WisconsinEye warns of shutdown without emergency aid

It’s an unusual display of bipartisan agreement, but in Wisconsin both conservatives and progressives have, over the years, heaped generous helpings of praise on WisconsinEye, the state’s nonpartisan public-affairs network that has provided unfiltered coverage of state government for nearly two decades.

So far, however, the nearly universal praise, not to mention the organization’s own urgent pleas, has not translated into financial viability, and suddenly the clock is ticking: Without assistance, the network says it will go dark on December 15 due to a funding shortfall.

The warning comes as WisconsinEye confronts a collapse in private fundraising and a structural mismatch between operational needs and endowment requirements in the current state budget. WisconsinEye president and CEO Jon Henkes is asking the legislature for a lifeline, saying the current situation poses an existential threat to the public’s ability to see and hear state government in action.

“In consideration of the current funding shortfall, on December 15, 2025, WisconsinEye will go dark — off the air — with no live or program content being produced or distributed,” Henkes wrote in a November 20 letter to the legislature. “The program archive will not be available.”

It’s a sizable archive, with more than 18,000 hours of available programming and coverage.

“Our performance speaks volumes of our commitment to mission,” WisconsinEye stated in a public release in November. “In the last 2½ years alone WisconsinEye has covered 2,648 State Capitol & public policy events, produced 218 studio programs and 401 campaign-related events, reached over 2.4 million website page views and more than 320,000 unique visitors, and maintained a social media base of nearly 40,000 followers.”

Impressive though that may be, the group’s CEO and staff say they need immediate support to keep the lights on in an institution known for its political neutrality and C-SPAN-style coverage of Wisconsin politics.

Independence, and a financial cliff

WisconsinEye launched in 2007 on a model designed to avoid any influence from the state officials it covers, but Henkes said that is no longer a real issue.

“When WisconsinEye was first started, the goal was no government funding over initial fear that government would control the agenda and content,” he wrote in his letter to the legislature. “WisconsinEye has established a foundation of independence and trust, and it would be extremely difficult to change that now in the public arena.”

In fact, similar organizations in other states are supported by state government funding, Henkes observed.

For most of its history, Henkes wrote, WisconsinEye’s independence has depended on private donors, foundations, and corporations, along with carriage and equipment agreements with the legislature. However, he asserted, that model has changed, especially on the donor side and especially with the pandemic.

“Over time, and more specially since Covid, traditional funding sources and generous support from individuals has literally disappeared as the competition for funding from these sources has dried up WisconsinEye’s support,” he wrote.

Over the past six months, Henkes said WisconsinEye has made more than 40 serious solicitations, brought on-board multiple fundraising consultants, and undertaken a sustained effort to seek philanthropic commitments. 

“None have produced any revenue,” he wrote. 

In 2025, Henkes wrote, the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee and the legislature approved, and the governor signed, the 2025-26 state budget, which included an extension of a $10-million matching fund program through June 2026. 

“Also included was a $250,000 grant appropriation for 2025,” Henkes wrote. “Due to the absence of private financial support and the extreme competition in the philanthropic fundraising world, the $250,000 will cover expenses through December 15, 2025.”

A structural problem

As Henke mentioned, the 2025-27 state budget contains the largest potential lifeline WisconsinEye has ever received: the extension of a $10-million match program through June 2026. 

Under that plan, the state will match up to $10 million in private contributions to build a permanent endowment meant to secure the network’s long-term future.

According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, lawmakers not only removed the previous deadline for raising non-state revenue but authorized a direct $250,000 grant in 2025-26. But the remainder — $9.75 million — can only be released to WisconsinEye if the network first raises an equal amount from private donors. 

Under state law, those matched dollars cannot be spent on current operations.

That has created a paradox, Henkes says. Essentially, WisconsinEye must raise money for operations to survive month to month while simultaneously asking donors for endowment-level gifts that would be untouchable under state rules.

“We could raise a half million dollars, and the state would match that, but those dollars, by law, then would have to go into an endowment account — could not be spent for operating current budget needs, and could only be used as the income off of that investment is generated,” Henkes told Wisconsin Examiner last month. “Really, in a sense, we are competing against ourselves.” 

He also told the Examiner that donors are increasingly reluctant to give to nonprofits that do not meet immediate human needs, particularly in an environment shaped by “record-breaking political fundraising.” 

What all that boils down to, the CEO says, is a need for legislative action.

In the letter to lawmakers, Henkes outlined three options for the legislature to consider: Provide an annual $1 million appropriation to fund and maintain live and produced content; provide $1 million per year for the next three years, carrying the network through the 2027-29 budget cycle; or provide $1 million for 2026 only, with the next legislature deciding future funding, the reality being that the 2027-28 legislative session would not be broadcast unless new funds were appropriated.

Henkes said the Joint Finance Committee may need to introduce a stand-alone bill to authorize any of the options, and he emphasized in his letter his willingness to help craft a legislative solution.

