Author: Bill Lueders

In October 1978, a group of 21 representatives of state print and broadcast media met at the offices of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Their collective goal: To “have more clout, become more of a fist, serve a stronger warning [and] have a bigger impact” in defending rights guaranteed under the First Amendment. The result was […]

A picture, they say, is worth 1,000 words. The television and print photographers who take them play a vital role in keeping the public informed. It’s a job that requires much skill, and sometimes entails great risk. News photographers in Wisconsin have been attacked, threatened, arrested, and had their cameras and film confiscated. They have […]

As part of national Sunshine Week, March 16-22, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is bestowing its second annual Opee Awards in recognition of people and institutions which have had an impact on open government in Wisconsin during the last year. The honorees are: Political Openness Advocate of the Year (the “Popee”): Wisconsin Supreme Court. […]

Walter H. Besley may well have been Wisconsin’s first open-government crusader. Back in 1853, five years after Wisconsin became a state, Besley, the clerk of circuit court in Jefferson County, billed the county board of supervisors $22 for two expenses: wood to furnish his office, and a large box of candles to light and warm […]

As part of national Sunshine Week (sunshineweek.org), March 11-17,  the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is for the first time giving awards in recognition of people and events that shaped the fortunes of open government in Wisconsin in 2006, for better or worse. The honorees are: Political Openness Advocate of the Year (the “Popee”): Peg […]

Almost every state official, when asked, will express support for the public’s right to know how government operates. This is especially true of anyone who aspires to be attorney general, a job that entails authority to interpret and enforce Wisconsin’s open records and meetings laws. In fact, though, there are vast differences in the extent […]

Gregg Walker is ticked off. “It’s absolutely ludicrous that this attorney general thinks she’s for open government and open records,”  fumes Walker, the general manager of The Lakeland Times newspaper in Minocqua, referring to Peg Lautenschlager. “In a critical test of the public’s right to know, [she] failed us and fought for secrecy in government […]

(Revised August 2013) Wisconsin’s Open Records Law begins with a declaration: “In recognition of the fact that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the public policy of this state that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official […]

Wisconsin’s Open Records Law, passed in 1981, is clear and unequivocal. It says the public is entitled to “the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government” and the actions of officials and employees, and that “only in an exceptional case may access be denied.” But the Wisconsin Supreme Court seems bent on making these […]

Last spring, the newspaper I work for had a problem obtaining some public records from our local school district. Officials there demanded that we first send a check for $613.08 to cover the costs they expected to incur reviewing the records and deciding what information to black out. These costs put the records effectively beyond […]

Why do we need a strong open records law? One answer can be found in the eagerness of some public officials to avoid complying with it. These officials would rather not have the public looking over their shoulders, second-guessing their decisions. And so they scrutinize open records rulings in search of new ways to rebuff […]

Just as protecting civil liberties often entails defending unpopular causes, ensuring the greatest possible access  to public information can mean opposing what seem, at first, to be perfectly sensible restrictions. Two examples of this can be found in bills now before the Wisconsin Legislature. The first, AB-448, would prohibit the copying of autopsy photos; the […]