All 199 circuit court judges in Wisconsin were surveyed to explore the relationship between judges and the news media, to determine how judges communicate with the public through the news media, and to examine the influence of individual, organizational, and institutional variables on judges' use of the news media as a link with the public. Results of 148 completed surveys indicated that, in terms of judges' cooperation with the news media, judges' age and experience, time, and work and ethical constraints are important factors, along with the mere presence of local media. In addition, it appeared that accountability most affects judges' use of the media to receive information from the public rather than to send information to the public. One unexplained finding is the positive correlation between cooperativeness and judges' having experienced adverse publicity. One theory is that judges who are victims of bad publicity may be unresponsive when asked for help, but they may volunteer assistance to defend themselves or to keep the flow of information as much as possible on their own terms. (DF)