Wausau Pilot statement on anti-SLAPP legislation
Today, Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) and Sen. Jimmy Anderson (D-Fitchburg) held a press conference introducing anti-SLAPP legislation they are proposing for Wisconsin.
As you may have read in the New York Times and other publications, Wausau Pilot & Review is battling a defamation lawsuit filed in 2021 against the publication, its editor and a reporter for coverage stemming from a Marathon County Board meeting. A judge dismissed the case in April, but Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) is appealing that decision.
More than 30 states have legislation that provide a mechanism for defendants to challenge and dismiss lawsuits that lack substantive legal merit and can burden journalists with crushing financial costs, but Wisconsin does not.
Wausau Pilot & Review, launched in 2017, is a local, nonprofit, online newspaper with a staff of four. A GoFundMe effort launched last week to help defray the organization’s considerable legal expenses, not currently recoverable under Wisconsin law, has so far raised more than $102,000, about two-thirds of its $150,000 goal.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude,” Siewert said.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.