Network shutdown leaves Wisconsin lawmakers meeting outside of public view

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The shutdown of Wisconsin’s version of C-SPAN amid a fundraising shortfall has led to state lawmakers meeting outside of public view, fueling complaints from open government advocates and putting pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal to revive the network.

WisconsinEye had broadcast every floor session of the state Senate and Assembly since 2007 for free before it went dark in mid-December. Created as a private, independent nonprofit, WisconsinEye also provided live coverage of court hearings, news conferences, legislative committee hearings and numerous other government proceedings.

“WisconsinEye has become a vital part of our democracy in Wisconsin,” said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. “We’ve lost, at least temporarily, this precious resources for participating and understanding the workings of our democracy.”

Every state broadcast legislative floor sessions either by video, audio or both, according to a 2022 review by the National Conference of State Legislatures. However, because of constant changes, it’s impossible to say with certainty that Wisconsin is now the only one not routinely broadcasting all floor debates, the NCSL said Thursday.

Other states primarily rely on public broadcasting, or the state government, to broadcast legislative proceedings.

When WisconsinEye stopped its free live broadcasts, it also shut down its website that contains more than 30,000 hours of archived footage.

When the Legislature convened earlier this month, Republicans who control the Senate and Assembly began enforcing rules that predated WisconsinEye prohibiting members of the public from livestreaming or recording proceedings. One Democratic lawmaker tried to livestream committee meetings he was attending, only to be shut down by the Republican committee chair.

“I’m really baffled that they are doing that,” said Lueders, the open government advocate. “With WisconsinEye sidelined, it’s more important than ever for citizens to be able to broadcast the proceedings.”

Hearings on issues like regulating data centers and other issues affecting the daily lives of people have come and gone with no recording of what happened without WisconsinEye there to document it, Lueders said.

WisconsinEye relied on private donations from individuals, foundations, businesses and others to pay for its operations the past 18 years. But faced with increasing competition for donations, and years of losing money since the 2020 pandemic, WisconsinEye turned to the Legislature for help.

Lawmakers responded by creating a $10 million endowment three years ago.

However, there was a catch. In order to access any of the $10 million, WisconsinEye had to match all of it.

WisconsinEye initially raised just $210,000. The state gave it $250,000 and another year to meet the $10 million match, but WisconsinEye shut down after it failed to raise enough money to cover its $887,000 operating budget for 2026. Last week the network launched a GoFundMe with the goal of raising $250,000 to pay for three months of operations. As of Thursday, it had raised around $49,000.

Government entities used to having their proceedings broadcast by WisconsinEye have been scrambling to adjust.

The state Supreme Court, which has had live audio available of oral arguments since 1997, announced this week that it would run its own livestream of arguments set for mid-February.

The state Senate livestreamed its floor session this week with one stationary camera, a far cry from the multiple WisconsinEye cameras that would broadcast debate from multiple angles, identify the speakers and identify the bill being discussed.

The Assembly did not broadcast any of its four floor sessions this month.

Assembly Democrats and Republicans unveiled a proposal on Thursday that could result in the cameras turning back on. It would allow WisconsinEye to access interest accrued from the $10 million endowment, with fundraising paying for the rest of its operating budget.

But it must also pass the Senate, and it was unclear how much support there was for the proposal.

Senate Republican Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said that until Republicans can review details about WisconsinEye’s finances and operations, lawmakers “will not commit to blindly giving money to an organization.”

WisconsinEye CEO Jon Henkes said WisconsinEye was an “open book” and welcomed scrutiny from lawmakers. Henkes said he was “real optimistic” that the bill would become law and make WisconsinEye even stronger going forward than it had been.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers earlier this month said he would support a fundraising deal to revive the network as long as the state wasn’t paying for all of WisconsinEye’s budget.

“I think there has to be some skin in the game,” Evers said.