WISN 12 MILWAUKEE
I started at WISN 12 NEWS in 2006 as a digital producer before departing two years later for WMAQ-TV, the NBC-owned station in Chicago.
I returned to Milwaukee in early 2016 to rejoin WISN 12 NEWS as the station’s Digital Media Manager, responsible for the overall management and direction of the organization’s digital content efforts.
Under my leadership, the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association named WISN 12 the Social and Digital Media Station of the Year. Twice.
WISN.com earned 1st Place in the WBA’s ‘Best Website’ category in both 2016 and 2018. The digital team earned the ‘Best Use of Social Media Livestreaming’ award in 2017 and 2018, and earned 1st place in the ‘Best Use of User-Generated Content’ category in 2016 and 2017.
WISN 12 NEWS is the leader in the market with important, local coverage. With an excellent team supporting me, I continued my growth as a journalist and took my first steps into newsroom management.
I’ve been in the room with the president and the speaker of the house. I reported in the field at WISN 12-hosted debates for Wisconsin Supreme Court, Milwaukee County Executive and Milwaukee mayoral races. I spearheaded coverage on major local stories including crime, severe weather and the Green Bay Packers.
Facebook Live Incorporated Into TV News Broadcast
April 1, 2017
And I experimented! The team and I led the market in utilizing infographics and pivoting to social and digital-first video. I gained proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro and its Creative Cloud.
We embraced Facebook Live as the platform was born, allowing us to take our audience deeper into our newsroom and expand the WISN 12 NEWS brand. Engineering built the digital team a streaming workstation with a virtual switcher, allowing me to learn and gain a proficiency with OBS Studio.
WISN 12 Goes ‘Oscars Central’ on Facebook Live
February 27, 2017
On Instagram, we avoided the sometimes gloom and doom of local news and focused on the beautiful, positive and inspiring. After the company debuted Stories, I visited Facebook HQ in New York City and was inspired by tips from Instagram insiders on how to mix audio and visuals with quizzes, links and tags to connect with our audience.
I created a new digital revenue source with the conceptualization, development and launch of the niche ‘WISN 12 City of Festivals’ mobile app.
I’m grateful for leadership and colleagues who were not only supportive but embraced and promoted my experiments to connect and tell stories.
Oh, and I helped introduce station personnel to our new website and its content management system, which launched without a decrease in sessions or revenue.
Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards:
Social & Digital Media Station of the Year: 2016, 2017
WISN.com: Best Website: 2016, 2018
Best Use of Social Media Live-streaming: 2017, 2018
Best Use of User-Generated Content: 2016, 2017
“BJ DID A FANTASTIC JOB AS DIGITAL DIRECTOR AT WISN-TV. HE WORKED TIRELESSLY WITH A SHORT STAFF TO MAKE SURE OUR DIGITAL PLATFORM WAS SECOND TO NONE. … HE WAS A JOY TO WORK WITH AND I WISH HE WAS STILL HERE.”
— WISN 12 CHIEF METEOROLOGIST MARK BADEN
LTZ.fyi | BJ LUTZ 