Author: cdukehart
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Visual Management: Racial backlash grips Kiel, Wisconsin
In 2022 I was the photo editor for a three-part series exploring the roots of racial and gender-related backlash that gripped the small town of Kiel, Wisconsin, which led the community to rally around an embattled superintendent and to the resignation of two extremist school board members. Reported by Mario Koran, with photographs by freelancer…
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Visual Management: ‘Something has to be done’
In 2022 I worked with Wisconsin Watch photo intern Isaac Wasserman to visually direct the story Something has to be done’: Living along Madison’s Starkweather Creek, one of Wisconsin’s most polluted waterways. In 2019, Starkweather Creek contained higher levels of PFOA and PFOS — two more scrutinized types of PFAS — than any other waters…
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Project Management: Open and Shut podcast
I was the digital project manager for the award-winning collaborative podcast “Open and Shut” – produced by Wisconsin Watch and Wisconsin Public Radio. Open and Shut is a seven-part investigative series that took more than three years to make. My role included project managing the web presence, text, photos, documents and deadlines across two news…
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Writing: How photographer Brett Kosmider documents Door County, Wisconsin’s fragile, changing landscape
‘Preserving these places is paramount’: How photographer Brett Kosmider documents Door County, Wisconsin’s fragile, changing landscape I interviewed photographer Brett Kosmider about his work documenting the changing landscape of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula, and the threats it faces due to climate change. More of my reporting and photography for Wisconsin Watch can be seen here.
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Multimedia: Imperiled Shores
Wisconsin’s Great Lakes communities expect to spend $245 million in five years to protect shorelines as a climate ‘tug of war’ drives extreme shifts in water levels. Wisconsin Watch reporter Mario Koran explains the impact this has on lakeshore communities in this multimedia slideshow I produced for a live event held in Door County, Wisconsin.…
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Reporting: Cow manure predicted to cause most sickness from contaminated wells in Kewaunee County
Cow manure predicted to cause most sickness from contaminated wells in Kewaunee County In 2021 I wrote a follow-up story to my coverage of manure contaminated wells in Wisconsin’s Kewaunee County, which explained how a new federal study predicted the incidence of gastrointestinal illness in private drinking wells — identifying manure as the main cause…
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Project Management: Newspack CMS implementation
On Feb. 18, 2020, Wisconsin Watch launched a new WordPress implementation and content management system for our website, wisconsinwatch.org. I was the project manager for the migration, liaising with the business team, tech leads and designers from the new CMS provider, Newspack by Automattic, as well as working with our internal stakeholders on design and…
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Photography: How Wisconsinites reacted to news of Joe Biden’s presidential victory
Wisconsinites gathered on Nov. 7, 2020 to both celebrate or protest former Vice President Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Myself and Wisconsin Watch photographers Will Cioci and Anya van Wagtendonk captured scenes in Madison and Milwaukee in the hours after media organizations called the race. More of my…
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Project Management: Outbreak Wisconsin
Outbreak Wisconsin, is a collaborative project by Wisconsin Watch and WPR, that is following Wisconsin residents as they navigate life during the coronavirus pandemic. The residents contribute diary entries, in the form of audio, video and photos of themselves, their families and personal and professional lives. That content is supplemented by interviews and digital content…
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Through the photographer’s eye: A journey from countryside to cityscape during Wisconsin’s pandemic election
I wrote the essay below and published an accompanying picture story about my experience photographing in Wisconsin during their historic spring primary on April 7, 2020. In addition, I recorded this first-person audio journal for the podcast “Inside Stories” about my experience covering the election during the pandemic. On Tuesday, April 7, I woke…