WisconsinEye, State’s Public Access Channel, Might Shut Down
The network says they will stop all coverage Dec. 15 if they are unable to receive enough donations to continue operations.
The Wisconsin State Capitol is seen from Bascom Hill on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
WisconsinEye, a statewide public affairs network that broadcasts state capitol proceedings, will stop event coverage Dec. 15 due to lack of funding, according to a statement on the website.
The archive of more than 30,000 hours of footage will also go offline. According to the statement, programming will resume for a year when they receive $887,000 in donations — enough to cover the network’s operational budget.
WisconsinEye is an independent nonprofit service. It relies on private, charitable donations for funding. The network released an urgent funding appeal on Thursday which asked for $1 million in donations. It is the only independent state capitol broadcast network in the country.
Jon Henkes is the organization’s president and CEO. He says economic uncertainty, competing organizations and record-breaking political fundraising has led to a decrease in funding.
“(It’s) to the point where our board has said, ‘this model in the current environment is not working for us, so we need to take a pause, and we need to figure this out,’” Henkes said.
In the most recent state budget, lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers agreed to provide $250,000 in funding for WisconsinEye, and pledged to provide matching funds of up to $9.75 million if the organization raises $10 million for its endowment fund.
The organization has until June 2026 to raise enough for the endowment otherwise the money is given back to the state.
Henkes says WisconsinEye will ask the legislature to help find a way to release some of the endowment fund given the current operations deficit.
“We can’t be raising money for endowment money right now, when we’re having difficulty raising money just to keep the lights on,” Henkes said.
Adam Wigger is the director of communications for Wisconsin State Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer. He says WisconsinEye makes the Capitol accessible to every Wisconsinite.
“If WisconsinEye were to not be able to continue, that would be a blow to public access to government in Wisconsin, and it would not be good for transparency,” Wigger said.
The organization has been broadcasting capitol proceedings since 2007. In the last three years, the network has covered over 2,648 state events. Henkes warned that if the organization shuts down, all will be lost with it.
“There’s this cry to save our democracy, and that means different things to different groups and constituents,” Henkes said. “We view that as a painting with a lot of people who are coloring that cry for democracy, and we have a role in that as WisconsinEye.”
WisconsinEye may shut down due to lack of funding was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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