Milwaukee

Christina Palladino is the newest addition to WISN, the ABC-affiliate in Milwaukee.

“She’s an aggressive reporter who likes to dig for good stories,” WISN news director Lori Waldon said in a statement. “And she loves politics. Christina is a great addition to our very strong group of reporters.”

Palladino begins today as a weekday general assignment reporter for the evening newscasts. She was previously an anchor and reporter at WOI, the ABC-affiliate in Des Moines. Read more

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News employees from at least three Milwaukee stations signed petitions to recall Scott Walker, Wisconsin’s controversial Republican governor.

WISN and WITI confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that some of their employees signed the recall petitions.

WISN and WITI came forward after WTMJ reported during its Tuesday evening newscasts that several of its employees, including one on-air figure, signed the petitions.

“Station management wants you to know they consider this a serious issue,” WTMJ anchor Mike Jacobs told viewers on Tuesday.  “The station is in the process of dealing with it internally.” Read more

With 42 delegates on the line in today’s Republican presidential primary in Wisconsin, Milwaukee ABC-affiliate WISN is set to air an election special at 9:00 p.m., placing it in a rare head-to-head local news match-up with Fox station WITI during the time slot.

WISN’s one-hour special makes good on Hearst’s pledge to have an elevated commitment to political coverage at its stations leading up to the presidential election later this year.

Kathy Mykleby, who anchors WISN’s 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, will be at the anchor desk for the “Commitment 2012″ special along with correspondent Joyce Garbaciak and Mike Gousha, the host of WISN’s Sunday morning news show “UPFRONT.”  Craig McKee, Mykleby’s regular 10 p.m. co-anchor, will be reporting from the field. Read more

Craig McKee is the newest addition to WISN, the ABC-affiliate in Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.

McKee will co-anchor the 10 p.m. newscast with Kathy Mykleby beginning in early April. He will begin reporting for the station on March 26.

He joins WISN from KFMB, the CBS-affiliate in San Diego, where he was a weekend anchor. He has previously worked at WOWK in Huntington and KPNX in Phoenix.

The 10 p.m. anchor spot has been open since July, according to the Business Journal. Co-anchor Toya Washington switched to part time to spend more time with her family. She continues to anchor the 5 p.m. newscast and will be paired with Jason Newton beginning later this month.

Chris Ford has been named assistant news director at WTSP, the ABC-affiliate in Tampa, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Ford joins the station from WTMJ, the NBC-affiliate in Milwaukee, where he has been assistant news director since 2007. Ford began his career at WTSP and worked later for WTVT, the Tampa Fox O&O.

Before joining WTMJ, Ford worked at CLTV, the 24-hour cable network in Chicago. The Journal Sentinel reports Ford is a Tampa native with family in the area.

Michael Schlesinger is the newest member of the weather team at WDJT, the CBS-affiliate in Milwaukee.

Schlesinger joins WDJT from WNWO, the NBC-affiliate in Toledo, where he was an environmental reporter and meteorologist, TVNewsCheck reports. His first day on the air was February 4.

Previously, he was chief meteorologist at both WEVV in Evansville and WSYM in Lansing. Schlesinger will be WDJT’s weekend meteorologist.

WITI has tapped John LaPorte to lead its newsroom.  The Milwaukee Fox-affiliate announced today that LaPorte, the station’s news content manager, has been named vice president of news.

He replaces Jim Lemon, who left the station in December after six years as its news director.

Before joining WITI in 2010, LaPorte served as news director at WEAU in Eau Claire, WI.  He also spent several years at Milwaukee NBC-affiliate WTMJ, working as an executive producer and eventually serving for a year as the station’s news director.

“John has many years invested in the news business and the Milwaukee market,” WITI president and general manager Chuck Steinmetz said, in announcing LaPorte’s promotion, “and over the past several weeks I had the opportunity to see just how competitive and compassionate he is about this newsroom and his craft.”

Michael McCormick, a former president of Milwaukee NBC-affiliate WTMJ, died this week at his home in Winston-Salem. He was 82.

McCormick was hired in 1972 to oversee operations at the station, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He was named president of WTMJ and senior vice president of Journal Communications in 1975, a position he held until his retirement in 1987.

McCormick was known as a strong advocate for local news, which he spoke about at his 2008 induction into the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame, the Journal Sentinel reports.

“I believe very strongly in news because that’s how the audiences judge a station — by their news operation, not by some program in prime time,” McCormick said.

 

In switching to high definition over the weekend, Milwaukee CBS-affiliate WDJT cancelled its 10 p.m. newscast on Saturday to allow its engineers time to work on the transition.

At 10 on Saturday, WDJT aired an update featuring anchor Michele McCormack (right), who announced that the station would be running a Best Of special in place of its regular half-hour newscast.

“We are in the finishing stages of getting our news to broadcast in high definition,” McCormack told viewers on Saturday.  “Tonight, our engineers are changing out a lot of equipment in our control room.  Because of that, our news will not be shown tonight.”

WDJT’s 10 p.m. newscast was back on Sunday night.

Todd Hicks is joining WTMJ, the NBC-affiliate in Milwaukee, in early 2012.

Hicks joins the station from WGBA, the NBC-affiliate in Green Bay, where he has been a reporter and weekend anchor for two years. His last day will be January 23. Prior to joining WGBA, he worked at WSAW in Wausau, WI and KSAX in Alexandria.

Hicks will be a general assignment reporter at WTMJ. His first day will be January 23.