Good morning.
Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 70. Sunrise is 6:45 and sunset is 6:46 for 12 hours 1 minute of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 98.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1956, TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, is inaugurated. (“The developments that made TAT-1 possible were coaxial cable, polyethylene insulation (replacing gutta-percha), very reliable vacuum tubes for the submerged repeaters, and a general improvement in carrier equipment. Transistors were not used, being a recent invention of unknown longevity.”)
Earlier this week, WISGOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany barred two Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters from a campaign event:
The campaign’s decision to prevent reporters Mary Spicuzza and David Clarey from covering the event comes just days after Tiffany said at a news conference that he would allow reporters, even those from “slanted” outlets such as the Journal-Sentinel, access to his campaign. Tiffany was asked about press access in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke White House press badges for reporters from CNN, MS Now and Politico.
“As you can see, I did not deter anyone here from joining us today and I don’t plan on doing that — even you [Journal-Sentinel reporter] Laura [Schulte], I’m going to continue to allow you here,” Tiffany said at the Wisconsin Counties Association conference on Tuesday. “I believe in open, free press, that they be able to ask us questions. The principle that I live with, is I just expect all of you to be fair, and as long as you’re fair in your writing, I always welcome the press here. It’s when the press is slanted, that’s what’s frustrating.”
At the event, Tiffany told reporters that he’ll “have to talk to his communications team” about Spicuzza’s access.
[…]
In a post on social media after the event, Tiffany’s campaign said it had notified Spicuzza that she wouldn’t be allowed into the event because of her alleged political views, but that other staff members from the outlet would be allowed.
“Liberal activist [Spicuzza] was notified yesterday that she would not be permitted to attend,” the Tiffany campaign wrote on X. “[The Journal-Sentinel] has a photographer at the event, and we welcome all balanced journalists across Wisconsin, including [Journal-Sentinel reporter Jessie Opoien]. That’s why WISN, CBS 58, and other outlets are in attendance.”
See Henry Redman, Tiffany campaign blocks Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporters from event, Wisconsin Examiner, September 24, 2026.
I’ll offer a few remarks.
1. When Gov. Evers barred the MacIver Institute from attending an event in 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Evers’s decision, and the U.S. Supreme Court let that decision stand (as it declined to take an appeal of the Seventh Circuit decision). I’ll not speculate on how courts might rule now, should a legal challenge against Tiffany’s actions be filed.
2. However this race between Crowley and Tiffany turns out, it will not turn on Tiffany’s actions here. That’s the key practical point. Anyone who was going to support Tiffany was going to do so regardless of his actions against Spicuzza and Clarey; anyone who was going to oppose Tiffany was going to do so anyway. The campaign’s actions against these reporters offer no practical gain for Tiffany.
3. A campaign that’s not focused on practicality is either desperate or dimwitted. Either the Tiffany campaign doesn’t know what to think or doesn’t know how to think.
4. Perhaps it’s a combination of both:
When pressed on why his campaign staff had blocked Spicuzza, he said he’ll “have to go back and talk to my communications team.”
Tiffany also accused his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, of “being managed” by his campaign’s communication staff.
“I think you should follow up with Mr. Crowley and ask him if he’s going to be as open and transparent as I am,” said Tiffany.
See Rich Kremer, Tom Tiffany’s campaign blocks reporter from Milwaukee event, Wisconsin Public Radio, September 24, 2026.
Honest to goodness. Every accusation is a confession.
5. I’ve never met Mary Spicuzza, but I’ve followed her reporting for many years. She’s sharp and thorough, and, from this newspaper-reading blogger’s view, easily within the standards of traditional American journalism. One benefits far more from a sharp reporter than a dull candidate.
The answer to smart, thorough reporting is a reply, not a ban. How unfortunate that Tiffany doesn’t have the presence of mind to see as much.
Here’s someone from the Midwest who’s not afraid of press coverage: