The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student news website Media Milwaukee won a 2017-18 Open Records “Scoop of the Year” award from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.
Media Milwaukee was awarded the “Scoopee” on March 8 for its investigation into dozens of sexual harassment and assault allegations on the UWM campus. Media Milwaukee is the only university site to win an award this year. Media Milwaukee is sharing the open records award with the Wisconsin State Journal.
The awards recognize “extraordinary achievement in the arena of open government,” the Council said in a press release. Both Media Milwaukee and the Wisconsin State Journal “pushed back against official secrecy to break major stories on sexual harassment,” the Council said.
“For more than a decade, the Opees have served to remind state residents that open government is a perpetual struggle, with heroes and villains,” said council president Bill Lueders. “We need as many of the former as we can get.”
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Since last fall and into spring, UWM student journalists Talis Shelbourne and Jennifer Rick, who have published many stories to Media Milwaukee’s website, worked tirelessly to file open records requests. “This has been a really long process so it’s definitely rewarding to get positive feedback, especially from outside organizations,” Rick, who aspires to work as an investigative journalist, said. “It’s also kind of surreal to be a student and to be recognized for work that started out as a class assignment. I feel like we’ve come a long way.”
Shelbourne, who also plans a career in investigative journalism, concurs. “The most important information comes from primary sources and the only way to get those is often open records,” she said. “We want to open up the university for more transparency and prepare ourselves for future journalism careers. The cost of college is skyrocketing, and there are certain rights we earn by choosing a university and then paying to attend it. It’s the right to know who our professors are, the good and the bad.” Student journalists Miela Fetaw and Nyesha Stone also contributed to some of the site’s sexual harassment stories.
On the other hand, The Wisconsin Legislature was presented with the No Friend To Openness Award for denying open records requests, holding secret meetings, using abusive mail ballots and selectively blocking access to their social media accounts.
The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is a nonpartisan group seeking to promote openness in the government. The group consists of approximately two dozen members, representing media and public interests. “Sponsoring organizations include the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, Wisconsin Associated Press, Wisconsin News Photographers and the Madison Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists,” its release notes.
The award ceremony will take place at the seventh annual Wisconsin Watchdog Awards dinner in Madison on Thursday, April 19. The event is hosted by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, and the Madison Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Six awards were given this year including:
Citizen Openness Award (“Copee”): Joe Terry, who “spent more than 100 hours looking into alleged open meetings and ethics violations by the village board.”
Media Openness Award (“Mopee”): Tim Damos, for a series of stories that promoted open government. He “exposed the intrigue behind one official’s departure and $135,000 contract buyout. He broke stories revealing that Sauk County Board leaders made false sworn statements and that the county’s former highway commissioner solicited NASCAR tickets from a contractor,” The Council wrote.
Political Openness Award (“Popee”): Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, for his executive order that required state agencies “to improve their performance on open records requests. It directs them to track and post their record response times and limits how much they can charge.”
Open Records Scoop of the Year (“Scoopie”): Wisconsin State Journal and Media Milwaukee. The Council noted that “UW-Milwaukee student journalists at Media Milwaukee unearthed dozens of allegations of harassment involving professors and other staff, shining a light on an overlooked issue.” Wisconsin State Journal reporter Molly Beck reported on complaints against lawmakers, and Nico Savidge reported on UW-Madison’s sexual harassment reporting procedures.
Whistleblower of the Year (“Whoopie”): Will Kramer, an industry risk-management and safety consultant, who helped expose “the dangers posed by industrial barrel recycling plants.”
No Friend of Openness (“Nopee”): The Wisconsin Legislature. “This year lawmakers from both parties denied requests for records of sexual harassment investigations and refused to provide electronic records in electronic form. The Republican majority also held secret meetings to hash out budget details, continued to conduct business by using abusive mail ballots and selectively blocked access to their social media accounts,” the FOIC press release says.