Twenty-five Gannett Wisconsin Media journalists signed a petition to recall Wisconsin governor Scott Walker (R), leading one publication—the Green Bay Press Gazette, where seven petitioners work—to issue a full disclosure and apology to its readers.
The Green Bay Press Gazette writes:
In the interest of full transparency, we are informing readers today that 25 Gannett Wisconsin Media journalists, including seven at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, signed the recall petition. It was wrong, and those who signed the petition were in breach of Gannett's principles of ethical conduct.
It is little consolation to us that none of the editorial employees who signed a petition has any involvement in our news or political coverage or decides how those stories are developed and presented. None of the employees serve on the investigative team. Had they been directly involved, we would identify them.
But the fact that any of Gannett Wisconsin Media's 223 news employees did sign the petition is disheartening. It has caused us to examine how this could have happened, how we will address it and how we will prevent it from happening again. Most important is informing our readers and being as open as possible.
