
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Good of you to provide an example -- but, I was thinking of editorials in actual, you know, media; I might have known you would have to go to some bullshit RW-scream-screed-site like Media Trackers for it.

Media Trackers is an investigative non-profit launched in 2011 in Wisconsin, sponsored by American Majority, to "dig up dirt on the left" rather than continuing to be "on the receiving end of damaging stories developed by liberal groups such as Media Matters and the Center for American Progress."[1] American Majority's Drew Ryun "envisions a state-based network of similar non-profits."[1] So far, Media Trackers "has gotten considerable in-state pick-up on quick-hit videos and pieces aimed at what it says are errors, hypocrisy or offensive behavior by labor unions and their Democratic allies."[1] Drew Ryun, co-founder of American Majority, told Politico in April that he could foresee setting up similar groups around the country if the Wisconsin experiment works.[2] The Media Trackers website claims that the organization is "dedicated to media accountability, government transparency, and quality fact-based journalism. Our site examines stories published in the mainstream media, explores claims made by some of the more partisan Wisconsin political groups, and provides the facts on the issues, people and elections that matter in the state."[3]

According to Mother Jones, Ryun formed Media Trackers as a "nimble attack blog . . . that could quickly capitalize on the latest missteps by big-government politicians or the "liberal" media -- essentially hard-hitting, opposition-research-style shops that prize scoops, speed, and scandal over policy briefs and press conferences."[4]

Media Trackers "Mangle the Truth"

Media Trackers has a history of "mangl[ing] the truth," according to Mother Jones and such media outlets as PolitiFact and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.


Origin of Claim that Baldwin Voted Against Body Armor

Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "Media Trackers was the first to suggest that Baldwin's support for this measure meant she favored 'denying body armor and medical supplies to U.S. military personnel' fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan." This claim was extrapolated from Baldwin's support of a bill that would allow individuals to seek conscientious objector status from the IRS to prevent their tax dollars from going to fund wars.[5]

Kenneth Mayer, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "the notion that, if this bill would pass, it means that Tammy Baldwin would be denying body armor to troops, is ludicrous."[5]

This claim has been repeated by many people, including New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Recently, Tommy Thompson's campaign ran ads attacking Baldwin, saying "she fought to block funding that provides body armor for our troops just to make a political point." Brian Sikma, the communications director for Media Trackers has also been spreading this claim, going so far as to say "she voted against body armor and medical supplies" in a radio interview.[5]


Underage Girls Signing Recall Petition

In November of 2011 Media Trackers released a video that showed two young women signing the recall petition. They suggested that one of the young women did not appear to be 18 years old, and the video was reposted on conservative outlets around the country. When the age of the young women came under question, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin released information proving that the young women were over 18 years old.[6]


Accusing Sen. Lena Taylor and Her Mother of Facilitating Voter Fraud

Dan Bice reported in December 2011 that "Media Trackers had suggested Taylor and her mother might have been "accessories" to voter fraud for their role in helping a felon named Russell Collins vote illegally in the April election."[7] This accusation was based on the fact that Taylor's mother runs a religious shelter, and many of the shelter's patrons listed the address as their residence for voting purposes. The most shocking claim made by Media Trackers was that one of those voting from the address, Russell Collins, voted illegally. This accusation was quickly debunked when the Assistant District Attorney ascertained that Collins was in fact "off papers" and eligible to vote.

Brian Sikma, the communications director at Media Trackers was active in spreading these false claims. He told the Journal Sentinel, "Last week, we saw Sen. Taylor introduce legislation that would allow felons the moment they leave jail to vote... But looking at what we found, it looks like she didn't even wait for the law to change. She was, in fact, an accessory to one felon voting on April 5 when that individual was ineligible to vote under Wisconsin statutes."[7]

When it was demonstrated that Collins had not in fact voted illegally the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "asked if Media Trackers should offer an apology to Taylor or her mother, Sikma said he didn't think so. 'We stand by the information we were given,' he said."[7]

BBQ for Votes

An August 2011 "exclusive" that "a labor-backed progressive group had violated Wisconsin state law by handing out free BBQ to Milwaukee residents in exchange for pledges to vote early in a closely fought state Senate recall election . . . turned out to be dead wrong; the DA found no evidence of wrongdoing."

