WisconsinEye, the nonprofit public affairs network known for its gavel-to-gavel, nonpartisan coverage of state government, recently earned three statewide journalism awards for its first full year of broadcast operations.
The awards include:
· A Golden Gavel Award from the State Bar of Wisconsin for the "Newsmakers" series and overall coverage of legal activities and current affairs from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.
· A second place award from the Milwaukee Press Club in the Best Community Affairs Program category for the "Newsmakers" series.
· A second place award from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association among new media organizations for Best Election Coverage during the 2008 elections.
Chris Long, president and CEO of WisconsinEye, said the awards show that the network is producing high-quality public affairs programming and filling an important role by increasing access to government decision-making.
"Given the quality of the print, broadcast and online journalism being produced in this state, we are honored by these awards and believe we are succeeding in our mission to increase citizen engagement in civic life," Long said. "In our unique role as a nonprofit network, we believe this independent recognition is important as we continue to build cooperative partnerships with other print, broadcast and online media organizations to share our content."
As part of its mission to encourage civic participation, WisconsinEye has agreements with a growing number of newspapers, television and radio stations to share its content at no cost for the benefit of readers and viewers statewide. WisconsinEye also is making its award-winning content available at no cost to schools, nonprofit organizations and statewide trade associations interested in civic issues.
WisconsinEye began operating in May 2007. The network records all Senate and Assembly floor sessions, many legislative committee meetings, all Supreme Court oral arguments and executive branch events in their entirety and without commentary through 70 digital camera locations inside the state Capitol. The network, which also produces public affairs programming, streams coverage via the Web and broadcasts through Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable.
WisconsinEye is unique among the more than two dozen C-SPAN-inspired state networks in that it is privately funded and receives no direct or indirect state support, thus ensuring its editorial independence. In addition to current funding from foundations, organizations, corporations and individuals, WisconsinEye plans to add fees from commercial distributors and program sponsorships to its revenue base.
For more information, visit www.wiseye.org.
