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. Learn more about it here.
In late July, The Recombobulation Area reached a milestone — we turned 5.
Yes, that’s right, it was five years ago, late summer in 2019, that The Recombobulation Area came online. It launched as a weekly opinion column on Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Midwest.
At the time, I was a stay-at-home dad. I was back in Milwaukee after a year working in Seattle, in the hours when my daughter was napping, I wanted to start something new. This would be a part-time effort that would take the place of freelancing, where I could independently return to where I started in journalism — as an opinion columnist. My first time being published in print was at the Advance-Titan, the student newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, as an opinion columnist. After years spent working as a reporter and editor in a variety of different roles, writing with a perspective and writing with a voice was always something I wanted to return to. I also felt like that kind of writing, from a perspective and point of view — with a local, state and regional focus — was missing in the larger media landscape of Milwaukee and Wisconsin. There was a lane for something new to emerge, and I wanted to drive into that lane.
So, backed by a network of supporters and early subscribers, we started small. We built this publication one piece at a time, one subscriber at a time, one column at a time. We learned, we adapted, we grew.
When 2020 happened — and all that came with it — we built meaningful connections with our readers and delivered coverage and commentary that brought us our first Milwaukee Press Club awards. In 2021, we took on our most ambitious project yet, the “Expanding the Divide” series on the proposed expansion and widening of I-94 in Milwaukee, which brought us more acclaim and recognition and shined a light on an important and under-explored issue in Milwaukee. In 2022, I made the decision to go from part-time to full-time in this project, formed an LLC and grew The Recombobulation Area as a small business while covering the midterms, writing for The New York Times, developing partnerships, and more. Along the way, I started doing more and more work in radio.
The year 2023 that brought tremendous growth and success for The Recombobulation Area. Buoyed by our coverage of the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, which was promoted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (still kind of in disbelief over this, honestly), the publication experienced a significant increase in both paid and free subscribers in the early months of the year, and continued throughout coverage of big issues like the high-profile shared revenue and local sales tax legislation, the Brewers stadium deal, state budget, child care funding, and much more. In 2024, we have continued on a positive trajectory, with enterprising coverage of the state’s redistricting battle, state and local elections, and as credentialed media covering the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In that time, we’ve reached new highs for subscribers, and in the first six months of the year, saw a more than 50% traffic increase over the previous year — which came before our biggest months yet in July and August.
We are extraordinarily proud of what we’ve achieved and where we are at The Recombobulation Area. It is time, then, for us to take the next step.
That next step is this: The Recombobulation Area is being acquired by Civic Media, and joining the Civic Media network.
Along with this, I will be joining Civic Media in a brand new role as Political Editor.
For those unfamiliar, Civic Media is a new media company that includes 20 radio stations across Wisconsin, including two stations (WAUK and WRJN) in the Milwaukee area. Its mission is to prioritize local, regional, and state news and commentary both on the radio and online because that is our best opportunity to revitalize our democracy. This will be Civic Media’s first non-radio acquisition since its founding in 2022.
You can read more about this in the official press release here.
Truly, I am thrilled about this new chapter for The Recombobulation Area. I have had a terrific relationship with Civic Media since it launched, as a regular guest on “As Goes Wisconsin” and “Matenaer On Air” and as an occasional co-host on the network, and am so excited about this opportunity to officially join forces with this bold and ambitious media organization.
But first, to you, the readers and subscribers who have made this publication possible, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to you for all of your support over the years. The Recombobulation Area would not exist without you, and you have helped us not only launch a publication and start a new business, but build a real community. From spreading the word about The Recombobulation Area, to personal messages you’ve sent me over the years about why this publication matters, to every last one of those photos at The Recombobulation Area at the airport over on Twitter, we have the absolute best community of readers and listeners and followers and subscribers, and that means the world.
Your experience of reading columns and stories, listening to podcasts, watching videos, here at The Recombobulation Area will remain quite similar to what it has been for the last five years. My weekly opinion column will still be published here. You’ll still see work from our regular contributors like Phil Rocco and Angela Lang. You can expect to see more Civic Media content on The Recombobulation Area and more Recombobulation Area content on Civic Media, but other than that, not much will change.
Your subscriptions will still go toward supporting this publication and its mission to transform political media here from the largest city in the nation’s most closely-contested swing state, and we’ll be continuing to encourage you to subscribe to help support our work.
Our hope is for The Recombobulation Area to continue to grow and thrive as part of the Civic Media network.
Through this agreement, I will continue to lead The Recombobulation Area and manage its editorial operations. But this role also includes more. As the Political Editor, I will be helping shape the voice of Civic Media’s political coverage, both online and on the air. I’ll be working closely with radio hosts and the many other talented individuals throughout the statewide network, and will be charting a course for a bold future together.
To me, this is a best-of-both-worlds situation for this publication. The Recombobulation Area will continue to exist and grow and I will continue to lead it, and we’ll be doing what we do as part of a dynamic, like-minded media company where our collective missions are aligned to bring you pro-democracy, locally-focused journalism covering communities across Wisconsin. As we reach this five-year milestone in our publication’s history, we are now positioned better than ever for what’s next.
So, gather your things, head to your gate, and let’s keep recombobulating — now, as part of Civic Media (!!!). We are tremendously excited about this next chapter and for the future of The Recombobulation Area. We hope you join us for what’s ahead.
Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. He’s also written for The New York Times, 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.
Subscribe to The Recombobulation newsletter here and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @ therecombobulationarea.
Already subscribe? Get a gift subscription for a friend.
Part of a group who might want to subscribe together? Get a group subscription for 30% off!
Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer.
Congratulations Dan. You are one of the best reporters in Wisconsin. When you tackle an issue, you go deep and that is much appreciated.
Big congratulations, Dan!