WITI (TV)

WITI, virtual channel 6.1 (UHF digital channel 31), is the Foxowned-and-operated television station serving the Milwaukee, Wisconsin designated market area. The station is owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Corporation. Its studios are located in Brown Deer (though with a Milwaukee address) and its transmitter is located on East Capitol Drive (just north of WIS 190) in Shorewood, Wisconsin. The station broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 33 using its former analog assignment of channel 6 as its virtual digital channel via PSIP. WITI is a more news-intensive Fox station with about 40 hours a week of locally-produced newscasts, as well as first-run prime time, late night and sports programming from Fox. It also runs off-network sitcoms, talk shows, reality shows and court shows.

Early history
WITI's call letters stand for "Independent Television, Inc.," the corporation that originally owned the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) license granted on June 11, 1955. The station began broadcasting on May 21, 1956, and was originally licensed to the North Shore suburb of Whitefish Bay on a technicality in order to address short-spacing concerns with WOC-TV of Davenport, Iowa before the FCC fully finessed spacing among television stations in different markets. WITI was an independent station, as CBS owned WXIX on UHF Channel 19 to carry their programming; in October 1956, the station affiliated with the NTA Film Network, which provided the station with 52 20th Century Fox films and syndicated programming. Among the programs aired by WITI were The Passerby, Man Without a Gun, and This is Alice.[1]

First CBS affiliation, then switch to ABC

From 1956 to 1959 WITI used the DuMont Vitascan color system for its local TV programs. Vitascan required a completely darkened set with a single strobe light, causing eye strain. The situation was difficult for the on-air talent, according to Sid Armstrong, who worked at WITI as a news reporter during the station's early years.[1] The station switched to monochrome cameras when it moved to the building on North 27th Street.[2]

On August 8, 1958, Storer Broadcasting bought WITI in hopes of affiliating the station with the CBS network, which at the time owned WXIX. As the disadvantages of UHF became clear, CBS eventually was compelled to move over to the more popular VHF band. Thus, CBS sold WXIX to a local party, and WITI became a CBS affiliate on April 1, 1959. At that time, WITI moved from its original facility in Mequon to the former WCAN-TV/WXIX studios on N. 27th Street (later used from 1980 to 1994 by WCGV channel 24).

In 1961, CBS decided to affiliate with WISN-TV, since its radio sisters had long been affiliates with CBS. As a result, WITI and WISN swapped affiliations, and WITI became an ABC affiliate on April 2, 1961. In 1963 the FCC allowed WITI to change their city of license to Milwaukee.

Second CBS affiliation
The switch between WISN and WITI was reversed in 1977. WITI's owner at the time, Storer Broadcasting, had a bitter relationship with ABC. In 1975, Storer-owned KCST-TV in San Diego (channel 39, now KNSD) won a long battle to strip San Diego's ABC affiliation from Tijuana, Mexico-based XETV (channel 6). At the same time, Storer had a strong relationship with CBS; three of Storer's stations (WJW in Cleveland, WJBK in Detroit and WAGA in Atlanta) were among CBS' strongest affiliates. In the winter of 1976, Storer cut a deal to move Milwaukee's CBS affiliation to WITI. Without hesitation, WISN aligned with ABC, then the top network in the country. The switch occurred on March 27, 1977. In 1978, the station would move to new studios at the northwest corner of North Green Bay and Brown Deer Roads in Brown Deer, just outside Milwaukee.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_N._Gillett_Jr. George N. Gillett Jr.] bought most of the Storer stations, including WITI. After a series of mergers and bankruptcies, New World Communications bought channel 6 in 1993, despite rumors of CBS buying the station (along with WITI's sisters that carried CBS).

As a Fox station
In early December 1994, WITI dropped its CBS affiliation and became an affiliate of Fox. The reasoning went beyond the switching of all New World stations to Fox, because the station had carried Green Bay Packers games since 1977 from CBS, which up to 1994 had the National Football Conference (NFC) contract for NFL games; by switching affiliations, except for a period of three months in 1994 (when WCGV was still the Fox affiliate), WITI was able to remain the 'home station' of the Packers since Fox held the NFC contract, and continued to maintain airing the highest-rated broadcasts in market history with the team's winning appearances in Super Bowl XXXI (Fox's first Super Bowl broadcast), the 2010 NFC Championship Game, and Super Bowl XL. CBS had to scramble to find a new affiliate, eventually landing on low-rated WDJT-TV (channel 58).

