WISCONSIN'S BROADCASTERSSERVING EVERY LOCAL COMMUNITY
| Total Generated: | $269,849,992 |
Tails were wagging when WQRB-FM in Eau Claire, Wis., lent its talent and air power to help the area’s four-legged friends at the 21st annual Humane Society Annual Fido Fun Run. The station, which emceed the event from start to finish, ran more than 150 public service announcements over a four-week period to promote the two-mile walk to raise funds and awareness for the Humane Society. More than $15,000 was raised for the dogs, many of which were at the event for prospective pet owners to meet and adopt. On-air personalities encouraged listeners to obtain donations for each mile walked and the station used its Web site to provide links to pledge and registration forms as well additional information about the Humane Society. An on-air interview with the director of the local Humane Society before the event also helped to bring animal lovers together for the sake of their best friends.
The community’s children are at the heart of a longtime partnership between WJJQ-AM/FM in Tomahawk, Wis., and the Tomahawk Optimist Club. Each year, the station sponsors an "Optimist Club Radio Day," where proceeds from advertising are given to the club to help support its many child-centered activities. The ads sold for the fundraiser feature members of the Optimist Club, many in their 80s or older. To help raise awareness, the station runs news stories and promotions about the club and the event starting seven weeks in advance. Since the beginning of the "Radio Day" campaign more than two decades ago, about $50,000 has been raised to support the youngest members of Tomahawk. "WJJQ is at the very heart of the community," said Allan Prosser, president of the Tomahawk Optimist Club. "When we combine our efforts, we are able to raise thousands of dollars in this small town that is then returned to the community to provide for our youth. That is how we kept this community growing."
To provide children comfort when they need it, WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee, Wis., hosts an annual "Teddy Bear Patrol" campaign. The effort encourages listeners to donate stuffed animals for local police, fire departments and emergency medical services to distribute to children in crisis situations. In 2007, the station organized 84 collection sites and enlisted the help of 77 schools throughout the state, resulting in the collection of more than 6,000 teddy bears. The station supported the "Teddy Bear Patrol" initiative with a multi-tiered marketing campaign, which included live and recorded public service announcements, placement of collection bins, email newsletters sent to 17,000 "Loyal Listener Club" members, newspaper advertisements, Web site promotion, inclusion on WTMJ’s interactive phone line, news releases and a targeted direct mail campaign to schools. Since it began in 1993, WTMJ’s "Teddy Bear Patrol" has collected and distributed more than 70,000 teddy bears. Wisconsin Broadcasters Association awarded WTMJ with Best Support of a Community Event for the Teddy Bear Patrol in 2007.
When record flooding claimed lives and property, WIZM-AM in LaCrosse, Wis., organized a community fund drive, which generated more than $395,000 in individual and corporate donations in a single day. The station enlisted the help of all local radio, television and newspapers for the 12-hour event, which provided emergency assistance to area flood victims through the American Red Cross. Shortly after the flood hit, WIZM began airing announcements encouraging listeners to help. A heavy schedule of news stories and interviews highlighted the most urgent needs. On the day of the collection, WIZM personalities filled buckets with monetary donations from the community from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Three remotes featuring donors and volunteers aired every hour throughout the day. The next morning, the station conducted a follow-up interview with the local Red Cross. The relief funds provided shelter, food, water, clean-up supplies and comfort kits to those in need. WIZM was a 2008 National Association of Broadcasters Crystal Award winner.
The "Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest," an effort sponsored by WMVS-TV and WMVT-TV in Milwaukee, Wis., since 1994, is inspiring kids to be authors. The annual program kicks off in the classroom, where teachers are provided information from the stations on how to start a Reading Rainbow Writers Club. To date, 44 schools are using the contest as a classroom activity and another 11 as an after-school club. In 2008, the stations received nearly 1,200 story entries from students in kindergarten to third grade. Twenty winning submissions were chosen, to which the stations added sound effects and aired together as a 30-minute special. The stories were also broadcast separately as interstitials during the year. Promotional spots for the contest feature the winning children individually, each holding up his or her story with a voiceover that says, "Some of the best stories in the world are written by children. So what are you waiting for? Tell us your story." The spots play 365 days a year. In addition to the Reading Rainbow project, the stations offer community workshops directly addressing issues of family literacy. This service helped more than 5,000 people in 2007. Ten workshops are conducted in English and 10 in Spanish each year.
