Monthly Archives: April 2019

Meteorologist Justin Thompson-Gee is joining the CBS 58 Morning News team. Thompson-Gee had previously served as meteorologist for the weekend editions of the CBS 58 News.

Justin came to CBS 58 in 2015 as a freelance meteorologist and was promoted to the weekend position a few months later.

“I am incredibly excited to work with our morning show team,” Thompson-Gee said. “It has been a pleasure to work on weekends for the past four years but now I’m eager to get southeast Wisconsin viewers ready for their day when they wake up.”

Prior to joining CBS 58, Thompson-Gee worked as a meteorologist at KAAL-TV in Rochester, Minnesota. He received a BS in Meteorology from Valparaiso University in Indiana.

“I’m happy to have Justin join the team as we continue to grow Southeast Wisconsin’s fastest growing morning show,” said CBS 58 News Director Kent Harrell.

Thompson-Gee’s first day on the CBS 58 Morning News will be Wednesday, May 1.

Join area journalists and supporters for SPJ Madison’s second annual journalism-themed trivia night next month.

The event will be held on Thursday, May 9 at Coopers Tavern, 20 W. Mifflin St. on the second floor. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the competition beginning at 7 p.m.

Newsrooms and friends of journalism are encouraged to form teams of up to five players. To register, please have one team member email spjmadison@gmail.com with your team name, team members, and how you’ll pay. Cost of entry is $10 per team member.

Interested participants are able to sign up, even if they don’t have a team. Single registrants will be placed on a team (or teams) together.

There are multiple ways to pay. Mail (or give) a check (made out to SPJ Madison) or cash to:

• SPJ Madison President Shelley Mesch (Wisconsin State Journal, 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison WI 53713)
• Executive Committee Board Member Briana Reilly (WisPolitics.com, 14 W Mifflin St., Suite 222, Madison, WI 53703)
• Executive Committee Board Member Breann Schossow (Wisconsin Public Radio, 821 University Ave., Madison, WI 53706)

You can also send money via PayPal or Venmo to Schossow (bschossow@gmail.com). Proceeds will go toward prizes and to benefit future journalism programming by SPJ.

Please register and arrange payment by Tuesday, May 7.

See more and RSVP at the Facebook event page.

Applications are now open for small and midsize newsrooms in the U.S. to receive free data training from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) in partnership with the Google News Initiative.

Newsrooms selected to participate in the Data in Local Newsrooms Training Program will receive two days of in-house IRE data training, plus follow-up data consultation and services as part of an ongoing partnership with IRE.

Newsroom managers: Apply here, and look here for frequently asked questions.

The deadline to apply is June 17. Selected newsrooms will be announced in July.

Veterans in broadcasting will tell you that networking is important when it comes to getting your first job, and any jobs you might take after that.

An article from RTDNA is providing some networking tips to those just coming into the news business.

One key takeaway: “Your degree is not enough! The best journalists are always learning.”

If you’re part of a newsroom that’s participating in the WBA Awards for Excellence, you’re no doubt excited to come to the WBA Awards Gala on May 4 at the Madison Marriott West.

But are you thinking yet about next year’s awards? You should be.

It’s difficult to think about all the great work you did throughout the year when you only start to think about it in December. That’s why we suggest putting a weekly or monthly note on your calendar to prompt you to think about awards season, even when it isn’t awards season. Take a few minutes to think about the work you did in the past week or month that you will want to consider when awards time rolls around. Write those ideas down.

When December arrives, you’ll be glad you did. Instead of drilling into your memory looking for ideas, you’ll already have a menu of ideas to choose from.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Gala in May…and let’s hope you’ll also be collecting some awards in 2020 🙂

What journalist doesn’t appreciate a good journalism movie? There are a lot to choose from.

Poynter is sharing its top 25 in this website post.

You might find that there are some on the list you haven’t even heard of 🙂