From February 1995 on, the station would be known as "Six is News" throughout the day in order to highlight the station's newly-expanded news schedule. Conversely during Fox prime time hours, the station was promoted as "Fox is Six" to try to build an audience for the growing network on the stronger Milwaukee station. (A similar move took place with WJW inCleveland, which branded itself "ei8ht is News" and "Fox is ei8ht," playing off of an old station logo.)

In 1996, Fox's Television Stations Group bought WITI and the remaining New World stations outright, and after the approval of the sale in January 1997, the station was rebranded as "FOX SIX" for all programming and station promotions, with the channel number still fully spelled out. Channel 6 officially became "Fox 6" in April 1998 with the introduction of the "Milwaukee's Newscenter" set.

In 2006, WITI celebrated its 50th anniversary with an hour-long prime time special ("50 Years and Counting") in April and vignettes aired throughout the year, beginning on New Year's Day.[2]

After the station installed a new graphics and control switcher on the morning of September 29, 2007 [3], the station finally switched to the current red/white/blue color scheme of Fox O&O's, along with news graphics. However only the coloring and minor graphical flourishes of the logo changed, and it did not take on the vertical stacking look of other Fox station logos; this is most likely because the current horizontal logo form was heavily integrated into the "Milwaukee's Newscenter" set. In late May 2008, Studio A was renovated. The iconic blue floor was painted black, upgrades were made to the studio's lighting, and the set was updated with a new desk, new monitor, and new Duratrans. During this time Wake-Up received its own set in Studio B.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">More emphasis on the station's website has been inserted into newscasts since the beginning of the 2007-08 season, including online chats during newscasts and sports programming, and a webcam in each studio turned on 24/7 to give viewers a behind the scenes look into the station's newscasts, along with early establishments of social networking compliments onFacebook and Twitter.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On June 13, 2007, Fox's parent company, News Corporation, revealed plans to sell WITI and other owned and operated stations.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[3] On December 22, 2007, Fox announced that it had entered into an agreement to sell WITI and seven other Fox O&O stations<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[4] to Oak Hill Capital Partners' Local TV LLC. The sale was closed on July 14, 2008.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[5] Subsequently, WITI pre-empted a Fox program for the first time in its history nine months after the purchase on March 31, 2009, the only episode of Osbournes: Reloaded ever to air, and pushed it back to air at 1:05 a.m. due to what the station saw as inappropriate content; the station replaced the program with a discussion program about the effects of drug abuse on southeastern Wisconsin teens.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[6]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On January 28, 2009, WITI switched its website to a design which is a result of the Local TV LLC and Tribune Company broadcast management agreement and features Tribune Interactive's design. The site's web address was relocated to Fox6Now.com, mainly for address length concerns (the Fox6.com domain remains owned by current San Diego CW affiliateXETV). With this the station has established a deep relationship with Chicago's WGN-TV, sharing video and stories with that station, although they still maintain a relationship with Fox's Chicago O&O WFLD via Fox News's affiliate service.

Broadcasting facilities
Further information: WITI TV Tower <p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">The WITI TV Tower is located in Shorewood, Wisconsin and stands 1078 feet tall. It was completed in August 1962 and was briefly the tallest free-standing tower in the world.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">The station's studios are located in the city of Brown Deer at the intersection of Green Bay Road and Brown Deer Road. The building contains at least two studios. Studio A houses the station's primary news set, and studio B houses the set for the Fox 6 Wake-Up News. In May 2008, a new Wake-Up set was constructed in Studio B with the old Wake-Up "living room" set, an area used for guest performances, and the Ask Gus set was dismantled. The front lobby and newsroom are also utilized for auxiliary studios depending on the broadcast involved, and until 1996 the lobby was set up to broadcast the station's local coverage of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon on Labor Day, when WITI decided to discontinue airing it and it moved to WDJT.

