Happy (work) anniversary! Mike and Sko

We are celebrating two greats at WISC - chief photographer Mike Van Susteren and news manager Steve Koehn.  

From L to R: Mike Van Susteren, Kyle Geissler, Jessica Arp, Rick Blum, Colin Benedict, Mark Koehn, Kim Sveum and Steve Koehn

Both started here 40 years ago!  It is so rare to have that kind of knowledge in a newsroom and I just admire them so much!  The quality of their work cannot be matched, plus, they're just great men in general.

They were true innovators in television news, starting out as the owners of their own communication company, freelancing as reporters for Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay.  They even owned the first CP-16 film camera in the market...before any of the television stations.

From L to R: Me, Mike Van Susteren, Lance Heidt, Jay Wilson (headless!), Susan Siman, Leah Linscheid, Mark Koehn, Kevin Lewis, Jessica Arp

They have been quite a team over the years.  With Mike's great eye and Steve's gift of words, they have influenced more journalists in the Madison area than anyone else.  Our general manager, Tom Bier (who has made his own significant contributions to our industry) says describing them as 'great' is quite an understatement.  He says they introduced "b-roll" to the market in the days of film and had and continue to have an uncanny understanding of visual storytelling.

Great is an understatement but they are great.  Congrats to Mike and SKO! 

On the road trick: Steve makes sure our pizza stays warm by placing it on the satellite truck generator

From L to R: Steve Koehn Lance Heidt, Jim Rader (headless), Mike Van Susteren, Jay Wilson, Leah Linscheid, Susan Siman, Mark Koehn, Kevin Lewis, Jessica Arp in Green Bay

That time when I made Steve smile with his Texas-shaped waffle while covering the Final Four in Dallas