David Armiak is the research director at the Madison, Wisc.-based Center for Media and Democracy. The auditor general’s office giving a blanket statement that it does zero live interviews with the media is “shocking,” said Armiak. He added that he can’t think of “any examples in any other states where [a taxpayer-paid office] would” say they refuse all interviews with the media.
“It’s outrageous,” Armiak said. “If they’re getting paid by the public, it makes no sense to me why they wouldn’t [engage with the media]. It raises questions of accountability and transparency and what their motivations may be.”