Atty. Jamie Johnson interviews State Rep. Shannon Zimmerman in April, 2022.
At a sturdy, round wooden table, two people sit on simple cushioned white chairs facing each other. All around them the studio is bathed in black except for a television screen filled with a blue graphic of the State of Wisconsin. A star on the northwest border marks the location of Hudson, Wisconsin. This is Western Wisconsin Journal and the host is Jamie Johnson, a litigation attorney and mediator with the Lommen Abdo Law Firm. You can settle in for an in-depth interview that typically runs 20 – 25 minutes long unless the subject matter requires more.
The format has not changed in the over sixteen years the program has been in production. The co-producer of the show, Nate Skoog, Executive Director of the River Channel Hudson/North Hudson Community Television, worked first with volunteer producer, Dick Shager, when it was called Power News. In 2011, Johnson took over producing and hosting the show and says, “I’ll do it as long as Nate wants me to.”
You can be sure that Johnson and Skoog tackle local issues with local people, but what has made the Western Wisconsin Journal popular with PEG (public, education, and government) access channels all over the northwest and, during election season, all across the state, is their coverage of regional issues, medical, and legal topics, as well as interviews with regional and state-wide candidates for office.
Because northwest Wisconsin is in the Twin Cities advertising market, candidates for office must pay big city prices to reach small town residents in the more rural part of the state. Over the years longtime officeholders like State Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, U. S. Sen. Ron Johnson and U. S. Representative Tom Tiffany have learned that an appearance on Western Wisconsin Journal is a very economical way to reach the audience they want to reach. During the last election cycle both candidates for Wisconsin Attorney General, Josh Kaul and Eric Toney, came on the show, as did both candidates for the U. S. Senate, Ron Johnson and Mandela Barnes, who did a five-minute interview. Governor Evers agreed to come on the show, but the other candidate for governor, Tim Michels, did not.
Sometimes it takes a lot of email exchanges to woo a candidate onto the show for the first time. “Some people need to be assured that the interview will not be a partisan hack job,” said Johnson. “They want a heads up about what we want to talk about. I ask them, ‘What do you want to talk about?’” Before the cameras roll, the two talk about what will be covered. Sometimes Johnson will suggest issues raised by an opponent. Once the interview starts, the segment is shot straight through and never edited later. In all the years the show has been on, this rule has only been broken twice. Once for a nervous candidate who asked to start again, and once for a coughing fit. Fitting the show into a candidate’s busy schedule can also be a challenge. Johnson and Skoog are willing to accommodate guests by shooting on Saturdays, during the lunch hour and before dinner – whatever works.
Western Wisconsin Journal has a regular timeslot on Sunday at 5 pm with repeats throughout the month. The show, which can run as long as two hours, always has several segments, some which promote upcoming events in the area. These time-sensitive segments are rotated out and fresh segments added in.
Attorney Jamie Johnson, Lommen Abdo Law Firm
Host and Producer of Western Wisconsin News
“Without community TV there is nothing in this area,” said Johnson. The closest Wisconsin broadcast affiliate is in Eau Claire. Most local media originate from the Twin Cities. “The Hudson Star Observer [now printed weekly] used to have five reporters. Now they have one,” said Johnson. The River Falls Journal is now exclusively an online newspaper owned by the same newspaper group, O’Rourke Media, that owns small papers in five states. “I’ll often see a short three-inch article in the newspaper and call the local official that’s quoted and ask them to do an interview,” said Johnson. “We’ll turn that article into a 20 – 35-minute segment.”
“The River Channel is very lucky to have Jamie helm Western Wisconsin News,” said Skoog. Johnson has more than 30 years of experience practicing law and is now considered a “senior attorney” in the state, taking on some of the more challenging cases. For the last ten years Hudson voters have elected him to the Hudson School Board and he has served ten consecutive years as its president. “Ever since making his home here in 1990, Jamie has been very active in the community,” said Skoog. “Jamie always has the best interest of the community at heart and with this show, he is bringing them the kind of information that’s really needed here.”
Attorney Jamie Johnson interviews Dr. Paul McGinnis, M. D. in late December 2021 about precautions to take against COVID.
