OMC: Not to say another bad about Tyler, Texas, but it sounds like you've made some sacrifices for your career.

SD: It was hard. I had lived in big cities my whole life. I was used to people walking down the street and doing things. Even if you waste a day in Manhattan, it's the best way to waste a day. It was a huge personal sacrifice.

OMC: Were you excited to come back home?

SD: I was very excited to come back home. My family's here, and my mother comes from a very large family.

OMC: You haven't lived in Milwaukee in 10 years. How has the city changed?

SD: It's weird. Things are the same, but things are different. Like the Marquette Interchange, I don't even recognize it. The city is a different place from when I left, but I haven't really had a chance to get a total feel for it.

OMC: Tell me about your job at CBS-58.

SD: I do the "Morning News Express" with Mike Strehlow. It is my first morning news job. I get up at about 1:45 a.m. and I'm here at about 3. It's a busy day, but it flies by. It's kind of nice in a way, since I get off at about 11:30 a.m. When I say it's an hour from sunrise, I feel like Dracula sometimes.

We try to give people the news that they want in as quick of a format as we can. We don't want to waste anybody's time; people are really busy in the morning.

OMC: Compared to some of the other news products in Milwaukee, your station is a little less flashy, more no-nonsense, right?

SD: Especially with the weather, we don't want to keep teasing people. We have a very young and aggressive and great staff. I was impressed with the reporters here. I think they're very solid. Our people may be young, but they're experienced. They bring a lot to the table.

OMC: What's next for Shari Dunn? I know you just started in Milwaukee, but your career has taken you lots of places. I'm assuming this isn't your final destination, right?

SD: I told my news director this, so this is nothing surprising. At some point in my life, I'd love to be Larry King, but not with the suspenders. I'd like to eventually meld together my broadcasting, strong general knowledge and trivia into a format where I can have the opportunity to really blow that out.

OMC: You probably have a way to go before you become the next Larry King, right?

SD: I guess I haven't been anchoring as long as Larry King, but he started before television. That's one of things in this business that's been difficult. I spent two years freelancing and two and a half years in Tyler, so I've been at this almost five years. But there are some big jumpers.

I think what has distinguished me is the background I've brought to the table. I bring additional years of other experience. I understand subject matter when I do a story about Social Security and healthcare. Understanding how to move through certain things, it gives me a certain knowledge base that may add several years to my broadcast years.

The airwaves are littered with lawyers (who became) anchors, one of the more famous ones is Geraldo Rivera. Jerry Springer is a Northwestern Law School alum. They're just everywhere, totally throughout the system.

OMC: What do you do when you're not working?

SD: Currently, I sleep. I hang out with my dog, Princess D. She's a miniature pinscher, but she's really a medium. I like to cook and if I can get some free time, I would like to see more of what Milwaukee is now.