OMC: In the old days, if you wanted to work in TV in Milwaukee, you'd have to do what you did: start in Wausau, go to Madison, maybe do some print stuff before you got to this city. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Is it unfortunate that this is now a market that you can start a career in?

MG: That's a good question. I think that you're right that there was a time when Milwaukee was considered a destination, the place where you hoped to spend a lot of your life working. I think that's changed a little bit for reasons that I'm not entirely clear on. I think that perhaps it's the size of the market. Milwaukee used to be a "20s" market, now it's a "30s" market. For some folks who are getting into the business, that might not be working (in Milwaukee's) favor. They may want to move on to something bigger.

I think, frankly, there may not be as many people going into journalism as there used to be. There's a change in that, and I think that there are a lot of changes going on in media, as you folks well know.

OMC: Did you ever have any opportunities to jump to a larger market? And if so, why did you choose to stay in Milwaukee?

MG: Sure. We had opportunities back in the early '90s. I was offered the 9 p.m. job at WGN in Chicago. I've been offered opportunities in the Twin Cities on a couple of different occasions. I've been approached by NBC on some things, and I turned down a job with CNN in mid '80s. But my wife, Lynn, and I feel very strongly about this community. It's been good to us. We have deep roots here, and so we've decided to stay. And even when I left Channel 4, we gave it a lot of thought, and we decided that we wanted to continue living in Milwaukee.

OMC: How have your own media consumption habits changed over the years?

MG: Because of my age, I lived through the time where the evening news was the dominant news event of the day. That, and the arrival or the morning paper, and even the afternoon paper. Obviously, we don't have afternoon papers around, for the most part. The evening news audience continues to shrink. And we've had the advent of all these new sources of information. Like most people, I take advantage of the sources of information. I am a regular reader of many things on the Web. I want the information now, and I want as many sources as possible. I'm still a news junkie. I'm sampling in many different places. When I want to watch a nightly newscast, often I'm not home at 5:30, but I certainly can watch CNN or check in with FOX or watch something that has a little more point of view, like the Keith Olbermann show.

OMC: Your wife told me recently that you actually wanted to be a jazz musician.

MG: Yeah, I was seriously into jazz when I was a young guy in high school. I played it all the time and listened to it almost exclusively.

OMC: Do you play an instrument?

MG: I was a sax player. I seriously thought about it and applied at a few music schools. But ultimately, I decided that it would be a crazy way to make a living, so I decided to go into the much more sane world of television news.

OMC: That's arguable.

MG: Yeah, but I was very serious about it. I played in some jazz funk bands, too.

OMC: Do you still play?

MG: I really don't. Lynn has encouraged me. She said I should go back to the Conservatory and take lessons or ask Berkeley Fudge for help. It's something I consider every now and then.

OMC: What's it like to be a Milwaukee celebrity? Can you go anywhere without getting recognized? Is it weird not to have the kind of privacy most people take for granted?

MG: I don't know if it's weird. I guess it goes with the territory. People have been unfailingly nice and really kind since I left the job. It's something you get used to. I tend to be sort of a private person. I'm not always the life of the party. It's not my style, and people who know me know that. So it is a little different for me, because that's not really my nature. But it's been generally a very positive experience, and you live your life accordingly.

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by julesj0812 on Aug. 25, 2008 at 11:37 a.m. (report)

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Gousha at the Brewer's game this last Sunday when he just happened to be sitting behind us. Mike Gousha on TV and Mike Gousha in person are surprisingly the same. He was a true gentleman and very kind to us. I'm sure we came off as unruly baseball fans and total nerds for being so starstruck over him. He is a Milwaukee TV icon and he has even more fans now in our group - we talked about how nice he was the whole way home!

Posted by wiboots on July 14, 2007 at 11:38 p.m. (report)

Great article Andy. I am glad you caught up with Mike. He has alot to offer and I am sure we will her much from him in the years to come.

Posted by stevop on July 9, 2007 at 12:12 p.m. (report)

Man I hate it when people apologize for "sounding like they're waving the flag" as if having pride in your country is something you have to explain. Too many journalists think that being a proud American translates to bias - it doesn't.

Posted by LegallyBlonde on July 9, 2007 at 9:58 a.m. (report)

Goouuuu-Shaaaaayyy! Man, I miss that guy.