Newsmaker Luncheon to Feature Open Government Traveling Show

03/15/17
11:45 am - 1:30 pm

Newsroom Pub
137 E. Wells St. Milwaukee WI, 53202

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Press Club will host the Open Government Traveling Show – a panel discussion about the Wisconsin open meetings and open records laws – at a Newsmaker Luncheon on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 as part of the national celebration of open government known as “Sunshine Week.”

The public is invited to attend the event from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Newsroom Pub in downtown Milwaukee at 137 E. Wells St.

The Open Government Traveling Show is presented by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. It features a brief tutorial on the state’s open meetings and records laws and examples of how the media, the public and advocates use the law.

WFOIC and SPJ Madison conceived of the traveling show in 2016 after lawmakers in the Capitol sought to gut the records law in 2015. Last year, open government advocates traveled to eight cities in three days during Sunshine Week to discuss government transparency with hundreds of Wisconsin citizens.

The perspectives on the panel will be represented by the following guests (listed alphabetically):

• April Barker, open government expert and an attorney with the law firm Schott, Bublitz & Engel, s.c. based in Waukesha.

• Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, a national watchdog group that investigates and exposes the influence of corporations on public policy.

• Tom Kamenick , deputy counsel and open government specialist with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which seeks to advance the public interest in the rule of law, individual liberty, constitutional government and a robust civil society.

• Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and a veteran Wisconsin journalist, now managing editor of The Progressive magazine.
  

• Mark Pitsch, president of the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and an assistant city editor at the Wisconsin State Journal.

The Milwaukee Press Club’s Newsmaker Luncheon Series is sponsored by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Milwaukee Press Club presents the Newsmaker Luncheons to shed light on issues of the day. The public is invited to attend the luncheons. The cost to attend is $20 for MPC members, $25 for non-members and $15 for students. Lunch is included. Seating is limited.  Advanced registration and payment are required and may be done by booking below.  Checks may be mailed to the MPC at PO Box 176, North Prairie, WI  53153-0176. Cancellations will be accepted up to 48 hours in advance for a full refund.

Please contact Joette Richards at the Milwaukee Press Club at joette@milwaukeepressclub.org with any questions or call 262-894-2224.