Wisconsin
Honorees
2011
John Drilling
John broke into broadcasting at radio station KGPC in Grafton, North Dakota, in 1958. After 10 months of broadcast “basic training” he moved up to KWWL Radio and TV, Waterloo, Iowa. In the fall of 1963, a new station in Moline, Illinois – one of the Quad Cities – offered fresh opportunities. The station was WQAD and John did a bit of everything. He then joined Rockford station WCEE-TV and did reporting and co-anchored their nightly news. He was then hired at WISN-TV and then moved to WITI-TV. The next three decades, John did it all. He reported on the civil rights marches, Vietnam, and Jeffrey Dahmer, and basically anchored or co-anchored every daily and weekend newscast including 23 years on the TV6 News at Noon. He won a number of Milwaukee Press Club Awards and was included in the Milwaukee Press Club Hall of Fame upon his retirement in 1998.
Cary Edwards
Cary Edwards’ media interest began as a teen when he was introduced to the art of cinematography at the Milwaukee Inner City Film Workshop in 1969. When he was a young man, the Kodak Teenage Film Awards acknowledged his films. Over the next forty-plus years, he dedicated his life to film and television. Voted “Most Likely to Succeed” at West Division High School, he then studied at UW-Madison and Milwaukee Area Technical College, graduating in 1976. In 1973, he joined WTMJ as a production assistant for Black Scene. A year later, he was hired as a photojournalist at WISN. In 1979, Cary joined WBZ-TV Boston as a videographer. He returned to Milwaukee in 1980. In 2001, Cary became the first African-American Chief Photographer at WISN and in the state of Wisconsin. His stories have received numerous awards including honors from the National Association of Black Journalists and a Peabody Award.
Mike Gousha
An Emmy® Award-winning broadcast journalist with a career of over 30 years in Wisconsin, he began his career while still in college in Madison at the Capitol News Bureau in 1977-78 and in 1978 at WIBA radio. After his graduation from UW-Madison in 1978, he joined the news staff at WSAU-TV, Wausau where he served three years. In 1981, he began a 25-year career as a reporter/anchor at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee. During that time he also served as lead anchor of the popular interview program “Sunday Night” for 17 years. During his time at WTMJ-TV news, he covered a wide array of local, national and international stories, including producing an award-winning series from El Salvador and Nicaragua on the flight of refugees to Milwaukee. He has been honored with two Emmy® Awards and has been recognized by the Wisconsin Associated Press with the prestigious Carol Brewer Award for outstanding long-term contributions to broadcast journalism. In 2007, he became a Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy at Marquette University, where he organizes and coordinates forums and conferences which address important public policy issues. He continues to work as a contributing anchor and reporter for WISN-TV, Milwaukee.
Darlyne Haertlein
Darlyne is the Community Relations Manager for Milwaukee Public TV and has focused most of her career on the needs of children and families. An experienced classroom teacher, Darlyne created and hosted a popular WITI-TV‘s children’s show in the 1970s, You and I. In 1993, Darlyne began coordinating MPTV’s “Ready to Learn” service, producing and hosting “Little Lessons” to teach children basic skills and prepare them for school. For over 17 years, she coordinated the Reading Rainbow Young Writers & Illustrators Awards, and then a PBS Kids Go! Writers’ Contest, helping establish successful writing clubs in schools. She also produced MPTV’s Kids in the Kitchen, short cooking lessons between programs to help children learn about healthy nutritional choices. Among her awards, she has received a regional Emmy® Award, a NY Festival Bronze World Medal, a National Council of Teachers of English Literacy Award, an AWRT Gracie Award, and many others. She earned her B.S. in Education and a M.S. in communication from the UW-Milwaukee.
John Malan
Malan began his weather forecasting career in the Milwaukee area in 1980 and joined TMJ4 in 1994, where he would stay for over the next two decades. Before his time as a weatherman, however, Malan pursued a career in baseball, playing for a Pittsburgh Pirates farm team before being drafted to the Vietnam War in 1968. While serving in the 11th Armored Cavalry, he suffered a shrapnel injury and earned a Purple Heart.
"There are different degrees of Purple Heart and mine was a smaller one, compared to some of the other people who served," Malan said.
Returning home, Malan finished school, received his master's degree and became a part-time teacher before happening upon a part-time weather producer job at a Chicago area television station. He would stay on that career path, spending 36 years working in the Milwaukee area and becoming a household face for many local viewers. Malan retired in 2017 from WTMJ.
“I am so grateful to our viewers for their loyalty and support over the years," Malan said in a press release. "I’ve had a career doing what I love. Now it’s time to spend more time with my family and pass the baton to the talented team of meteorologists we have on Storm Team 4."
"John Malan has been a powerful presence on TV and in our community for decades," said Joe Poss, TMJ4 vice president and general manager. "His dedication to keeping our viewers safe and informed has been impressive to watch. He may be leaving the building, but his influence will stay with us for years to come."
By Matt Mueller, OnMilwaukee.com
Myra Sanchik
By Molly Snyder, OnMilwaukee.com After 35 years working as a news reporter for WITI-TV, Myra Sanchick is moving on. Sanchick, however, is not retiring. Instead, she is redirecting her energy to new, yet-to-be-determined ventures. "I’m not scaling back. I’m amping it up. I want to do something more," says Sanchick. Sanchick says she never planned on leaving FOX6, but recently, she felt a pull to contribute to Milwaukee in new ways. The hard part for Sanchick is that she won’t see her coworkers on a daily basis, many of whom she considers family. "I really love the people and the work so much that I didn't think about leaving for 35 years," says Sanchick. "And then, all of a sudden I was like, ‘You know, I wouldn't mind trying something new.’" Sanchick grew up in the Sherman Park neighborhood and Glendale. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in journalism and mass communications. He first reporting job was in Madison at WKOW before she accepted the position at FOX6 in Milwaukee. "The tears I've shed this week have been for the wonderful people that I work with and the wonderful people I’ve met through my work," says Sanchick. "But I have to remind myself and others that I’m not leaving town and I’m not dying. I’ll be around." Sanchick’s last day is Friday, Dec. 21, 2018. After work, she plans to have a gathering with some of her colleagues to have a couple of drinks and talk about the past, the present and, most importantly, the future. "It’s a big world out there and I plan to hit the ground running," says Sanchick. "Whatever I do next, I want to be a part of the solution."