Digital television
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Digital channels <p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">WITI shut down its analog TV transmitter on the evening of June 12, 2009 as mandated by the FCC and began a two-week analog "nightlight" operation, and continued to broadcast on its pre-transition digital channel 33. Digital television receivers display WITI's virtual channel as 6 through the use of PSIP. Until midnight of June 25, the analog signal featured the National Association of Broadcasters nightlight loop of converter box instructions in English and Spanish, with several interruptions in the interim for weather emergencies.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On July 23, 2009, the station launched its own Retro Television Network digital subchannel on 6.2 after various testing of the channel with a drastically different schedule from the network's default grid due to the presence of Weigel Broadcasting's Me TV service on WBME-TV (Channel 49), which held much of the rights for what would usually be RTV programming in the Milwaukee market. Charter Communications added the station for its southeastern Wisconsin households over digital cable channel 967 on August 11, 2009, followed by Time Warner Cable on October 13, 2009 over digital channel 991.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On late December 31, 2010, WITI-DT2 was switched from RTV to Tribune Broadcasting's Antenna TV network (a part of Tribune's co-management agreement with Local TV's stations), and was rebranded as TV 6.2, using a modified version of WITI's "TV 6" logomark from 1974 until February 1995, when the station was rebranded as Fox is Six/Six is News.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[7] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[8] RTV programming remains available to fringe portions of the Milwaukee market via WKOW-DT2 from Madison and Green Bay's WBAY-DT3 and outlying cable systems carrying those channels.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">The station uses the subchannel to air WITI's regular 9 p.m newscasts during Fox Sports or extended Fox movie pre-emption situations and it also simulcasts severe weather coverage from 6.1, including closings and weather warning graphics. The subchannel also aired coverage of the December 2010 funeral of Chicago Cubs legend Ron Santo from WGN-TV. It previously aired a same day encore of Real Milwaukee at 8 p.m. weeknights.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">During the era of analog TV, the audio for stations on channel 6 was available by tuning to 87.7 MHz; this is no longer possible due to the nature of digital TV, even for stations that actually continued to use channel 6. While at least one station offered a separate broadcast on 87.7,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[9] WITI took a more direct though experimental approach to restore its TV audio, having it restored in August 2009 to an HD Radio subchannel of WMIL-FM via a content agreement with WMIL owner Clear Channel Communications. A purchase of HD Radio equipment or having a car stereo equipped with an HD Radio receiver is required to listen to this broadcast.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">The digital channel ran at a lower power until early November 2009 due to the antenna being located lower on the WITI Tower than the former analog antenna (this setup during the digital transition was common among all Fox O&O/Local TV LLC-sold stations which transmit from a traditional tower rather than from atop a skyscraper due to cost concerns; the station had transmitted their first HD signal in a low-power form from their STL tower in Brown Deer until installation of HD equipment on the main tower in late 2004). That antenna was removed in September, with the digital antenna moved up in October, causing some interruptions in over-the-air service, along with affecting the operations of WUWM (89.7), which is a tenant on the WITI Tower. The station then hinted at launching its local news and programming in high definition before the end of 2009,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[10] and began to broadcast newscasts and local programming first with the Milwaukee downtown Christmas parade on November 21, 2009 (with training and equipment assistance from Milwaukee Public Television), and then the newscasts on December 5, 2009 beginning with the 9 p.m. newscast.

