The Critical Badger was a blog based in Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

 focused on higher education and local and state politics. Created in late 2006, the site had nearly half a million viewers and notability in some parts of the blogosphere. It is primarily known for breaking stories about educational rankings and coverage of public affairs in its home base of Madison and the University of Wisconsin. It was also frequently critical of both student newspapers, The Badger Herald

The Badger Herald

The Badger Herald is a newspaper serving the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. Founded in 1969, it is one of America's first independent daily student newspapers. The paper is published Monday through Friday during the academic year...

 and especially The Daily Cardinal

The Daily Cardinal

The Daily Cardinal is a student newspaper that serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison community. The sixth oldest daily student newspaper in the country, it began publishing on Monday, April 4, 1892...

.

Notability

In 2008 the Critical Badger exposed grade fraud in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The site received critical acclaim from the Milwaukee Press Club

Milwaukee Press Club

The Milwaukee Press Club, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the oldest continuously operating press club in North America. The club comprises journalists and others in the media in the Milwaukee area, as well as journalism educators, public relations and marketing professionals, students, and members of...

and was noted in publications such as the U.S. News and World Report, ABA Law Journal, and the Wisconsin State Journal. The owner of the blog went on hiatus on August 9, 2009.