Privacy of Recall Signatures

In November 2011, "in another splashy post that was quickly amplified by the right-wing blogosphere, Media Trackers' Wisconsin outlet claimed there were 'no privacy protections' for people who signed a recall petition to recall Walker, leaving them open to harassment and abuse. PolitiFact rated the claim 'Mostly False,' and noted that Media Trackers had given no evidence that harassment was taking place."[8] In March 2012, "soon after the Wisconsin Judicial Commission filed an ethics complaint against conservative state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, Media Trackers published a story claiming four of the commission's nine members had signed Walker recall petitions. In fact, none had.[9]"[4]

Efforts to Undermine Walker Recall

Media Trackers blogger Brian Sikma has claimed that signing a recall petition poses a threat to the safety of women, arguing that personal information and political preferences should not be available to "just anyone." Sikma allegedly heavily paraphrased a quote in his post from Mary Jo Baas of Liberty House Consultants. It turns out that contrary to Baas's comments that she has willingly made her personal information and political preferences available to the public by making campaign contributions to Governor Scott Walker. Her consulting firm was also paid $9,000 for work that it did on behalf of the Republican Party in 2008. [10]

Two days after the launch of the Recall Scott Walker campaign, Media Trackers claimed it uncovered dangers in the signature gathering process. Due to "a flaw in the security of the system (that) has been discovered," Media Trackers said in their online article that "there are no privacy protections for those who sign a recall petition." They also make the claim that people circulating recall petitions don’t have to be certified by a government agency and don’t have to register with the state and argue this is a new phenomenon. Despite Media Trackers claim, PolitiFact found that it is not new that state law does not require credentialing of people who circulate recall petitions. PolitiFact also found the group Meida Trackers to be misleading when it says it is newly discovered that there are "no privacy protections" for the limited information recall signers provide, as there never have been. [11]

Smear Campaign against Wisconsin Jobs Now

In August, 2011 Media Trackers filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Board and the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office alleging illegal election and electioneering activities on the part of Wisconsin Jobs Now! Shortly after issuing a press release detailing the allegations, Media Trackers refused to cooperate with the DA in conducting an investigation. It was subsequently revealed by Bill Omulski, a representative of the right-wing MacIver Institute, that the "witness" of Wisconsin Jobs Now's illegal activity was Media Trackers operative Colin Roth. Roth was then interviewed by the DA, and revealed that he had not witnessed any illegal activity. The absence of any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Wisconsin Jobs Now suggests that the allegations of electioneering activities were a calculated smear campaign designed to help Republican senators facing recall campaigns. The ploy was successful, with headlines lasting for days in major publications like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Both Media Trackers and MacIver Institute receive funding from the Bradley Foundation. [12]
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I found news articles, but no newspaper editorials. However, I have learned that whatever side low-lifes such as George Soros or you or Move-on or Media Matters or The Huffington Post etc. take, the opposite side is almost certainly the one of the most benefit.

Did you find any editorials?

Here is one, from the biggest newspaper in the state, and it's basically neutral, although it does point out at least one example of slanted reporting by the WCIJ:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statep...state-budget-action-b9927382z1-210289831.html
 
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Boxlicker101 said:
I found news articles, but no newspaper editorials. However, I have learned that whatever side low-lifes such as George Soros or you or Move-on or Media Matters or The Huffington Post etc. take, the opposite side is almost certainly the one of the most benefit.

Did you find any editorials?
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Ah, for the simple life. It must be great not having to actually think about an issue.
 
sigh said:
Ah, for the simple life. It must be great not having to actually think about an issue.
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Works every which way, too. If the WSJ Editorial Page or National Review or whatever is for X, you and I can be reasonably confident we should be against it. Reasonably.

The difference is, that source-skepticism is the point from which you or I would start to evaluate an issue (because we understand that WSJ and NR are not quite necessarily entirely wrong in every single instance, though that's the way to bet). In Boxlicker101's case, and not his alone, it is also the point where you finish.
 
Boxlicker101 said:
You either didn't look very hard or else you cherry-picked what you cited.

http://mediatrackers.org/wisconsin/...wisconsin-center-for-investigative-journalism

Like me, this guy believes anything supported by George Soros would be detrimental to the US.
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BTW, that article does not mention the issue of the OP. Since it is from 2011, and the story in question broke this week. The point of the article is that WCIJ is liberal-biased -- but, apart from one story that WCIJ might have got wrong, the only proof offered is Soros' support for it.
 
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KingOrfeo said:
Works every which way, too. If the WSJ Editorial Page or National Review or whatever is for X, you and I can be reasonably confident we should be against it. Reasonably.

The difference is, that source-skepticism is the point from which you or I would start to evaluate an issue (because we understand that WSJ and NR are not quite necessarily entirely wrong in every single instance, though that's the way to bet). In Boxlicker101's case, and not his alone, it is also the point where you finish.
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It is the place where I start, but it might not be where I finish. That depends on what else I learn. I will say that the people who are decrying the action of the WI Legislature are people I consider to be little better than traitors. Soros, would like to drastically change this nation to the US Soviet Socialist Republic. It may be his right to try to do so, but it causes me to distrust everything else he does or advocates. To a lesser degree, the same is true for the other people or institutions I mentioned.

So far, the only thing I know for sure is that they made a horrendous error on one item two years ago. That is certainly not something you like in a group who claim to e investigative journalists. I will read more and learn more until I have a more concrete opinion.

Actually, what you or I think is moot anyhow. The people of WE, through their elected representatives, have voted to give the boot to the WCIJ. This is every bit as true a statement as saying the people of the USA have voted for Obamacare.
 
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