About The Badger Project

The Badger Project

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative newsroom based in Madison, Wisconsin, dedicated to holding the state's elected officials, agencies, and powerful institutions accountable. Operating from the heart of Wisconsin's capital city, the outlet investigates state government, politics, campaign finance, and related matters, producing reporting that it gives away free to newspapers and other news organizations across the state. In a period of steep decline for local newspapers in Wisconsin, The Badger Project positions itself as a watchdog filling at least part of the gap left behind — publishing hard-hitting stories about how public money is spent, who is donating to politicians, and how the machinery of state government actually works. The outlet's tagline and LinkedIn profile describe it as a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism venture headquartered in Madison, founded in 2018, with a small staff of between two and ten employees.

Overview and Mission

The Badger Project's core mission is to promote good government through transparency. Its public-facing materials state plainly that elected officials work for the people and do the people's business — and that they do not get to do it in secret. To that end, the outlet focuses on investigative reporting about Wisconsin state government, the Legislature, statewide elected officials, and the political money that flows through campaigns and outside groups. Much of its journalism is distributed at no cost to other news organizations, with the stated goal of educating Wisconsin residents so they can make well-informed decisions in the voting booth and in their own lives. This distribution model — a wire-service-like arrangement for investigative work — reflects the outlet's view that its reporting is a public good, not merely a product for a single audience. Because Wisconsin has lost local news outlets and reporting capacity over the past decade, The Badger Project explicitly frames its work as an attempt to fill at least a small portion of that civic information gap.

History and Founding

The Badger Project was founded in 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin, as a citizen-supported nonprofit newsroom. It emerged during a period when Wisconsin's local news ecosystem was under strain, with newspapers cutting staff, merging, or closing outright. Rather than building a general-interest local paper, its founders chose a narrow, accountability-focused lane: deep investigations of state government and the people who run it. The outlet describes itself as nonpartisan, and its reporting has scrutinized figures and institutions across party lines. Since its launch, The Badger Project has steadily built a reputation in Wisconsin's media landscape as a scrappy watchdog operation that punches above its weight, producing investigations that have been picked up and republished by newspapers around the state through its free-distribution model. The outlet solicits recurring donations from readers — appeals on its site invite supporters to help investigate the powerful in Wisconsin with contributions as small as five dollars a month — underscoring its reliance on citizen support rather than advertising revenue.

Investigative Focus and Coverage Areas

The Badger Project's coverage concentrates on the levers of power in Wisconsin. Its reporting beats include campaign finance and political donations, state agencies and their decisions, county and municipal government, law enforcement, and the courts. Recent coverage, as reflected on its homepage, includes investigations of megadonor spending in Wisconsin congressional races, donor networks flooding both parties with cash, local sheriff's department controversies, and personnel matters inside county law enforcement agencies. The outlet tracks who is giving max donations to candidates, examines loopholes in campaign finance law that allow large contributions to flow to parties and candidates, and follows the money behind competitive races. Beyond elections, its reporters dig into public records, government contracts, and official misconduct — the unglamorous but essential work of statehouse and courthouse journalism. Stories are typically published with supporting documents, including court filings and records obtained through Wisconsin's open records law.

The Police Records Lawsuit

One of The Badger Project's most significant undertakings has been a public-records lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Justice, filed in partnership with the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based investigative journalism nonprofit. In November 2023, the two organizations requested from the DOJ a list of all certified law enforcement officers in the state of Wisconsin — names and employment histories that most other states routinely release. After the department partially denied the request, the organizations sued in Dane County Circuit Court seeking a court order under Wisconsin's open records statute. In an April 28, 2026 decision and order on cross-motions for summary judgment, the court ruled in favor of the news organizations, directing the DOJ to release the statewide list of officers. The litigation was supported by grants from the National Freedom of Information Coalition, funded through the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Society of Professional Journalists' Legal Defense Fund, and argued by attorneys including the director of the University of Illinois College of Law's First Amendment Clinic. The case exemplifies The Badger Project's broader strategy: using open-records litigation as a reporting tool to pry loose government data that officials would prefer to keep sealed.

