Madison Commons

The Madison Commons was founded in 2006 to provide news and information from all of Madison's neighborhoods. The name comes from the idea of a village commons, a place for news, talk, debate--and some entertainment, too--that's open to everyone. It is a collaboration between Madison citizens from every part of the city, as well as faculty and graduate students at the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, led by Professor Lew Friedland. 

Currently, we focus on four areas that people have told us are important to their communities, but not covered in enough depth by local media:  food, education, sustainability, and social justice.  At the same time, we’re staying true to our original mission of providing a place for news, talk, and debate that's open to everyone from all of Madison's neighborhoods, as well as letting people know what they can do to make the community a better place to live.

Some of our stories come from graduate and undergraduate student reporters and editors. Others come from citizen reporters or local bloggers. And other information comes from local data that we’ve pulled together because it might be useful or interesting.  If you have a topic that you want us to report on, or just some information to share, let us know!