(The Center Square) – There is a plan at the Wisconsin Capitol to have the state pick up where Wisconsin Eye left off.
Wisconsin Eye, which has essentially been the C-SPAN of Wisconsin, ended its video service this week because of a lack of donations. That means the public will no longer have the same access to legislative floor session broadcasts, or to the daily committee hearings and news conferences that WisEye broadcasted.
This week, a pair of Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation to have state government takeover.
“WisconsinEye’s shutdown caused an immediate and unacceptable loss of public access to state government – including meetings happening this week which will not be recorded or broadcast at all. Unless we take action, the legislature’s floor sessions in 2026 will not be publicly accessible and will not be recorded for the future,” Sen. Mark Spreitzer said in a statement.
“[My] important legislation will ensure continuous, nonpartisan public access to state government for the people of Wisconsin.”
Spreitzer is not saying how much his plan would cost. WisEye said it would need almost $900,000 to keep its service going for just one year.
State government already has some photographers on the payroll, and Wisconsin has a large IT staff, but it’s unclear if there are enough camera operators available to continue WisEye’s work.
Spreitzer, however, is framing the issue as government transparency, not a government cost.
“The loss of coverage that we have seen in the last [week] hours is simply unacceptable,” Spreitzer said on Facebook. “We must ensure that our government remains transparent and that the people of Wisconsin have access to their state government. Public access should not be dependent on the generosity of donors.”
Rep. Brienne Brown, D-Whitewater, said pretty much the same thing.
“As a former investigative journalist, I know that free, unedited access to footage of legislators is not a luxury, it’s a necessity for accountability. At a time when local newsrooms are collapsing and misinformation spreads faster than facts, cutting off public access only deepens the crisis,” she added. “It is more important than ever that we allow our constituents direct access to the work we are doing in Madison.”
Brown wrote for stratfor.com, which focuses on international policy, military readiness, and foreign affairs before making her way to the Wisconsin legislature.
