Too many officials believe they can get away with withholding public records. Or they can rest easy in the knowledge it will be taxpayers, not them, stuck with the bill even if they lose a challenge.
Category: Opinion
We welcome letters to the editor and guest columns.
When submitting an opinion piece, please include your name, title, address and daytime phone number. We request that your letter be brief, timely, respectful, focused, original and relevant to issues that we cover. Please let us know about anything that might be seen as a conflict of interest. Publication of letters to the editor, guest columns and other opinion material does not imply endorsement by Wisconsin Watch. Authors are solely responsible for the facts and views expressed in opinion material published by the Wisconsin Watch.
Please visit our public engagement page for more details on how to submit items for publication.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Protect the press against frivolous lawsuits
While 34 states and the District of Columbia have enacted anti-SLAPP laws to protect media and individuals from frivolous defamation lawsuits, Wisconsin has not.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Long waits undercut records law
Wisconsin’s Open Records Law allows any person to obtain any document in the possession of state and local government officials, with limited exceptions. But, unlike in some other states, there is no set time limit.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: A fund to fight government secrecy
The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council’s Legal Fund helps cover legal costs associated with fighting to pry records into the public domain.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Nursing home sale shows why transparency matters
Why is the state’s tradition of open government important? Just ask the citizens of Sauk County, who have been treated as though it isn’t.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Using outside record vendors brings risks
The use of outside vendors to store government records raises a host of potential problems.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Guides help public navigate openness laws
Wisconsin citizens seeking to understand the open records and meetings laws have at their fingertips a valuable resource: the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s public records and open meetings compliance guides.
Posted inJustice & Safety, Opinion
My unlikely path from jail to journalism
While serving a sentence for burglary, I enrolled in a college journalism class. When I interviewed my correctional officer, my world broadened.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Redaction costs threaten police video access
A new state law allows law enforcement to charge for the cost of redacting video and audio records. It needs to be clarified, if not repealed.
Posted inOpinion
Your Right to Know: Officials must bear burden of proof in records cases
The Open Records Law creates a presumption that government records are public, which means that government records custodians must prove their case in order to win.
Posted inOpinion
More complete data and nuanced narratives will help Milwaukee youth thrive
When we think of youth in Milwaukee, you might find it difficult to see the positives in light of negative press coverage. It is time to change that story.
Posted inForward, Opinion
Your Right to Know: Rights clash in records dispute
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving records related to the voting rights of mentally incompetent people. No matter which side wins, the public has in some ways already lost.