“The WBA’s refresh of its Hall of Fame promotions introduces and in many cases re-introduces this historic gem and the journalists who made it possible to Milwaukee locals and visitors,” said Lindsey McKee, communications manager for VISIT Milwaukee. “We are so honored to have this remarkable Hall of Fame in the heart of downtown Milwaukee inside the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, and to see more and more broadcasters brilliantly recognized every year for their contributions.”
The Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame was created in 1989 to honor those broadcasters who have devoted their careers to broadcasting and its development in Wisconsin, to recognize their outstanding service to broadcasting, their communities, and their state. There are currently 152 broadcasters in the Hall of Fame. The first twelve members of the Hall of Fame were inducted during the 1989 WBA Summer Conference. Inductees are chosen each year from among nominations by WBA members. Broadcasters who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame include managers, personalities, engineers, reporters and those broadcasting pioneers who were at once all of the above.
In October, 1989, Alfred C. Sykes, then Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, came to Wisconsin to formally dedicate a Hall of Fame display, including plaques honoring the inductees, at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin Library in Madison. In 2010, due to remodeling of the SHSW facility, the display was removed. The Hall of Fame exhibit was relocated to the Hilton Milwaukee City Center in 2015 and enhanced with a touchscreen display featuring all inductee commemorative videos.
All the videos and many other artifacts from Wisconsin broadcasting are available online in the Wisconsin Broadcasting Museum.
The next set of Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized June 23 at the 2022 WBA Summer Conference at the Radisson in La Crosse.
