George Stanley

The Journal Sentinel’s Drastic Decline

Sunday and daily subscription numbers continue to plummet.

Mayor’s Race Looks Like a Wild One

Wide open, with lots of candidates, no obvious favorites and so much at stake.

Three days of healing justice through On the Table MKE starts Monday

Greater Milwaukee Foundation to host series of virtual, curated community discussions

Journal Sentinel Ads Will Drive Stories?

As ad sales plummet, Gannett wants stories to support advertising initiative.

More Budget Cuts for Journal Sentinel?

Gannett revenue down due to pandemic, announces budget cuts, furloughs.

Journal Sentinel Promotes Long-Gone Writer

Readers urged to read Michael Wolff’s “brutally honest’ column. It hasn’t run in two years.

Journal Sentinel Censors Voucher Test Scores?

All the news about public school test scores, very little about voucher students.

Journal Sentinel Slams “Liberal” News Site

Claims Wisconsin Examiner is “partisan” and “slanted” but provides not one example.

Why the Journal Sentinel Won’t Die

And why it may not matter to news readers.

Journal Sentinel Bets on Harder Paywall

Making it tougher for casual readers to get access. Will that help or hurt?

Death Watch at the Journal Sentinel

Yet more layoffs, Gannett cuts nationally, facing buyout bid.

Journal Sentinel Loses Six More Staff

All veterans taking buyout, as staff continues to be purged.

Journal Sentinel Abandons Print Readers?

Paper’s circulation plummets as owner Gannett pushes switch to digital.

Jewish Museum Milwaukee Exhibit Shows Importance of Civil Liberties through Hollywood’s Blacklist

Blacklist: The Hollywood Red Scare asks visitors to critically examine other points in history including contemporary issues

Why Walker Opposes Special Elections

He's not serving the voters. He's serving his party.

11 Sure-Fire Predictions For 2018

How crazy will 2018 be? Let us count the ways.

The Many Errors of Brad Schimel

His sloppy report on John Doe leaks won’t help Attorney General’s reputation.

Journal Sentinel Shrinks Further

Plummeting circulation, shrinking news coverage, closing government pressrooms.

The New Charlie Sykes

He's confessing his errors and getting lots of publicity. Could there be a connection?

Errors Embarrass Journal Sentinel

Washington Post finds problems in James Causey’s work, which JS editors try to hide.

Journal Sentinel’s Bias Against Feingold

The coverage of Russ Feingold suggests they’ve truly become a Republican newspaper.

Attorney Robert J. Dreps, advocate for open government, to receive Distinguished Wisconsin Watchdog Award

Dreps, who last month was inducted into the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame, is retiring from full-time practice at the Madison office of Godfrey & Kahn.

Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council names “Opee” winners

The awards recognize extraordinary achievement in the cause of open government.

Journal Sentinel Will Lose All Local Control

Gannett purchase will make it part of national chain, integrated into USA Today-centered operation.

Mark Johnson, Journal Sentinel honored for medical science reporting

How Republicans Worked to End Public Records

Planning began last September and would have ended open records for all local governments as well.

More Staff Changes at Journal Sentinel

Some being let go, but a big name reportedly hired: Biz Times Editor Steve Jagler set to join the JS.

The Disappearance of Dan Bice

 The state’s top political reporter has disappeared. Is the Journal Sentinel killing his column?

Marquette College of Communication students contribute to investigative journalism focusing on hazardous chemicals used in the flavoring industry

“Our students have gained invaluable experience by working with a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter to produce journalism that will affect Wisconsin and beyond.”

Marquette College of Communication accepting applications for 2015-16 O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism

The O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism allows three newsroom professionals to do the best work of their careers on issues of vital importance.

Will Journal Sentinel Become a Right-Wing Paper?

Marty Kaiser’s retirement and replacement by managing editor George Stanley will likely mean a more conservative paper.

Walker Won Second Debate

But neither candidate can close the sale in election. Why?

More Journal Sentinel Buyouts

At least a dozen more journalists are being let go. And insiders expect some editors will be added to list.

The Remarkable Impact of the Deep Tunnel

Once widely maligned, the project was the key to transforming the Milwaukee River.

The End of Suburbs?

So argues a new book. And former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist agrees. Are they right?

Newspaper Wears Blinders on Global Warming

In eight years of stories on Lake Michigan’s water level, the Journal Sentinel has never mentioned global warming.

Why Dan Bice Should Resign

The Journal Sentinel columnist’s coverage of John Doe probe is a case study in journalistic malfeasance.

Mayor Backs Flynn, Slams Newspaper

Journal Sentinel’s series on data errors “takes crime fighting officers off the street,” Barrett charges.

Is Chief Flynn Off the Hook?

The federal investigation could cool calls for Flynn's resignation.

Will Allen Goes Viral

From ABC News to Colbert, everybody is celebrating Will Allen.

More OIC – George Connections

Although the Gary George – OIC-GM connections are well documented, particularly those that have led to the convictions of George, Mark Sostarich and Carl Gee, recently-released audit information and other source documents indicate that perhaps the OIC-George connection needs to be further investigated. Nobody is accusing anybody of wrongdoing, but perhaps investigators should dig a little deeper into the dealings of George and those connected with him, if only to remove any hint of suspicion from settling on the mantle of the innocent. Take, for instance, the relationship between Todd Robert Murphy, OIC-GM and Gary George. Murphy was recently relieved of his Public Relations contract with OIC-GM, and was replaced by Martin Schreiber and Associates. The recent audit of the OIC-GM accounts indicated that payments made by OIC-GM to TRM Marketing Consultants, Murphy’s firm, were “unallowable expenses,” according to Paul Steiber of the State of Wisconsin. His review included two months during which Murphy received $4,000 per month from OIC-GM. Was this a “cushy consulting job,” as Leon Todd has suggested? Todd said the Murphy-planted cover story about OIC-GM that appeared in the Shepherd Express (and, interestingly, in newspapers in the African-American community) was “not enough” to save him his job. According to the audit, OIC-GM was not authorized to hire a public relations consultant with W2 funds. The Ethics Board did not have a complete accounting of the amount of money Murphy’s firm was paid over the years. The board was investigating “direct” payments, and Murphy’s were considered “indirect.” According to John Becker of the Ethics Board, the payments to Todd Robert Murphy’s firm “were not something we focused on.” Nor has the board “seen any checks,” from OIC-GM to Murphy, he said. One wonders if the State of Wisconsin Ethics Board should have done a better job reviewing its own documents, for the Statements of Economic Interests filed by George for the years 1999-2001 show that George received more than $1,000 per year from Murphy’s firm. It would be interesting to know how much exactly per year Murphy sent to George, and what he got in exchange. George also reported receiving funds from Petrie and Stocking, the firm that employed Mark Sostarich, who gave George kickbacks from OIC funds. George also received money from Coleman & Williams, Ltd., an accounting firm. Coleman & Williams also received money from OIC – to conduct an audit of the OIC books. Isn’t it odd that an accounting firm that received money from OIC-GM would also, coincidentally, be sending more than $1,000 per year to George, who was systematically swindling OIC-GM out of money, with the connivance of Carl Gee, the group’s director, and Mark Sostarich, the Petrie and Stocking lawyer? Bill Coleman, of the accounting firm, said the relationship was quite innocent, and that he had hired Gary George to do unspecified legal work for his firm. Since many aspects of attorney-client relationships are privileged, we’ll have to take his word for it. Still, workers at the Ethics Board, the United […]