But Gousha refuses to bash WTMJ and insists on focusing on his new opportunity.

"I don't think it's right for me to comment on my prior station. I had a good 25-year run there, and I still have friends there. I have been impressed by some of the depth and context I've seen at 12. They've done some very ambitious things I've watched over the last year."

Gousha points to extended coverage on important issues like violence -- and not just 30-second clips of chalk lines and body bags.

"It's that kind of thing that gets your attention. You see that kind of attention to issues that are important to the community. That's the kind of work I was looking at, that made this seem like the place I need to be at this time."

Hiring Gousha is a major coup for Wade, who has been on the job for just 10 months. She never saw him in his previous role as news anchor, but she says she's been talking to Gousha for nearly that entire time, and his reputation proceeded him.

"That's why we created the show for Sunday morning," says Wade. "We created a concept that Mike was very excited about."

Is Gousha concerned that he'll be a little rusty after more than a year off TV?

"I'd like to think it's like riding a bike," he says. "I don't think I'll be rusty. I think that this is something that once you've done it, you'll always remember how to do it. The key is putting on a show that's interesting, that's relevant to people in this community, that provides a nice addition to their day."

Gousha says he's also cognizant that people get their news in different ways than they did when he first started in the industry, a fact backed up by recent numbers showing a gradual decline in TV news viewership. Across the industry in Milwaukee, the over-the-air stations have dropped from 320,000 households tuning in to about 257,000 homes.

That means he hopes to leverage the Web and other media to "connect younger folks to the political campaigns."

"We're very aware of that, and that will be taken into consideration as we put this program together," says Gousha.

Gousha's new half-hour show will air Sundays at 9 a.m., after WISN's "12 News This Morning" and before "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." The program will initially feature political newsmakers and issues impacting Wisconsin locally, regionally and nationally, and will evolve into more universal topics after the 2008 presidential election.