A nonprofit news site in central Wisconsin is raising money to help cover its legal fees after being sued by a politician.
Earlier this year, a Marathon County judge dismissed a lawsuit filed in 2021 by Mosinee businessman CoryTomczyk.
Tomczyk, who’s now a Republican state senator representing the 29th District, accused the Wausau Pilot & Review of defamation after it reported that he was overheard using an anti-gay slur against a teenager while in the audience at a Marathon County Executive Committee meeting.
Despite the publication’s victory in circuit court, Pilot & Review Publisher Shereen Siewert said it’s racked up between $150,000 and $200,000 in legal bills. Those expenses were enough to put the small news outlet in danger of shutting down, Siewert said.
“When the judge dismissed the (complaint), his reasoning that was outlined in his ruling was very clear,” said Siewert, “It was very sound reasoning, and we were so relieved. But then we realized that even if we win, we lose.”
Siewert also is employed by Wisconsin Public Radio as part-time host of the regional news and culture talk show, Route 51. WPR staff members who interact regularly with Siewert were not involved with the reporting or editing of this article.