National Freedom of Information Coalition

Wisconsin FOI Resources

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Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council

(A member of NFOIC)
101 King Street
Madison, WI 53703
Phone (608) 251-5627
Contact: Bill Leuders, President
http://www.wisfoic.org/
E-mail blueders@isthmus.com

QUICK FOI INFORMATION

Open Meetings Law Wis. Stat. 19.81 et seq.
Closed: Certain negative or disciplinary personnel matters; personnel employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluations; strategy for crime detection and prevention; to deliberate or negotiate the purchase of public properties; to consider financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons that would likely have a substantial adverse affect upon the reputation of the person; and attorney consultations.

Open Records Law Wis. Stat. 19.31 et seq.
Exempt: Certain investigative records, computer programs and trade secrets; public library circulation records are confidential.

CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN

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CONTACTS

  • Office of the Attorney General
  • Post Office Box 7857
  • Suite 114 East
  • Madison, WI 53707-7857
  • Phone (608) 266-1221
  • Fax (608) 267-2779
  • http://www.doj.state.wi.us/
  • Wisconsin Newspaper Association
  • 3822 Mineral Point Rd
  • P.O. Box 5580
  • Madison, WI 53708
  • Phone (608) 238-7171 or (800) 261-4242
  • http://www.wnanews.com/
  • State Sunshine Chair
  • J.J. Blonien
  • Entercom Electronic Publishing
  • Phone (414) 860-6300
  • E-mail jj.blonien@entercom.net

FORM LETTERS

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PUBLICATIONS

Law and the Media in the Midwest: A Seven State Handbook Covering Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin by John R. Finnegan, Sr. and Patricia A. Hirl.
St. Paul, MN: Butterworth Legal Publishers, 1984. 352 p.
Order from:   Amazon.com

Wisconsin News Reporters Legal Handbook Published by the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Media-Law Relations Committee in cooperation with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Fifth Edition, January 2005. Read it online or
Order from:   State Bar of Wisconsin at (800) 728-7788 or (608) 257-3838. Each copy is $5 plus shipping, handling, and applicable sales tax.

Wisconsin Lawyer's Guide to the News Media 2d ed. Madison, WI: State Bar of Wisconsin, Media-Law Relations Committee, 1990. 50 p. From the preface: "For the bar and the news media to work together successfully, it is apparent each must better understand the practices and procedures of the other. In 1979 the Media-Law Relations Committee . . . completed A Wisconsin News Reporters' Legal Handbook, covering judicial procedures and legal terminology. . . . The publication was a step forward in educating [the media] in such fundamentals as court procedure, fair trial and free press principles and guidelines, and the Wisconsin rules governing electronic media and still photography in courts. [It] was updated in 1987. Similarly, it is apparent to the committee that many in the legal profession do not fully understand the constitutional rights of the media and the way they function. . . . [T]he committee developed . . . this handbook to respond to some of these concerns." Read it online.

Open Government Guide from the
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

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