Programming
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">WITI under their former iteration as a Fox O&O almost exclusively aired syndicated programming from Twentieth Television and was used as a test station for many of those series. However with the 2010 season, this has been abandoned and Twentieth programming makes up only a small portion of the station's syndicated schedule, which includes The Wendy Williams Show. After 2 p.m. WITI runs TMZ Live and Judge Judy, with TMZ on TV leading into primetime after the 6 p.m. newscast, while late night consists of a double-run of station stalwart Seinfeld split by Extra, and Access Hollywood. The station carries all syndicated series which offer their programming in the format inhigh definition.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">WITI had also aired episodes of M*A*S*H since the 1977 CBS/ABC affiliation switch, first within its CBS series run and then on into syndication WISN-TV channel 12 originally aired syndicated M*A*S*H reruns at 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. and then later at 11 p.m. along with other varied time periods when M*A*S*H originally sold in syndicated. WITI gained syndication rights to the show in the 1990s after a long and successful run on WISN. At the time when WITI was an ABC affiliate, in the early 1970s it pre-empted The Dick Cavett Show in favor of old movies, it was shown instead on WVTV-TV when it was an independent station at the time, also they pre-empted All My Children in favor of the noon news. The show was taken off the schedule in September 2007 to make way for the move of the noon news to 11 a.m. and a replay of TMZ on TV, but was returned in February 2008. However the series has not been seen on Channel 6 since September 2009.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">As was the case with many of the stations acquired from New World, WITI has never aired Fox's children's block in either the Fox Kids or 4Kids TV iterations. The block stayed withWCGV for ten years after WITI took the Fox affiliation and in September 2004 moved to independent station WMLW-CA channel 41, where it ended in December 2008. Subsequently WITI has refused to carry the current Saturday morning Weekend Marketplace infomercial block, along with both WCGV and WMLW, and it is unseen in the Milwaukee market.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On September 7, 2010 WITI debuted a new morning news program called Real Milwaukee, the show is hosted by WITI anchors Katrina Cravy and Nicole Koglin, former WMCS radio host Cassandra McShepard, and meteorologist Rob Haswell and also includes a “roving reporter," Tony Clark in the field, showcasing interesting people and places in Milwaukee. The news talk show, which airs after Fox 6 Wake-Up News at 9 a.m., is produced by the FOX 6 News Department and is similar to the non-traditional 8am hour of FOX 6 Wake Up. The program takes on current events and issues from the community and in October, 2010, two shows included Tom Barrett (Wisconsin candidate for Governor-D) and Rebecca Kleeyfisch (Wisconsin candidate for Lt. Governor-R) as guests for both hours. The program has also dedicated an entire hour to the issue of breast cancer awareness. The station has made it clear that it will not be an equal competitor to WTMJ's The Morning Blend and not feature paid demonstration segments by local businesses like Blend does.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[11] The show is also repeated at 8 p.m. weeknights on TV 6.2 (Antenna TV).

News operation
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">WITI broadcasts a total of 54½ hours of local news a week (9½ hours on weekdays, an hour-and-a-half each on Saturday and Sunday evenings, and 2 hours each on Saturday and Sunday mornings), for the most local newscasts of any television station in the Milwaukee market and the entire state of Wisconsin. The news programming on WITI ranges from a traditional 10 p.m. newscast, to a 90-minute early evening news block, to an hour long feature-driven 9 p.m. newscast, to 5½ hours (4:30-10 a.m.) of weekday morning newscasts and Real Milwaukee.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">From the time WITI became a Fox O&O station in the mid-1990s, the station has put more emphasis on its local newscasts; it has more or less maintained a newscast schedule similar to an ABC, CBS or NBC affiliate, along with additional newscasts from 7-9 a.m. and 5:30-6 p.m. on weekdays and the hour-long nightly primetime newscast at 9 p.m. The station is also one of a steadily growing number of Fox stations with a newscast in the traditional late news timeslot (in WITI's case, 10 p.m. Central time), in addition to the primetime 9 p.m. newscast, along with one of the few to continue their existing Big Three-era 10 p.m. newscast after the affiliate switch, and one of a handful of Fox stations to run a 10 p.m. (or 11 p.m.) newscast seven nights a week. The station's newscasts usually place a strong third in the ratings behind WTMJ and WISN, both of whom fight it out for first place, though the morning newscast,Fox 6 Wake-Up News, is very competitive with the national network shows, and occasionally comes in first in the ratings because of the program's local focus.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On December 3, 2007, the noon newscast on weekdays moved to 11 a.m. Two days prior to that, the Saturday morning Wake-Up broadcast was expanded to two hours beginning at 7 a.m., and the Sunday morning broadcast was also moved to 7 a.m., but remained one hour long. In addition, Gus Gnorski's DIY program on Saturday mornings, Ask Gus, was put on hiatus, with Gnorski's segments merged into the Saturday morning Wake-Up broadcasts and his former studio becoming the new home of Wake-Up in May 2008. After March 28, 2009, the Saturday morning Wake-Up and 6 p.m. Saturday newscasts were suspended. The Sunday morning Wake-Up and 5 p.m. Sunday newscasts were suspended the following day. On April 4, Ask Gus returned as reruns. Reruns will continue to air until production can be resumed on new episodes. The how-to program ended its original 15-year run on November 24, 2007.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">WITI also took advantage of the fact that the audio for Channel 6 could be heard on an FM radio on 87.7 FM, mentioning often during its morning newscasts, station promotions, and breaking news events that listeners could 'Listen to Fox 6 in your car'. With the end of analog television service on June 12, 2009 and the end of the nightlight loop on June 30, 2009 (though the nightlight loop was interrupted twice in those two weeks for severe weather coverage), the anomalous audio service on 87.7 was also discontinued.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">However, the feature was restored in early August 2009 on the HD3 HD Radio subchannel of WMIL-FM (106.1), as Channel 6 came to an agreement with the six-station cluster of Clear Channel radio stations to provide them weather forecasts and news stories as of July 27, 2009, along with news updates for the LCD billboard network of Clear Channel Outdoor in the area; a forecast-only content agreement between Channel 6 and Entercom Communications's three local stations and occasional check-in during WakeUp on WXSS's and WSSP's morning shows continues without any audible forecasts from Fox 6 meteorologists.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[12] The HD Radio subchannel makes WITI one of a few former Channel 6 analog signals in the nation to restore their station audio legally, as Albany, New York's WRGB attempted a subcarrier audio service after the digital transition that was subsequently pulled on FCC request. Station anchor Ted Perry is also a regular guest on the "Dave & Carole Morning Show" on Saga Communications classic rock station WKLH (96.5) under his own personal time.

