A new set of six Milwaukee TV veterans is ready to enter the growing "Silver Circle" of broadcasters who've put 25 memorable years into their business, with the expected headline names leading the list.
And five of the six remain active in TV.
I'm happiest to see long-time Channel 6 news reporter Myra Sanchick joining the exclusive group in a Sept. 10 induction ceremony at the Italian Conference Center.
First off, here's the list of 2011 inductees:
- Retired Channel 6 anchor/reporter John Drilling.
- Channel 12 chief-photographer Cary Edwards.
- Channel 12 political analyst and long-time Channel 4 anchor Mike Gousha.
- Milwaukee Public TV community relations manager Darlyne Haertlein.
- Channel 4 lead weathercaster John Malan.
- And, of course, Sanchick.
All of the inductees are deserving, of course.
But Sanchick's inclusion in the list is a recognition of a dogged traditional reporter. She's really a reporter's reporter, who has weathered the dramatic changes in journalism in general and TV news in particular to keep pumping out news.
Sanchick's not about the flash that obscures much of modern TV news. She's all about news, and she deserves to have her work highlighted.
You can find more information on the Milwaukee Silver Circle and the induction ceremony at the Website of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The Chris and Reince show: MSNBC's Chris Matthews sparred with Wisconsin's own Reince Preibus, during the first appearance by the Republican National Chairman on Matthews' "Hardball."
Here's the video:
On TV: Bravo is re-editing the Sept. 5 premiere of "Real Housewives of Los Angeles" in the wake of the suicide of Russell Armstrong, husband of one of the housewives. But the show isn't being delayed, despite reports to the contrary.
- Eater.com reports that Burger King is getting rid of its creepy "king" commercial character. Finally.
- The Oprah Winfrey Network says it will start "The Rosie (O'Donnell) Show" and "Oprah's Lifeclass" – which re-uses old "Oprah" shows – on Oct. 10.
- TLC says the current season of "LA Ink" is its last one.
A fine promo for Channel 4: Milwaukee's NBC affiliate has launched a slick new promo featuring morning anchors Susan Kim and Vince Vitrano chatting with the folks on the program that follows them, "The Today Show."
Here's the promo:
Tim Cuprisin is the media columnist for OnMilwaukee.com. He's been a journalist for 30 years, starting in 1979 as a police reporter at the old City News Bureau of Chicago, a legendary wire service that's the reputed source of the journalistic maxim "if your mother says she loves you, check it out." He spent a couple years in the mean streets of his native Chicago, and then moved on to the Green Bay Press-Gazette and USA Today, before coming to the Milwaukee Journal in 1986.
A general assignment reporter, Cuprisin traveled Eastern Europe on several projects, starting with a look at Poland after five years of martial law, and a tour of six countries in the region after the Berlin Wall opened and Communism fell. He spent six weeks traversing the lands of the former Yugoslavia in 1994, linking Milwaukee Serbs, Croats and Bosnians with their war-torn homeland.
In the fall of 1994, a lifetime of serious television viewing earned him a daily column in the Milwaukee Journal (and, later the Journal Sentinel) focusing on TV and radio. For 15 years, he has chronicled the changes rocking broadcasting, both nationally and in Milwaukee, an effort he continues at OnMilwaukee.com.
When he's not watching TV, Cuprisin enjoys tending to his vegetable garden in the backyard of his home in Whitefish Bay, cooking and traveling.
