2024: The Year in Recombobulation
Our annual look back at the year that was.
The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.
What a year.
There’s never been a year quite like 2024, perhaps there will never be another year quite like 2024.
It’s been a year of change, of inspiration, of soaring highs, of crushing lows, of realignment, of reckoning — and yes, of recombobulation.
This was a remarkable year in so many ways, and here at The Recombobulation Area, we had a front row seat for a whole lot of it.
Before we take our annual look back at the year that was, I want to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to those of you who have supported and who continue to support this publication. We’ve produced more newsletters every year of our existence — nearly 140 newsletters sent this year! And it’s been you who has helped build and grow The Recombobulation Area in ways we could not have conceived of when we launched this project five years ago. So, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Here’s a 30% off sale as a small token of our appreciation. It will run through the end of the year.
OK, let’s recombobulate on 2024.
The 2024 campaign
This year in the political universe was obviously highlighted by the 2024 election. Covering the election here in the most closely contested swing state in the nation was quite the experience. I attended and covered both the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (and was on the floor for speeches by JD Vance, Donald Trump, Tim Walz, and Kamala Harris), was at Kamala Harris’ first rally as presumptive nominee in West Allis, was at one of Joe Biden’s last rallies as a candidate, and was part of Election Night coverage and on a myriad of special broadcasts during campaign season as part of the Civic Media network.
Take a look at a few highlights from that coverage here.
First, let’s take a look back at coverage of one of Joe Biden’s last campaign rallies, and Kamala Harris’ first campaign rally.
I also covered two of Kamala Harris’ speeches in one week — one in Milwaukee and one in Chicago during the DNC. See our take on those speeches and rallies here.
And here are a few of our Civic Media special broadcasts throughout the campaign season.
Here’s more of our post-election reactions.
While these stories and broadcasts were obviously a big part of what we did to cover this campaign, our most-read story of that stretch was an 8,000-word feature story about the Fox Valley and Green Bay.
Covering the RNC in MKE
Being at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee was quite the experience. And at The Recombobulation Area, we provided local, on-the-ground reporting about the convention like no other media outlet. Our special report on “underwhelming” activity for events venues and restaurants during the convention made national news, and wound up being our most-read story of the year.
That reporting proved to be ahead of the curve, as the rest of the media landscape covered the lackluster local impact as it played out in real time during the RNC.
Here was our in-depth report from after the convention.
Along with this reporting, we provided daily updates, perspectives and more throughout the convention.
Here is the recap of all of our coverage from the week.
Among the moments that will stick with me most from the experience happened on two very different trips home from the RNC, on Monday and Tuesday nights. One ended with a wonderful conversation, the other ended in a funeral. I wrote about those experiences in a column here.
From new maps to the most competitive state legislative elections in a generation
One ongoing story we’ve covered extensively here at The Recombobulation Area has been the fight for fair maps in Wisconsin. Late last year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down these maps, setting up a fraught process on a tight timeline to deliver new maps for the 2024 election.
Then, with those maps in place, it set the stage for the most competitive state legislative election since The Gerrymander was adopted before the 2012 election.
We’ll take a look at a few highlights here, chronologically, as this saga unfolded from the first weeks of the year through the election and beyond.
I will say that one of the columns I’m most proud of this year is the one I wrote about why Tony Evers should sign the maps passed by the legislature.
And yes, we again previewed every last race on the ballot in the Wisconsin State Legislature, this time with some help from our friends at Civic Media.
More elections!
It wasn’t just the fall election that we covered here at The Recombobulation Area, it was the Spring Election and the August Primary, too. You can find our coverage of some of the big issues in those elections, here:
Interviewing Tammy Baldwin
One of the biggest interviews I conducted this year was with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin. Revisit this one here. There’s a lot more to it than what ended up in campaign ads.
Live events!
This year, we hosted a live podcast before the RNC descended upon Milwaukee, and I also joined Charlie Berens for a live episode of the “Cripescast.” Find podcasts from both here.
More voices
We also had a whole lot of guest contributions this year!
Thanks to (in reverse chronological order): Jimmie Kaska, Tyler Kelly, Jeff Mandell, Emily Tseffos, Emily Mills, Todd Allbaugh, John D. Johnson, and Francesca Hong.
This year also saw many contributions from regular contributors Angela Lang and Phil Rocco, both of whom this year won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club for their work at the publication.
Lots and lots of radio
I did more radio than ever this year, mostly with my good friends and now-colleagues at Civic Media, but also throughout the year on 620 WTMJ in Milwaukee, WCPT 820 in Chicago, and more. Thanks to Steve Scaffidi, Kristin Brey, and Patti Vasquez for having me on as a regular guest, and to Jane Matenaer, Greg Bach, Todd Allbaugh, Maggie Daun, Pat Kreitlow, Dom Salvia, Earl Ingram, Mark Becker, Chad Holmes, Pete Schwaba, and so many other good folks who’ve had me on their shows on the Civic Media network.
Hey, speaking of which…
Our big move in 2024
The end of 2024 closed a certain chapter for The Recombobulation Area, and began a new one as part of the Civic Media network.
It’s been quite the journey, from starting as a part-time project while I was a stay-at-home-dad, to growing and winning awards, to becoming a full-time job and starting a small business, to that business being acquired and to me being hired by the bold, ambitious media company that is Civic Media.
Thanks to everyone who has been there from the beginning, or to any of you who have joined along the way. We truly appreciate all of your support.
On to 2025!
Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he became the Political Editor of Civic Media. He’s also written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 18 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.
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