Cronon

The controversy began when the Wisconsin Republican Party asked the University of Wisconsin for e-mails of William Cronon, a history professor at Madison, whose records, as a state employee, are subject to Wisconsin's open records law.

Brec Cooke: Washington Post, New York Times Fail on FOIA Brec Cooke 2011

Why not engage in a thoughtful discussion about how disclosure laws are designed to protect academics like Professor Cronon, and if such laws truly are not working, then, how to go about fixing them so they work better?

Brec Cooke: Washington Post, New York Times Fail on FOIA Brec Cooke 2011

The Republican request arose in response to an internet posting by Professor Cronon on his personal blog, "Scholar as Citizen," subsequently published as an op-ed piece in the New York Times, criticizing Wisconsin Republicans and the state's Republican Governor, Scott Walker, for their recent assault on the collective bargaining rights of public-employee unions.

Brec Cooke: Washington Post, New York Times Fail on FOIA Brec Cooke 2011

At our request, Professor Cronon immediately undertook a search of all of his accumulated e-mails for the specific words, terms and names as you stated them in your request.

Brec Cooke: Washington Post, New York Times Fail on FOIA Brec Cooke 2011

This originating premise for virtually every open records law in the United States seems, somewhat stunningly, to have escaped both the Washington Post and the New York Times in their criticism of the Wisconsin's Republican Party's refusal to disclose exactly why Republican officials wanted Professor Cronon's e-mails.

Brec Cooke: Washington Post, New York Times Fail on FOIA Brec Cooke 2011

Well in advance of Michael Cronon, Lab126 and the branding of the best-selling Kindle, we Jews have been commanded to kindle the lights of Hanukkah.

Rabbi Barry A. Kenter: Hanukkah: Not Quite The Jewish Christmas Rabbi Barry A. Kenter 2011

In late March, Republicans retaliated against William Cronon, a renowned historian at the University of Wisconsin, demanding copies of all e-mails sent to or from Mr. Cronon's university mail account containing any of a wide range of terms, including the word "Republican".

David Morris: When Unions are Strong, Americans Enjoy the Fruits of Their Labor David Morris 2011

Cronon's sin was in publishing an opinion piece in The Times suggesting that Wisconsin's Governor has turned his back on the state's long tradition of "neighborliness, decency and mutual respect."

David Morris: When Unions are Strong, Americans Enjoy the Fruits of Their Labor David Morris 2011

Professor Cronon is best known for his astonishing book, Nature's Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West, which won the Bancroft Prize for best work of American history that year and was one of three nominees for the Pulitzer Prize in History.

David Morris: When Unions are Strong, Americans Enjoy the Fruits of Their Labor David Morris 2011

Had either bothered to follow up and report on what became of the Wisconsin Republican's request, the papers would have found that the Wisconsin open records law worked pretty well and that Professor Cronon's academic freedom apparently remains intact.

Brec Cooke: Washington Post, New York Times Fail on FOIA Brec Cooke 2011