Hall of Fame

Since 2008, Wisconsin Community Media has been recognizing the dedication of community television professionals who provide access television services to their communities.  Those the Wisconsin Community Media Board of Directors nominate for this honor have devoted countless hours to the mission of access far above what is required in their work.  They have been valued leaders on the state level and we will always remember their contribution.

Inductees

"Empowering people to create media for human purposes."

2023
Dennis Geraghty
Milwaukee City Channel

Dennis Geraghty will be inducted into the Wisconsin Community Media Hall of Fame on Thursday, May 4, 2023 during the Best of the Midwest Media Fest at the Park Hotel in Madison. 

No one else in the building had yet taken the plunge.  Dennis Geraghty stood in the room that would become a production studio and opened the first of many boxes of production equipment that would arrive to create a master control room, a production studio, and an editing suite for Milwaukee City Channel.  He was fresh from a stint at an advertising agency and had six years of experience at the local ABC broadcast affiliate.  He was 29 years old and ready to take the City of Milwaukee into the new world of cable television.  The Common Council was excited to be covered. 

 Three months later, in January 1986, the first city meeting appeared on Time Warner Channel 25.  It was the Public Safety Committee of the Common Council, and it lasted only eight minutes.   Initially coverage was confined to the Common Council and its committees.  These meetings all took place across the street in the historic City Hall, whereas Milwaukee City Channel was housed in a new city building.  A coaxial cable was run between the two, enabling meetings to be cablecast live with a three-camera set-up.  Production equipment was housed in a small room in City Hall and set-up by a crew of five, mostly part-timers. 

 As the Common Council and city officials became more comfortable with appearing on television, they realized that residents liked seeing first-hand what their local council members and mayor were talking about.  The city began tapping Milwaukee City Channel for more meetings and other purposes.  A couple of assignments stand out.  One required the team to cover a Police and Fire Commission hearing into the actions of a police officer.  Coverage ran for seven days – twelve hours a day – with crews rotating.  And in 1996, President Bill Clinton and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl used City Hall to sign a treaty.  Geraghty worked with the White House communications staff to set it up, which included arranging a live feed to another room at City Hall so Clinton’s staff could see the event live.   “The international press coverage was amazing.  They came from all over the world,” Geraghty said.   “Everything was lit for the newspaper photographers, who needed lots of light --150-foot candles -- for their film cameras.” 

“Things have come a long way,” Geraghty said.  “When I started, we were hoisting three-tube cameras on our shoulders and hauling portapaks with videotape recorders.  Now you can carry a 4K camera in your pocket.  You can use cellular data to originate from remote locations.”  Geraghty knew all communications was shifting to high-definition digital, but it took him three years to persuade city government to allocate funds for new equipment, then another three years to make the transition in steps, first switching out the production equipment at City Hall, then the transmission equipment at Master Control, and finally the studio in 2017. 

Asked to reminisce about his time at Milwaukee City Channel and what he reflects on the most, Geraghty said, “I miss the people I worked with at the city.  They were a great group.  I liked our mission -- to keep government transparent.  But I don’t miss crunch time!”  Upon his retirement in October of 2017, the Milwaukee City Council rose and gave Dennis a spontaneous standing ovation in recognition of his 32 years with the city, building the station literally from the ground up and easing it into the new world of digital media.  It’s quite a legacy.  Geraghty was also active in the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) and served on the Wisconsin Community Media Board of Directors. 

These days Dennis enjoys spending time with his seven grandchildren, golfing at challenging courses, and traveling.   Letter to Dennis

If you would like to attend the Best of the Midwest Media Fest, tickets are still available.  Go to https://wisconsincommunitymedia/annual-conference to learn more.

Previous Inductees

2022 Vel Wiley, MATA Community Media, Milwaukee Letter to Vel
2021 Mike Ryan, West Bend Community Television Letter to Mike
2020 Jim Walsh, River Cities Community Access Letter to Jim
2019 Dawn Wills, River Falls Community Television Letter to Dawn
2018     Liz Harlow, Oregon Cable Access Media (OCA Media) Letter to Liz
2017     Bonnie Lundy, Fitchburg FACTv Letter to Bonnie
2016     Dan Kummer, Marshfield Community Television Letter to Dan
2015     Mick Givens, Rice Lake Television Letter to Mick
2014     Connie Darling, Fitchburg - FACT  Letter to Connie
2013     Mary Shanahan-Spanic, West Allis Community Media Center  Letter to Mary
2012     John Jordan, Wausau Area Access Channels  Letter to John
2011     Pam Steitz, Sun Prairie Kids-4   
2010     Jon Urben, Oshkosh Community Media   Letter to Jon
2009     Judi Kneece, Janesville Access Television - JATV   Letter to Judi
2008     Wade Britzius, Trempealeau County Community Television

The names of the Inductees are on a traveling plaque.  During the year of induction, the recipient's access center displays the plaque.