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2026 WBA Awards for Excellence Rulebook available now
Hello Wisconsin Broadcasters, On behalf of your WBA Awards Committee, we hope you have had a great first half of the year, and that you have been saving your potential entries for this year’s contest. You are a part of the largest state broadcaster awards program in the nation, and we can’t wait to see…
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Ambassador program extends to second UW campus
The WBA campus ambassador program is expanding to a second campus after its pilot year at UW-Oshkosh. Two students at UW-Whitewater will serve as WBA ambassadors starting in the fall semester. The ambassador program was launched in 2025 on the UW-Oshkosh campus with two students: Dylan Przybylski and Jacob Link. The students acted as representatives…
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Wisconsin Broadcaster available now
The September/October issue of Wisconsin Broadcaster is now available. Highlights from this issue:
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Shockleys establish Young Broadcasters Development Fund
WBA Hall of Famers Terry and Sandy Shockley are the founding grantors of the newly established Young Broadcasters Development Fund, aimed at inspiring career building in the broadcast industry. “Our mission with this fund is to inspire and motivate young people to pursue a career in broadcasting,” Terry and Sandy Shockey said. “The rewards are…
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Student scholarship competition underway
Do you know a student who could use assistance with educational expenses? The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation offers three $2,500 scholarships and one $1,500 scholarship. Students who meet eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply for these scholarships. The application process is online. It’s available on the WBA website at wi-broadcasters.org/scholarships Students who have completed at…
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Retired 38-year broadcast engineer dies
A broadcast engineer who retired in 2015 after 38 years in the business has died. Steve Paugh was a systems design engineer at Morgan Murphy Media in Madison when he retired. He died Sept. 4. Paugh served in the Air Force until 1974 and worked for Honeywell Defense until his first broadcast engineering job at…
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Golf event pays tribute to Eau Claire broadcaster
A golf event in Eau Claire paid tribute to a well-known broadcaster who died in 2015. Peter Murphy, known to many as “Mr. Lucky,” had a hole-in-one trophy named after him at the United Cerebral Palsy Hole-in-One Million Dollar Shoot Out at Hickory Hills Golf Course held Aug. 23-26. Murphy’s daughter, Leigh, presented the trophy…
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Student scholarship competition underway
Do you know a student who could use assistance with educational expenses? The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation offers two $2,000 scholarships and two $1,000 scholarships. Students who meet eligibility requirements are encouraged to apply for these scholarships. The application process has moved online this year. It’s available here. Students who have completed at least one-half of…
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Workshop aimed at helping journalists understand Middle East
A three-day workshop at the George Washington University’s Institute for Middle East Studies is aimed at helping journalists understand the Middle East. The workshop will take place in Washington DC, Nov. 19-21 in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association. Fellows will attend roundtable discussions led by faculty experts on topics including…
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Madison TV station celebrates ‘Epic’ grand opening
WMTV in Madison celebrated the grand opening of its new facility with a huge party that brought in guests from all over the country. WMTV started broadcasting in the new facility in October 2016 and the final construction and landscaping was completed in late June. The celebration was held Aug. 10. More than 700 guests…
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Storytellers hone their photojournalism skills
Course introduces Rick Jowett Fellowship A two-day photojournalism course in Madison brought together more than 40 visual storytellers who began the event with a remembrance of long-time WBA photographer Rick Jowett. The event introduced the creation of the Rick Jowett Fellowship which will be used to assist aspiring professionals, dedicated career professionals of WBA member…
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WBA staff celebrates anniversaries
Late summer is a time for celebrating anniversaries for the WBA staff. Three staff members marked work anniversaries in July and August. Michelle Vetterkind, President and CEO 22 years on August 28 Linda Baun, Vice President 11 years on July 17 Liz Boyd, NCSA/PEP Coordinator 12 years on July 19 Congratulations and thank you for…
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Officials shouldn’t block social media users
In an age where major public policies are announced and debated through platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the courts are increasingly barring public officials from limiting people’s access to social media. In late July, a Virginia judge ruled that public officials do not have the right to block people who disagree with their views from…
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Eagle River station raises money for VFW
An Eagle River radio station held a summer event to raise money for the VFW/American Legion Post. WRJO’s second annual Pooler Bear Plunge added a 5K run to this year’s event. Thirty-nine plungers jumped into a pool filled with water, two tons of ice, and an inflatable flamingo. The event was hosted by the Eagle…
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Targeting Millennials requires research, strategic thinking
Without question, the most sought-after generation – and the least understood – is Millennials. If you’re a Baby Boomer or a Gen Xer, there are more of “them” than there are of “us.” And yet, professional managers often ascribe qualities and attitudes to Millennials that are simply inaccurate. Simply put, every workplace needs an influx…
