By Steve Kabelowsky Contributing Columnist Published Sep 18, 2013 at 3:17 PM

Sometimes the timing is right for a transition.

Portia Young, a former anchor and reporter at WISN-TV Ch. 12, served a prime example when she announced last week that she’s leaving the broadcast industry to become the new public relations manager in communications at Sargento.

The family-owned food company in Plymouth is best known for being, "a leading manufacturer, packager and marketer of natural shredded, sliced and snack cheeses, cheese appetizers, ingredients, sauces and other culinary solutions."

"It’s a great family-owned place. They have good people that treated me like family," Young said in a phone interview last week.

Sargento did more than $1 billion in sales last year and is looking to raise greater awareness online and through social media, at which Young is pretty adept.

"We are excited to have Portia on board and are confident in her ability to expand the Sargento presence in our community," said Louie Gentine, president and chief customer officer at Sargento. "With her deep-rooted community ties, media expertise and engaging personality, Portia will be a great addition to the Sargento family."

Early in September, the weekday and, more recently, weekend morning anchor announced her departure on the air. A few days before, she posted on Facebook that after a decade at WISN, she was moving on.

"I'm happy and that means you should be too," she wrote.

When we talked, she said that since the birth of her daughter, Tatum, she started thinking about making a change.

"When you work in the business, it means working different hours, weekends and holidays … you know that going in, and it’s the choice you make," Young said.

With two decades in media, I totally understand about the hours. Family members and friends not in the business don’t understand why you don’t make many family functions. And for Young, she was thinking about family Christmases and other holidays. With her early-morning shift, she was in the newsroom by 2 a.m. most mornings.

With the newly-made position at Sargento, Young will be able to stay here, among her fellow Packers fans.

"Working in Janesville before, I’ve been in Wisconsin most of my adult life," she said. "With this, I’ll be able to stay in the community."

TV KNOWLEDGE: If you are a huge, or even a passing, fan of "Breaking Bad" on AMC, then you may want to check out "The Breaking Bad Quiz" presented by Quizmaster Trivia at 6 p.m. on Sept. 29 at the Three Lions Pub on Oakland Avenue.

After the quiz, viewers are invited to stick around to watch the series finale.

"We’ve had many requests from our regular players to host specially-themed quiz nights, and ‘Breaking Bad’ was right at the top of the list," said Ryan Wickens, Quizmaster founder and chief question-creator.

"The show has been such a huge success and we hope this event will follow in its footsteps and raise some money for charity in the process."

The "Breaking Bad" quiz will be the first in a number of charity events hosted by Quizmaster. You can find out more online here.

FROM POLITICS TO HOST: Meghan McCain, who gained time in the spotlight when her dad Sen. John McCain ran for president, will host a new television show.

"Raising McCain" will air Saturdays at 9 p.m. on the new cable channel Pivot TV. The host plans to cover issues like technology, feminism, online privacy and dating.

"I was so naive in the beginning when I worked on my dad's campaign and I thought everyone would love me," McCain told Reuters.

"Little did I know that if you're a woman in America and you state your opinion, that you will be probably eviscerated in one way or another, and I think just to be a woman in the media is to be controversial."

McCain said that she grew up watching MTV, but is upset that there are few programs that cover the issues that young people face.

"I was such a child of MTV News and MTV. ... I saw Tabitha Soren interviewing my dad and so many other interesting politicians, and MTV did debates," McCain said. "MTV, they didn't even have a presence in the last election cycle and that breaks my heart."

Steve Kabelowsky Contributing Columnist

Media is bombarding us everywhere.

Instead of sheltering his brain from the onslaught, Steve embraces the news stories, entertainment, billboards, blogs, talk shows and everything in between.

The former writer, editor and producer in TV, radio, Web and newspapers, will be talking about what media does in our community and how it shapes who we are and what we do.