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On December 5, 2009, WITI became the second station in Milwaukee (behind WTMJ-TV), and the third station in the state (the first being Madison's WISC-TV) to air their newscasts in HD. WITI is the first and only station in Milwaukee to broadcast all locally-originated portions of its newscasts including live field reports in high definition (WTMJ has a mix of live trucks that can do HD or only 16:9 SD video and chopper is 4:3 SD stretched). In February 2010, WITI extended its weekday morning "WakeUp News" newscast to 4½ hours, now running from 4:30-9 a.m. On November 16, 2010 WITI announced that after a two-year absence, it would resume its weekend morning edition of "WakeUp News" beginning in March 2011, however the newscast will be longer than previously, airing for three hours from 6-9 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday mornings (however, no announcement was made as to if the Saturday 6 p.m. and Sunday 5 p.m. newscasts will return as well).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[13] On April 2, 2011, "Weekend WakeUp News" returned, with both the Saturday and Sunday newscasts running for two hours, from 7-9 a.m.

Newscast titles

 * Six O'Clock Report/Ten O'Clock Report
 * City Camera
 * TV-6 News (?–1995)
 * Six is News (1995–1997)
 * Fox Six News (1997–1998)
 * Fox 6 News (1998–present)

Station slogans

 * Your Kind of People (1969–1970 and 1980s)
 * The Winners (1970–1971)
 * Today is a New Day (1971–1972)
 * We're Still the One, on TV-6 (1977; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
 * You Can Count on Us (1978)
 * You Sure Look Like a Winner (1980)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[17]
 * Reach for the Stars on TV-6 (1981–1982; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * We've Got the Touch, You and TV-6 (1983-1984; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * You and TV-6, We've Got the Touch (1984–1985; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * We've Got the Touch on TV-6 (1985–1986; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * You Can Feel It on TV-6 (1988–1989; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * Get Ready for TV-6 (1989-1991; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * A Friend You Can Count On in Milwaukee (1990–1995)
 * The Look of Millwaukee is TV-6 (1991–1992; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * This is CBS, on TV-6 (1992-1994; localized version of CBS ad campaign)
 * Fox is Six (general) / Six is News (news; 1995–1997)
 * Just You Watch the Best (2006–2008; general slogan)
 * The Most Powerful Name in Local News (2007–2011; news slogan)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[18]
 * So Fox 6 (2008–present; local version of Fox promotional campaign)
 * Because It Matters (2011–present)