Distribution Model: Free Reporting for Newsrooms

A distinctive feature of The Badger Project is that it gives away most of its work for free to newspapers and other news organizations. This distribution approach is designed to maximize civic impact: instead of locking investigations behind a paywall or reserving them for a single audience, the outlet allows other publications to republish its stories, extending the reach of each investigation into communities across Wisconsin. The model reflects both idealism and pragmatism. Idealism, in that the founders view accountability reporting as a public good that should be widely available; pragmatism, in that Wisconsin's shrunken newsrooms often lack the staffing to produce their own deep investigations, and free, high-quality content fills a real need. This collaborative posture has helped The Badger Project build relationships with legacy newspapers and digital outlets statewide, multiplying the audience for its work without the expense of building a mass-market brand.

Nonprofit Structure and Funding

The Badger Project is organized as a nonprofit and describes itself as citizen-supported. Its LinkedIn profile lists it as a nonprofit in the internet news industry, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, with a company size of two to ten employees. Funding comes from individual donors who give recurring or one-time contributions, and the outlet actively solicits reader support on its website with the message that donations directly fund investigations of the powerful. The organization's nonprofit status aligns it with a broader national movement of nonprofit newsrooms that have emerged to offset the collapse of the for-profit local news business model. Because it does not rely on advertising or subscription revenue, The Badger Project can publish its work free of charge and keep its editorial focus squarely on accountability journalism rather than traffic-driven content.

Campaign Finance and Political Money Reporting

Following the money in Wisconsin politics is a signature strength of The Badger Project. Its reporters track campaign donations, independent expenditures, and the networks of wealthy donors who shape elections in the state. Coverage has examined how Republican megadonors have vastly outspent their Democratic counterparts in recent cycles, how specific donors route contributions through legal loopholes, and how both parties' fundraising operations function in practice. The outlet publishes donor lists and analyses of max-out contributions, naming the CEOs, federal officials, and philanthropists behind the money. In a state known for some of the most expensive and closely contested elections in the country — from gubernatorial races to Wisconsin Supreme Court contests — this kind of granular campaign-finance reporting serves readers who want to know not just who is running, but who is paying for the campaigns.

Editorial Standards and Nonpartisanship

The Badger Project describes itself as nonpartisan, and its investigations have targeted officials and institutions regardless of party affiliation. Its reporting has examined Democratic fundraising dominance in some cycles and Republican megadonor spending in others; it has covered controversies in sheriff's departments and county governments across the state. The outlet's credibility rests on this even-handed posture: in Wisconsin's sharply polarized political environment, a watchdog that investigates both sides is better positioned to be taken seriously by readers, partner newsrooms, and the courts. Its use of primary documents — court filings, campaign finance reports, open-records responses — published alongside stories gives readers the ability to check the outlet's work for themselves, a transparency practice that reinforces its accountability mission.

Website and Reader Experience

The Badger Project publishes at thebadgerproject.org, where its homepage leads with the latest investigations and a running feed of recent stories. The site presents stories in a straightforward blog-style layout, with headlines, publication dates, and donation appeals integrated into the reading experience. Court documents and other primary-source materials are frequently embedded or linked within stories, allowing readers to examine the underlying evidence. The outlet maintains an active presence on social media platforms, where it promotes new investigations and shares data such as donor lists. Contact information, including an office address at 202 State Street in Madison and a published phone number, reflects the outlet's commitment to being reachable and accountable to the public it serves.

Role in Wisconsin's Media Ecosystem

In a state where local newspapers have been hollowed out by ownership changes and budget cuts, The Badger Project occupies an important niche: the dedicated state-government watchdog. Larger outlets such as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Wisconsin State Journal still cover the Capitol, but The Badger Project adds capacity — and a willingness to litigate for records — that complements their work. Its free-distribution model means its investigations can appear in smaller papers that could never afford to produce them independently. Civic Media, a Wisconsin radio network, has partnered with or covered the outlet's work, including reporting on the police-records lawsuit. As debates over government transparency, campaign finance, and law enforcement accountability continue to dominate Wisconsin politics, The Badger Project's blend of investigative reporting, open-records litigation, and nonprofit sustainability offers one model for how local accountability journalism can survive the collapse of the traditional newspaper business. Its official website is https://www.thebadgerproject.org.