August 26th

Notes on various Milwaukee news sources:

On Milwaukee - I noticed that a lot of the articles had to do with drinking, where to find the best drinks and food around Milwaukee, and what's happening entertainment wise around the city. There was little to no news of political or "unhappy" events.​
The article I read was "Adam's new "Green Book" Inspired MAM mural references Milwaukee Sites" by Bobby Tanzilo. Here are some of the notes I took on the article.

• • ​MAM commissioned Derrick Adams to create a 93' mural
  • "our time together" inspired by "Negro Motorist Green Book"
  • will be unveiled Oct. 29
  • will include representations and references to important sites in Milwaukee's African American community. 
  • There were a lot of spelling and grammatical errors in the article, like they had written it quickly and didn't have time to proof read. 

Shepherd Express - There was a broader sense of news with more specific stories about local activities, crimes, and events. There were a lot of articles detailing public concerns. The article I read was "Milwaukeans Protest the Line 3 Pipeline" by Colleen Fischer. In the article, it details that

• several Milwaukeans went to Northern Minnesota to protest the construction on Line 3, a 1,000 mile pipeline bringing crude oil form Edmonton, Alberta to Superior, WI. 
• they were addressing the known integrity flaws and improving efficiency - Enbridge Energy
• the construction includes the laying of over 300 miles of new pipeline, pumping 760,000 gallons of Canadian tar sands oil through North Dakota, Minnesota, and WI per day
• the protesters also see it as a violation to the Anishinaabe tribe's treaty rights
• this will contribute to climate change and a destructive force to Manoomin (wild rice) which is a sacred food
• the movement is described as being welcoming and palpable

Urban Milwaukee - In Urban Milwaukee, there is a pretty good mix of both good and bad news around Milwaukee. It also includes information from all over Wisconsin as well as all over the world, not just Milwaukee. The stories are very opinionated, much more than most news stories. I also noticed that there were a lot of ads all over the website that were kind of distracting. I don't remember seeing all those ads on most other sites. I read "When Will we get Reform of Police?" by Angela Lang,

• this week (August 28th) is the one year anniversary of the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha
• the author refuses to say the name of the 17 year old white supremacist Kyle Rittenhouse in the article
• the author says that black organizers were on edge that week
• on monday, the Black Leaders Organizing for Communitites (BLOC) kenosha organizer Kyle Johnson spoke at the event commemorating the Blake shooting, said "there's victory in defiance"

Milwaukee Magazine - This site was a lot more playful with quizzes about your style, where you should live, different things to do in Milwaukee and other entertainment related stories. There weren't a lot of unhappy stories, instead keeping it lights and un-opinioned. Like On Milwaukee, there are a lot of drinking, eating, and event guides. I read "Tickets are on Sale for Fringe Fest, but What is it?" by Archer Parquette.

• Fringe as in outside the normal political views
• this event dates back to 1947
• it started in Milwaukee in 2016 as a showcase of actors, painters, dancers, and musicians
• William Dafoe (from Lighthouse) donated to Fringe Fest, supporting Milwaukee where he got his start in acting. 
• Though this post was about a political event, I couldn't find anything on what the views were besides "outside the normal political views"

Milwaukee Record - There were lots of categories on this site, including comedy, food and drinks, film, podcasts, sports, arts, etc, that I hadn't seen on other sites. It was very focused on Milwaukee, and not really anywhere else. I read "MKE Sex: OnlyFans, sex work, and big banks as the keepers of morality" by Lucky Tomaszek.

• there are ties between pornography and credit card companies
• based on event hosted Tool Shed with adult performer by Jiz Lee in 2016
• sex workers discriminated against by credit card companies, banks, and other financial institutions

Milwaukee Independent - This site was very political with different vehicles for news (editorials, photojournalism, photo essays, audiocasts, etc.) The focus was on Milwaukee but there was still coverage from all over the world. There were also US articles form other news sites. I read "When Public funded Christian Schools use Rightwing Textbooks to Teach Slavery as just Black Immigration" by The Guardian.

• A recent study found private schools, especially Christian ones, use racially biased textbooks to teach their students, whitewashing history
• the textbooks "actually supports what critical race theory is trying to argue - that is racism is part of the fabric of American life" - Dorinde Carter

Overall, most of these local news sites kept their stories pretty happy, un-opinionated, and simple for people to read and understand. The main topics were drinking, restaurants and bars, and events happening this summer and fall. There was an overabundance of happiness and cheerfulness and a lack of important, relevant news that has an impact on everyone's life, not just the average Milwaukeans social life.