On-air staff
====Current on-air staff (as of March 2011)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[18] ==== <p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Anchors


 * Ben Handelman - weekend mornings "Weekend WakeUp News" (starting April 18, 2011)
 * Tami Hughes - Saturdays at 9 and 10 p.m.; also general assignment reporter
 * Nicole Koglin - weekday mornings "WakeUp News" and rotates at 11 a.m.
 * Kim Murphy - weekday mornings "WakeUp News" and rotates at 11 a.m.
 * Shawn Patrick - weekday mornings "WakeUp News" and rotates at 11 a.m.
 * Ted Perry - Monday-Thursdays at 5 and 5:30, Sundays at 9, and Sunday-Thursdays at 10 p.m.
 * Mary Stoker Smith - Monday-Thursdays at 5 and 5:30, Sundays at 9, and Sunday-Thursdays at 10 p.m.
 * Brett Lemoine - Saturdays at 9 and 10 p.m.; also general assignment reporter
 * Mary Stoker Smith - Monday-Thursdays at 5 and 5:30, Sundays at 9, and Sunday-Thursdays at 10 p.m.
 * Brett Lemoine - Saturdays at 9 and 10 p.m.; also general assignment reporter

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Fox 6 Storm Center


 * Tom Wachs (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - chief meteorologist; Monday-Thursdays at 5, 5:30, 6 and Sunday-Thursdays at 9 and 10 p.m.
 * Rob Haswell (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; weekday mornings "Wake-Up News"
 * Justin Zollitsch (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - meteorologist; Tuesday-Fridays at 11 a.m., Fridays at 5 and 5:30 p.m., and Friday-Saturdays at 9 and 10 p.m.
 * Bob Moore - weather anchor and live weather field reporter; weekday general assignment reporter
 * Brittney Sager - meteorologist; "Weekend WakeUp News"

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Sports team


 * Tom Pipines - sports director; Sunday-Fridays at 9 and 10 p.m.
 * Jen Lada - sports anchor; Friday-Saturdays at 9 and 10 p.m., also weeknight sports reporter
 * Tim Van Vooren - sports anchor; weeknights at 5 and 6 p.m.; also sports reporter

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Reporters


 * Bret Buganski - general assignment reporter; ("Weekend WakeUp News" reporter starting April 2011)
 * Katrina Cravy - "Contact 6" consumer reporter
 * Angelica Duria - general assignment reporter
 * Laura Langemo - "WakeUp News" general assignment reporter (starting April 18, 2011)
 * Mike Lowe - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
 * Doug Luzader - Fox News Washington D.C. correspondent
 * Bryan Polcyn - investigative reporter
 * Henry Rosoff - general assignment reporter
 * Jeremy Ross - general assignment reporter; also fill-in anchor
 * Jenna Sachs - general assignment reporter
 * Myra Sanchick - general assignment reporter
 * Wendy Strong - business reporter
 * Justin Williams - general assignment reporter

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">Real Milwaukee


 * Tony Clark - "roving reporter"
 * Katrina Cravy - co-host
 * Rob Haswell - co-host
 * Nicole Koglin - co-host
 * Cassandra McShepard - co-host

