While always a serious presence on-air, Ed Hinshaw never failed to make people laugh off the camera. "He was thoughtful and serious about the responsibilities that go with journalism," said Mike Gousha, a former WTMJ anchor. "But the thing I loved and will miss most about him is his wonderful sense of humor." During 37 years at WTMJ-TV (Channel 4), he served as an anchor, reporter, assignment editor, producer, editorial director, director and manager of public affairs at WTMJ and vice president of human resources for Journal Broadcast Group. Hinshaw was born in Aurora, Ill., in 1940 and began his broadcast career as a freshman in high school at KXRA-AM in Minnesota in 1955. After graduating from Edina High School in Minnesota, he attended Harvard College, where he worked at WHRB, the Harvard radio station. After stints in Minnesota and Washington, D.C., Hinshaw moved to Milwaukee and joined WTMJ as a reporter in 1965. Hinshaw was known as the "white-haired statesman with a big voice and big presence," which made him the best choice to deliver the station's on-air editorials, said retired anchor and reporter Mike Jacobs, another former colleague of Hinshaw. While now a thing of the past, editorials were once as common as weather forecasts on television, and Hinshaw was instrumental in raising the popularity of television editorial commentary. But Hinshaw will not only be remembered for his commentary. His role as "Coach Ed" on the Reitman and Mueller radio show on WKTI in the '80s and '90s was also a classic. As "Coach Ed," Hinshaw would read lyrics to pop songs like "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson in his booming voice. Wearing a hat and sunglasses, he looked like a member of The Blues Brothers, said Jacobs. "It was his alter-ego," Gousha said. Over the years, Hinshaw was a board member of the National First Amendment Congress, chairman of Milwaukee Urban League board and the Milwaukee Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and was a member of the National Broadcast Editorial Association. A past president of the Milwaukee Press Club, Hinshaw received numerous awards, including the National Broadcast Editorial Association's 1990 National Award for Excellence in Editorials and the Society of Professional Journalists' National Award for Distinguished Service. He was also a member of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Hall of Fame and Milwaukee Press Club Hall of Fame. In 2010, Hinshaw was honored with a "Silver Circle Award" from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for his lifetime achievements in broadcasting. Hinshaw helped lead the effort to bring cameras into Wisconsin courtrooms, for which he received the 1994 Freedom of Information Award from the Milwaukee Chapter of Professional Journalists. "He reinforced beliefs that I held as a journalist that we have to be fair and look for multiple sides of a story because they're not just all black and white," Jacobs said. "Often there's a lot of gray area in between." Off camera, Hinshaw was passionate about giving back and public service. He served on the Milwaukee Center for Independence governance committee, on the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation. "He wasn't just a figure on TV, he was invested in the community," Jacobs said. Hinshaw passed away in 2016.

From Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel