WTMJ Veteran Anchor Mike Jacobs To Retire

E.W. Scripps Co.-owned NBC affiliate WTMJ Milwaukee (DMA 35), announced Wednesday that anchor Mike Jacobs will retire at the end of May.

The station said Jacobs is the longest-serving TV news anchor in the Milwaukee area. He started reporting and anchoring at WTMJ in August 1977 and currently anchors the station’s evening newscasts: Live at 5:00, Live at 6:00, Wisconsin Tonight and Live at 10:00.  

Janet Hundley, WTMJ news director, says the station will celebrate Jacobs’ career and his contribution to the Milwaukee area throughout the month of May. “Mike is part of the fabric of this great community,” Hundley said. “We want to take some time on the air to thank him and to give viewers a chance to look back at some of the stories Mike has covered … stories that have had a big impact on our lives.” 

Over the course of his 37 years at the station, Jacobs has reported news from around the globe, including assignments in Rome and Beirut. However, it’s the stories that happened close to home that Jacobs says he is most proud of covering. “It’s been a blessing to work for a great TV station for more than 37 years,” Jacobs said. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed witnessing history … in Milwaukee and around the world.  It’s been a pleasure working with so many talented journalists, but it’s time to spend more time with my family. I’d like to thank our viewers for welcoming me into their homes. And I’d especially like to thank [WTMJ] for allowing me to do something I truly love.”

According to Joe Poss, WTMJ VP-GM, “Mike is leaving a legacy of excellence at this station. He has set a high bar for journalistic integrity, hard work and passion. We will truly miss him.”  

Jacobs’ work has been honored many times throughout his career. He is the winner of two Emmys and a Peabody Award. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, Jacobs was named “Television Journalist of the Year” by the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2008, Jacobs was inducted into the Chicago/Midwest Regional Chapter of Television Arts & Sciences Silver Circle, the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award.  

Jacobs attended Drake University in Des Moines, where he majored in radio and television. While a senior at Drake, Mike got a job as a cameraman with WHO Des Moines. In 1973, following graduation, the company offered him a part-time job, which eventually led to his first full-time TV reporting job. A couple of years later, Jacobs moved to Rockford, Ill., to take an anchoring job at WREX, a job he held until joining WTMJ in 1977.