About

The Wisconsin Examiner is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site offering a fresh perspective on politics and policy in our state.

As the largest news bureau covering state government, the Examiner will offer investigative reporting and daily coverage dedicated to the public interest.

In Wisconsin’s great progressive tradition, we aim to hold the powerful accountable to the people, follow the money, and dig out the truth. Although we give you the inside scoop, we are not a publication for “insiders.” Instead, we cover stories and voices that too often go unheard.

We don’t accept advertising or sell subscriptions. Instead, we rely on the generous support of foundations and people like you, who care about Wisconsin and believe an informed public is crucial to a healthy democracy.

We take our inspiration from the motto emblazoned on a ceiling in our state Capitol: “The Will of the People Is the Law of the Land.”

The Examiner is part of The Newsroom, a network of state government news sites supported by the Hopewell Fund, a 501(c)(3) public charity. We retain full editorial independence.

STAFF

Editor-in-chief

Ruth Conniff is Editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Examiner. She formerly served as Editor-in-chief of The Progressive Magazine, and opened the Progressive’s office in Washington, DC, during the Clinton Administration, where she made her debut as a political pundit on CNN’s Capital Gang Sunday and Fox News. She moved to Oaxaca, Mexico, for a year in 2017, where she covered U.S./Mexico relations, the migrant caravan, and Mexico’s efforts to grapple with Donald Trump.

Conniff is a frequent guest on All In with Chris Hayes on MSNBC and has appeared on Good Morning America, Democracy Now!, Wisconsin Public Radio, and other radio and television programs.

In 2011, she did award-winning coverage of the uprising against Governor Scott Walker in Wisconsin. She has also written for The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times, among other publications.

Conniff graduated from Yale University in 1990, where she ran track and edited the campus magazine The New Journal.

Deputy Editor

Melanie Conklin is proud to be a native of the state of Wisconsin, which gave humankind the typewriter, progressivism and deep-fried cheese curds. Her several decades in journalism include political beats and columns at Isthmus newspaper, the Wisconsin State Journal and other publications. When not an ink-stained wretch, she served time inside state, local and federal government in communications. She is excited to be back at the craft of journalism as Deputy Editor of the Wisconsin Examiner. It’s what she’s loved ever since getting her master’s degree is in journalism from the UW-Madison. Her family includes one husband, two kids, four dogs and five (or more) chinchillas.

Reporter

Erik Gunn joins the Wisconsin Examiner after 24 years as a freelance writer for Milwaukee Magazine, Isthmus, and The Progressive, winning awards for investigative reporting, feature writing, beat coverage, business writing, and commentary. An East Coast native, he previously covered labor for The Milwaukee Journal after reporting for newspapers in upstate New York and northern Illinois. His work has also appeared in other national publications including Politico, The Washington Monthly, and The American Lawyer.

STAFF

Ruth Conniff

Editor-in-chief

Melanie Conklin

Deputy Editor

Erik Gunn

Reporter

Isiah Holmes

Reporter