The Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), as part of its 50th anniversary celebration will induct five Milwaukee broadcasters into its prestigious Silver Circle on Sunday, November 2, 2008. The Television Academy established the Silver Circle to honor outstanding individuals who have devoted 25 years or more to the television industry, and who have made significant contributions to their local television market. 

Read more to see invitation and how to order tickets.

The 2008 Milwaukee Silver Circle Honors induction brunch will take place at the Bradley Pavilion at the Marcus Center, 929 N. Water Street, on Sunday, November 2, at 10 a.m.   For information about the event, email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or call 312-369-8600.

The inaugural Milwaukee Silver Circle honorees include:  WISN's Mike Anderson, WITI's Vince Condella, WTMJ's Mike Jacobs, WMVS's Dan Jones and The Poynter Institute's Jill Geisler.

Mike Anderson
News veteran Anderson has been a reporter and news anchor since 1981, interviewing four U.S. Presidents and countless newsmakers along the way.  Prior to joining WISN, he worked at KIRO in Seattle, Washington, and Birmingham, Alabama.  Since coming to Milwaukee, his work has earned many awards, including his documentaries "Children in the Line of Fire" and "Solutions to Violence."  Raised in New Orleans, Anderson is a member of the Wisconsin Black Media Association and is also a professional recording artist. 

Vince Condella
WITI's Vince Condella is a multiple Emmy Award and Milwaukee Press Club winner who has also served as Chair of the American Meteorological Society's Broadcast Meteorology Board.  As WITI's Chief Meteorologist since 1982, Vince engages young weather fans with Weather Whys, has produced a series of science-based video lessons and lesson plans (Condella's Weather Class, and donated countless time and energy to charitable/community efforts including Walk for Wishes, Coats for Kids, and Backyard Weather which helps raise funds for non-profit organizations.

Jill Geisler
In 1998, after a 25-years as a broadcast journalist, Jill Geisler joined the Poynter Institute - a preminent professional institution for journalists and teachers of journalists seeking excellence.  She was the country's first female news director of a major market network affiliate, and built an award-winning newsroom at WITI.  At Poytner, she heads up the Institute's Leadership and Management Group -- responsible for their seminars for print, broadcast and online journalists.  Jill is an author and has led programs for the Knight and Nieman Fellows, minority journalism organizations, the Radio-TV News Directors Association, Public Radio News Directors, and the International Women's Media Foundation.  She teaches and consults for both broadcast and print news organizations in the U.S. and overseas.

Mike Jacobs
WTMJ's Mike Jacobs is the longest serving TV news anchor in Milwaukee. In 1977, he began as a weekend anchor and reporter and currently co-anchors weekday 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts.  The Milwaukee Press Club named Mike "Television Journalist of the Year" in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and his investigative series "Who's Behind the Wheel" earned the prestigious Peabody Award.  He has also won two Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards and numerous state and regional journalism awards.  When still a senior in college at Drake University in Des Moines, Mike got a job as a cameraman with WHO-TV, which following graduation led to his first full-time reporting job.  He left to take a news anchor job in Rockford, Illinois, before joining TODAY's TMJ4.  On weekends, Mike can also be found officiating high level soccer games as a U.S. Soccer Federation State Referee.

Dan Jones
Dan Jones worked as a TV news reporter and photographer at TV stations in La Crosse and Green Bay and in 1984, returned home to Milwaukee where he worked for 8 years as a reporter/anchor at WITI.  After stints in broadcast sales and freelance production, he joined Milwaukee Public Television in 1995 where he served as producer and executive producer on many programs, including his award-winning documentaries:  Lisbon Avenue - A Neighborhood on the Edge, Brady Street, Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward, Forest Home Cemetery, A Day in the Life of Milwaukee, Behind the Headlines: Inside the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Don't Kill Me! Teens Against Guns, and Milwaukee's RiverWest Neighborhood.  Dan's work has been recognized by the Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards, The Telly Awards, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, and by both the Milwaukee and Wisconsin Historical Societies.

FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS, CONTACT:

Lenore Dupuis 847-272-9542
Public Relations Consultant, Member- Board of Governors

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Individual tickets for the champagne brunch are $35.

To receive a printed invitation to this year’s Silver Circle Honors Brunch in Milwaukee, please email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or call 312-369-8600.

Or download the invitation here:

Milwaukee Silver Circle Invitation

The files are PDFs. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader.

To purchase tickets, please print out the reply card and mail it to:

NATAS - Chicago/Midwest Chapter

218 S. Wabash, Ste. 700

Chicago, IL 60604

or fax it to the TV Academy office at 312-369-8471.

Please honor one (or more) of the Silver Circle inducteees with a message or commemorative ad in the official program book. See the below document for more information.

Milwaukee Program Book Ad Information