Lawmakers Seek to Evict Nonprofit Newsroom from Wisc. Campus

A Wisconsin legislative committee has approved a measure to ban the nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism from maintaining an office at the state university’s main campus in Madison, MinnPost reports.

In a 12-4 party-line vote last week, Republican members of the state legislature’s joint finance committee amended the state budget proposal to bar the center from the campus and forbid University of Wisconsin staff from working with it. The university’s journalism school provides the office space in return for the center hiring at least five student interns a year and providing educational services.

Supporters of the move said the ties between the center and the university blurred the line between government and media and that the state should not give aid to one news organization but not to others. Journalism groups and other critics have accused legislators of targeting the center over its coverage of state policies and leaders.