To highlight the importance of education, WLUK-TV in Green Bay, Wis., recognizes the city’s top teachers and students each school year. Eight local teachers who have made a difference in the classroom are awarded the station’s Golden Apple Award. To ensure widespread participation, the station produces and broadcasts public service announcements encouraging students to nominate their favorite educator. The station’s anchors then head into the schools to tape the winning teachers with their students. Each winner is profiled in a two-minute news story, and the station airs a one-hour live telecast of the black-tie awards banquet. WLUK also pays tribute to top students with its "Best of the Class" awards, in which the station invites 108 high schools to send their valedictorians to a ceremony held at the Green Bay Packers’ football stadium, Lambeau Field. Each valedictorian is videotaped in cap and gown, from which the station’s editors develop 30-second vignettes that air 150 times. In addition, all the stories and videos featuring the award-winning teachers and students are posted on the station’s Web site.
As part of its commitment to 2008 political coverage, WISN-TV in Milwaukee, Wis., asked students from Marquette University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to be political correspondents. The project, "Student Commitment 2008," involves six university advisers and 33 students currently studying journalism, political science and communications. The young journalists, who represent an important voting population in the 2008 elections, broadcast their work through several venues, including news reports, radio podcasts, blogs and videocasts on a student-driven political Web page on the station’s site. Station staff meets with the students at least once a month. On February19, 2008, during the Wisconsin primary, the students added content to a live stream of WISN’s coverage. "I love the multi-media aspects of this initiative," said Cheryl O’Brien, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee senior in broadcast journalism. "We are the future in journalism, and this really gives us an opportunity to report the news, participate in the political process and hopefully make a difference."
Gilda’s Club, a place where people facing a diagnosis of cancer can share their hopes and fears, is opening its doors to the community of which WMGN-FM in Madison, Wis., is a part. Once plans were underway for the new facility, which is a part of an international nonprofit organization founded in memory of comedian Gilda Radner, the station organized the three-day “Magic 98 Concert for Gilda’s Club” to help bring in the funds needed to break ground. For the “concert,” the station aired recordings of nationally known artists live in concert between special guest appearances and call-ins from Gilda’s friends throughout the country. After the success of the inaugural event, the station held a second “Concert for Gilda’s Club” radiothon one year later. Highlights included an on-air call from Gilda’s brother, Michael; a candid interview with WISC-TV’s Toni Morrissey about her skin cancer diagnosis; and listeners’ stories. The two events, which raised nearly $250,000 for the new facility, involved months of planning and a commitment by WMGN staff to log in long hours. “WMGN has been great,” said Cindy Alvarez, chair of the board for Gilda’s Club Madison Wisconsin. "We are very thankful for their continuing support and talent. The “Magic 98 Concert for Gilda’s Club” was given first place honors by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association for making a significant community impact.
Keeping spirits bright at the local Children’s Hospital, WSSP-AM in Milwaukee, Wis., conducted its second annual Toy Drive for Children’s Hospital. The station collected toys to be delivered to the young patients at Brewtown Children’s Hospital the week before Christmas. Rather than put the toys in Santa’s sleigh, WSSP Programming Director Ryan Maguire said that the station “completely filled” a 26-foot moving van with donated toys. In total, the Toy Drive raised more than $10,000 in cash and toys, more than doubling the total of last year’s inaugural event.
For more examples of how Wisconsin’s local radio and TV broadcasters are serving every local community, please contact the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association .