The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is pleased to have an article chosen as a final entry in the 82nd Annual Milwaukee Press Club Awards [3] (MPC) for Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism. The finalists will be announced at MPC's May 18th Gridiron Awards Dinner at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The article "Group Called 'Citizens for a Strong America' Operates out of a UPS Mail Drop but Runs Expensive Ads in Supreme Court Race?" [4] written by Lisa Graves, CMD's Executive Director, was nominated in the category of Best Investigative Story or Series. The article illustrates how the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity group propagates shell organizations, like "Citizens for a Strong America" to meddle in Wisconsin politics, in this instance in the 2011 race between Joanne Kloppenburg and Justice David Prosser. CMD's work was featured on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow show.

Earlier this year, CMD received the "Izzy Award" for excellence in independent journalism by the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College. CMD was recognized for its ALEC Exposed [5] project. The award is named for the legendary I.F. Stone, the maverick investigative journalist who challenged Joe McCarthy's scare campaign and was the first to question the Gulf of Tonkin hoax. CMD and the Nation Magazine also received the "Sidney" award for excellence in journalism for our joint ALEC Exposed efforts. The "Sidney" is a monthly award by the Sidney Hillman Foundation for independent investigative journalism that fosters social and economic justice. Hillman was the long-time President of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America.