Expanding student investigative reporting to the borders of Wisconsin
Funding from the Wisconsin Idea Endowment was used to help UW-Madison students, working in collaboration with the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, to produce investigative stories distributed across Wisconsin on topics of importance to the people of Wisconsin, including but not limited to concerns about the state of democracy in Wisconsin, mistreatment of state whistleblowers, criminal justice inequities, issues posed by marijuana legalization and Wisconsin's consequential 2020 election. This coverage helped fill a void of in-depth journalism, raised awareness of important issues, informed citizens, sparked debate — and prompted action — to benefit some of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable residents.
Outcomes
"Expanding student investigative reporting to the borders of Wisconsin" generated 41 in-depth stories. In the tradition of the Wisconsin Idea and UW’s service learning mission, these reports were distributed for free, seen and heard by 14 million people across the state and throughout the United States and picked up by 325 news outlets a total of 1,070 times.
Focus Areas
Project Leader
- Department/Unit
- Journalism and Mass Communication
- School or College
- School of Journalism and Mass Communication