Notable former on-air staff

 * Bart Adrian -  former meteorologist; retired October 22, 2010. Now teaches at UW-Milwaukee.
 * Albert the Alley Cat - (1961?-1985; one of Jack DuBlon's many puppets on "Cartoon Alley," Albert became a popular assistant/sidekick to Ward Allen on TV-6 weather)
 * Ward Allen - meteorologist (1965-1978)
 * Stu Armstrong - anchor (1956-1959)
 * Mike Bartley - anchor (1992-2000; now at PBS station WQED in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
 * Eric Braate - meteorologist (2002-2005; now at WDIV in Detroit, Michigan)
 * Lisa Chan - "Wake-Up News" anchor/reporter (2002-2005; now at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, California)
 * Nancy Chandler - anchor/reporter (1986-1989) Went to WTMJ-TV and stayed there from 1992-1998.
 * Mark Concannon - "Wake-Up News" anchor/reporter; former sports reporter (1987-2010; retired)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[11]
 * John Drilling - reporter/anchor (1968-1999; retired)
 * Stacia Dubin - anchor (1996-2000)
 * Julie Feldman - health reporter/anchor (1988-2008)
 * Ralph Adam Fine - law reporter (1974-1975; now a Judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals)
 * Joyce Garbaciak - anchor (1988-2005; now at WISN-TV as anchor/feature reporter)
 * Jill Geisler - anchor/reporter and news director (1973-1998; now a leadership director at the Poynter Institute)
 * Vince Gibbens - anchor (1982-1986 and 1991-1995; died November 15, 1995 of a heart attack)
 * Earl Gillespie - sports anchor/reporter (1963-1985; deceased December 12, 2003)
 * Alison Gilman - anchor (?-2005; now a financial advisor for Edward Jones Investments)
 * Maury Glover - reporter (2001-2003; now at KMSP-TV in Minneapolis-St. Paul)
 * Chris Goodman - reporter/anchor (2004-2008; now at WLEX-TV in Lexington, Kentucky)
 * Tom Hooper - anchor (1969-1999; retired)
 * Jeff Jackson - anchor (1983-?)
 * Dan Jones - reporter (1981-1987?; now host of "Interchange" and other programs on Milwaukee Public Television)
 * Barry Judge - anchor/reporter (1974-1976, went to WISN-TV from 1976-1978)
 * Dan Lewis - anchor/reporter (1979-1982; went to WISN-TV from 1982-1984, currently anchor at KOMO-TV in Seattle, Washington)
 * David Klugh - anchor (1999-2002)
 * Peter Linton-Smith - reporter (1998-2007; now at WTVT in Tampa, Florida)
 * Nicole Locy - "Wake-Up News" traffic anchor (1998-2001)
 * Ken Matz - anchor/reporter (1977-1980; deceased January 23, 2010)
 * Jake Miller - anchor/reporter (2008-2010)<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[12]
 * Mike Miller - anchor/reporter (1978-1989; went to WTMJ-TV as morning anchor from 1991-2003, now anchor at WISN-TV)
 * Bob Moore -- "Weekend Wake-Up News" weather anchor and weekday reporter (December 1997 to June 2011), he still in Milwaukee active in non-profit board service, community affairs, public speaking and emceeing various programs.
 * Doug Moore - anchor/reporter (1975-1977)
 * Richard Ransom - anchor (2001-2004; now at WREG in Memphis, Tennessee)
 * Preston Rudie - anchor (1998-2002; now at WTSP in Tampa Bay, Florida)
 * Roseanne St. Aubin - "Wake-Up News" anchor/reporter (1983-1999; current spokeswoman for Milwaukee Public Schools since 2004)
 * Bob Segall - anchor/investigative reporter (2002-2006; now at WTHR in Indianapolis, Indiana)
 * Tom Skilling - meteorologist (1975-1978; now chief meteorologist at WGN-TV in Chicago, Illinois)
 * Scott Steele - weather anchor(1992-2002; known for having his dog Spunky, who died on September 22, 2007; now at WTMJ-TV as weekend/fill-in meteorologist)
 * Clarice Tinsley- anchor/reporter/monthly public affairs show host (1975-1978; now at KDFW-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth)
 * Vivika Vergara - reporter (2006-2008; now a spokesperson for Walgreens)
 * Phyllis Watson - reporter (1977-1983; later with WFAA in Dallas-Ft. Worth from 1983-1990 and KDFW in Dallas-Ft. Worth from 1995-1998)
 * Joanne Williams - former "Wake-Up News" & afternoon news anchor (1979-2008; now VP of Marketing and Communications for Cardinal Stritch University)
 * Melodie Wilson - anchor/reporter (1992-1998; deceased November 9, 2009)
 * Arthur Wood - reporter (1974-1978; now general Manager of WYCC-TV in Chicago)
 * Carl Zimmermann - anchor (1959-1986; retired)
 * Anne State - now at KGTV in San Diego
 * Vince Condella (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and NWA Seals of Approval) - chief meteorologist; retired
 * Katrina Cravy - "Contact 6" consumer reporter
 * Beverly Taylor
 * Brad Hicks