“We shine a light on problems and hold feet to the fire.”
Greg Borowski, Executive Editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Greg Borowski, the Executive Editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (JS), used the last Sunday edition of 2024 to write a “thank you” column to readers and subscribers. It was a fairy tale laced with claims that bear no resemblance to the paper presented daily to readers. It is either a delusion or a lie.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is the largest newspaper in Wisconsin. It has not been locally owned since it was acquired by the Gannett USA Today Network in 2016. Combined digital and print circulation has been falling like a stone from a peak in 2012 of 207,000 daily and 338,000 Sunday papers to the current circulation of just over 48,000 daily and 75,000 Sunday papers.
According to Gallup research, most Americans don’t believe what they hear from the mass media. In 1976 when Gallup started measuring trust in the media, 72% of Americans reported having a great deal or fair amount of trust that the media reports the news accurately and fairly. As of October 2024 only 31% expressed that same sentiment. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has done its part to sow mistrust.
Among the many ridiculous claims Borowski made in his column: “We don’t pull punches and we don’t play favorites.” “There is no more thoughtful, determined, optimistic and talented newsroom out there.” (This may be true given the low bar for journalism across the country.) “In a day when everyone can post anything online, we are in the business of verification.” “We want to be a trusted voice, not just a loud one.” And in perhaps the most blatant contradiction of reader experience, “We are building on our newsroom’s long history of investigative journalism…We shine a light on problems and hold feet to the fire.” It apparently escaped Borowski’s notice that there were at least two significant missed opportunities, summarized below, to “shine a light on problems and hold feet to the fire” in the same Sunday edition that carried his column.
No Apparent Penalty for Double Dipping
2024 was an extremely busy year for elections. 44-year-old Bonnie Chang was employed as a key full time staff member in the Madison City Clerk’s office working as voter outreach coordinator and in-person absentee voting coordinator. In February she was hired by the City of Milwaukee and quickly promoted to Deputy Director of the Election Commission. She continued to be paid full time from both cities until August 28, when she went on an unpaid leave from her Madison position but retained her employment status. While holding both full time positions, she claimed her residency was in Madison for voting purposes and claimed her residency was in Milwaukee at the same time which made her eligible for the $3,500 residency incentive which is paid by Milwaukee. On November 25, Chang resigned from her Milwaukee position and was welcomed back to her Madison position. With Chang’s defrauding of the taxpayers of Milwaukee and Madison fully exposed, her supervisors in both cities “expressed confidence in Chang’s work.” Milwaukee’s Director of the Department of Employee Relations did say he was “not sure that folks were aware that Bonnie was working full-time in both places.” But he also said, “while not advisable, there’s nothing policy-wise that would prevent her from having both jobs.” Seriously?
In 2024 Milwaukee Had the Highest Voter Turnout of the 50 Largest Cities
According to a study released by the University of California – San Diego, Milwaukee had the highest voter turnout of the 50 largest cities in the country for the 2024 presidential election. More than 85% of registered voters cast a ballot in Milwaukee as compared to less than 70% in the country’s 4 largest cities. Milwaukee County turnout was higher still at 89%. The combined city and county turnout was more than 20 points higher than national turnout. Nationwide about 63% of eligible voters voted, down from 66% in 2020. The presidential election turnout in Milwaukee was oddly the opposite of the turnout in the most recent mayoral election. Milwaukee’s turnout in the April mayoral election was only 29%, far below the 37% average turnout for similar elections in the 50 largest cities.
Adding to the stench of this “result” is what happened in the 2 weeks of early voting prior to the November 5 election. Democratic officials from the national to the local level singled out very low voter turnout in Milwaukee as a key source of concern for the Kamala Harris campaign. Wisconsin voters are now asked to believe there was legitimate massive same day registration in Milwaukee and an election day surge of in person voting. Wisconsin voters succeeded in making the election “too big to rig” in the election of Donald Trump and it is inconceivable that Tammy Baldwin defeated Eric Hovde in the Senate race without cheating. The flaws in Wisconsin’s election system have been well documented, making it highly vulnerable to cheating. The elections are unverifiable, making it impossible to validate that every vote was cast by an eligible voter. With Bonnie Chang and the bureaucrats who make a Chang double dip possible in full view, we know that not only is the system itself flawed, but it has been deeply infiltrated by dishonest people who administer it.
When What You Are Doing Is Different than What You Are Saying, No One Is Listening
Greg Borowski did his best to fabricate a story about journalistic integrity but he has a problem. When what you are doing is different than what you are saying, no one is listening. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel rarely “reports” any “news” about Donald Trump without including a heavy dose of editorial commentary. Yet they had nothing to say about the fraud perpetrated on the citizens of two Wisconsin cities by Bonnie Chang, and even more heinously, by the multiple officials who knew and covered for her. Those who manage the JS have not only ignored the problems with Wisconsin’s election integrity, but they have also used the power of the pen to try to convince the citizens there’s nothing to see here. They have shown no investigative curiosity about the remarkable last-minute turnout in Milwaukee’s presidential election.
The dishonesty of the American media, on display every day in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is the greatest threat to our freedom. Journalistic integrity and real investigative reporting are essential to the Republic, rooting out the corruption that inevitably follows money and power. Until American journalists find their way back to serving as the watchdogs of truth our founders intended, we are left to rely on our own good judgment, listen to our gut, and continue to raise our voices loudly and clearly while following the truth wherever it leads.
