To assess the DOA’s performance, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism analyzed the nearly 200 records requests the agency received in the first six months of 2012. The analysis found the DOA took an average of 24 days to provide records or denials.

By Mike Juley
 
A ruling last year by the Wisconsin Supreme Court involving the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel became the focus of attention Feb. 27, when a state Assembly committee held a public hearing on a bill, AB 26, that would drastically increase the cost of obtaining public records.
The bill, if approved, would let custodians of public [...]

The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have won a national award for their collaborative efforts to produce investigative reporting. The Associated Press Media Editors’ first Innovator of the Year for College Students award cites the Center and school, which since 2009 have collaborated in classrooms and through paid internships.

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is bestowing its annual “Opee” Awards for openness in government. And Wisconsin state lawmakers have been tapped for both kinds of awards — good as well as bad.

It’s time once again for proponents of open government and the free flow of information to celebrate Sunshine Week. But this year, we’ll be doing it under a cloud.

At a Milwaukee event, the governor declined to respond to our report showing deficiencies in his reporting of travel expenses.