What would be lost

In November, WisconsinEye staff warned that without immediate funding, it could be forced to reduce staff, scale back or eliminate Capitol coverage, or “permanently cease operations.” 

Essentially, the organization says the risks go well beyond a temporarily darkened broadcast channel. 

Without adequate funding, Henkes and his staff say, citizens would lose firsthand visibility into state government decisions that shape their lives; trust and transparency in government would erode; opportunities for partisan distortion of political proceedings would increase; elected officials would lose a vital communication link with their constituents; authentic insights into government proceedings would diminish; and journalists, advocates, and lobbyists would lose a critical resource.

“All will be lost if WisconsinEye fails to meet its operational obligations,” Henkes said in the release.

With more than 18,000 hours of programming and coverage, the network argues for its many values, including educating and engaging citizens, acting as a watchdog and accountability tool, promoting fair and unbiased information, supporting democratic deliberations and discourse, protecting the public’s right to know, and bridging gaps in media coverage.

“WisconsinEye is a small staff — five working programming and production; one responsible for fundraising and administration,” Henkes and his staff stated. “Our performance speaks volumes of our commitment to mission.”

Henkes and his staff also stress the neutral C-SPAN-like unfiltered coverage of state Supreme Court arguments, candidate interviews, budget briefings, committee hearings, and floor debates, all delivered without editorial commentary.

“WisconsinEye is not just a media outlet, it’s a movement to guard the fundamental right of every Wisconsinite to see, hear, and evaluate the actions of elected officials,” Henkes and his staff said in the release. “A healthy democracy demands that truth is accessible to all, our voices are heard, and our leaders are accountable.”

Henkes says WisconsinEye is neither partisan nor political. 

“It is an investment in an even playing field, unlike campaign donations that can sway policy or perception, [and] helps to balance the scales, ensuring that every citizen, regardless of wealth or influence, has direct access to government proceedings,” the release stated.

The network also maintains and improves the technology systems needed to support the public’s demand for openness and ease of access, WisconsinEye asserts.

Voices on the left and right have echoed that assessment.

“WisconsinEye has jealously guarded its mission during 17+ years of providing transparency to the complexities of government and the actions of elected officials,” the progressive Cap Times stated. “The role it plays for anyone to use is healthy for our democracy.”

Rick Esenberg of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty agreed.

“For the people to hold their representatives accountable, access and information is critical,” Esenberg said. “WisconsinEye broadcasts and digital archive serve that end. Quite simply, WisconsinEye opens the doors of state government to citizens in all corners of the state.”

In the last few election cycles, WisconsinEye points out, more than $200 million has been raised and spent on candidates and campaigns in Wisconsin. 

“Much of the spending bought TV and social media advertising that was negative, exaggerated, misleading, and divisive,” the organization states. “For a small fraction of that amount — just $1 million — the impact on truth-in-politics will be substantial. Wisconsinites deserve to see their government in action — unfiltered, unbiased, and accessible. Open government is more than an ideal; it’s a necessity. We need your support. It will ensure that this vital, reliable, and trusted resource remains accessible and independent.”

As it has for other organizations, a sea change in the fundraising environment has taken its toll. In its plea for aid, WisconsinEye has pointed to an assortment of factors for the philanthropic downturn: donor fatigue following the pandemic, rising competition in the nonprofit sector, and a political fundraising upsurge that has diverted dollars to campaigns and advocacy.

At the end of the day, the organization says raising $1 million in immediate funding would support network operations for the next 12 months. 

“This is our annual budget — a level that hasn’t increased in 4 years,” Henkes and staff state.

But, they said, that money does much more than support day-to-day operations.

“Securing our operations budget allows WisconsinEye to focus on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure the network’s long-term viability,” they wrote.

The WisconsinEye team says the opportunity to establish a no-strings-attached, dollar-for-dollar match of up to $10 million to build a permanent endowment is huge, but it comes with an eight-month time clock to raise the matching funds from private, charitable donations.

“We cannot continue to do this alone,” they wrote in the release. “We will succeed only with your help. Your support will make the difference. …Transparency isn’t optional, it’s essential to our democracy.”

With just weeks remaining before the projected shutdown date, WisconsinEye is pushing both public appeals and private discussions with legislators. No bill has yet been introduced, but the network has signaled that any of its three proposed funding mechanisms would be sufficient to prevent the immediate shutdown.

The question is, will lawmakers release part of the $10 million endowment appropriation for short-term operating use — a move that would require statutory adjustment — or create a new appropriation to fund the network through at least 2026?

Or will it do nothing at all?

Under current law, if WisconsinEye ever ceases operations and divests assets, the state amount granted to WisconsinEye through the endowment match process would be returned to the state for deposit to the general fund; and, as a condition of receiving any payment, WisconsinEye is prohibited from charging any fee for access.

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.