Now that Mike Gousha has come back to television at Channel 12, we can put to rest any doubts about why he left Channel 4.

He wanted out before the fire sale took place at what once was a national beacon in the world of television journalism. Everybody wondered if he was tired of television. No. He was tired of television at Channel 4.

Gousha is going to do all kinds of stuff at Channel 12, including a Sunday morning show, anchoring, reporting, analysis and maybe a pre-game Brewers show as well.

It's very welcome news to have his voice back in the public debate. One thing about Gousha is that this city has never seen an interviewer like him who could get people to actually talk honestly.

His return is almost like the last nail in the coffin that Channel 4 has been building as it continues to turn its news into some kind of "Saturday Night Live"-like joke.

It's December now, which reminds me of the much ballyhooed story Channel 4 ran last Christmas about how your "Christmas Tree Lights Can Kill You." Turned out it was because there was some lead in the wires to make them flexible. Also turned out that in order to get sick (not die, just get sick) you'd probably have to eat about a mile of the wires. But, the station never told us that.

Television news used to be a license to print money. But, it's a much tougher game now.

In 10 years, the size of the audience that watches the 10 p.m. news has dropped by about 20 percent in Milwaukee. That's a lot of people getting their news from someplace else.

The consultants have told the TV stations that their target audience wants short news, happy news, tabloid news, scandalous news -- anything but serious news.

I think they are wrong. Really wrong. I think the target audience, which is also the target audience for OnMilwaukee.com, wants news of substance. It doesn't have to be serious all the time, but it does have to be substantive. What viewers don't want is to be taken for fools.

And that's what Channel 4 does. With designated hit man John Mercure leading the way, they create something that doesn't bear a close resemblance to the news. They find some tiny beat-up segment of the population and then beat them up some more. Deadbeat dads. Sexual predators. Restaurants with a mouse in the kitchen. And yes, those Christmas tree lights can kill you.

I know Mike Gousha. I've worked with him and against him. He's got a great sense of humor, but he's also a very serious guy. He knows that things like government and politics are really important to our lives. They may not be sexy. They may not bleed. They may not kill us if we eat them.

But they matter. And so does Mike Gousha.