As much as I enjoy poking fun at it, I still do occasionally watch Milwaukee's local TV news. I bounce around from station to station, though I pretty much -- and for no reason in particular -- skip Channel 58.
Honestly, I don't count on local TV news to keep me in the loop, but if I'm home at 6 p.m., I'll check it out.
Apparently, however, I haven't been paying enough attention lately.
The other day I was surfing around Wikipedia and I stumbled upon the pages of our local stations. Each one listed current and former talent, and I found myself surprised to find that some of these reporters have been off the air in Milwaukee for some time.
For example, did you know that these people are no longer on Milwaukee airwaves?
WTMJ-TV:
- Silvia Acevedo
- Paul Zandt
- David Marcus
- Vivian King
WITI-TV:
- Chris Goodman
- Joanne Williams
- Julie Feldman
- Peter Linton-Smith
Well, that shows what I know. I'm sure the list of reporters who've left Milwaukee, by choice or otherwise, is much longer, but I don't exactly know where to search for that info.
It all seems rather hush-hush, doesn't it? Maybe it's because these reporters went away so quickly, without elaborate "Mike Gousha / Jerry Taff style" farewell tributes. Or maybe these reporters didn't make that much of an impact on me in the first place.
Usually I've got a pretty good eye for detail when it comes to the media. But apparently, it's a revolving door at our local TV stations, and these departures went right over my head.
Use the Talkback feature below to add your own former reporters who disappeared without a trace.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
