[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 86 (Thursday, May 7, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S2321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING ROSHELL ``MIKE'' ANDERSON

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life and 
achievements of Mr. Roshell ``Mike'' Anderson, acclaimed journalist for 
36 years with the Milwaukee-based television station, WISN-12.
  Mike was born in Bogalusa, LA, in 1952 and raised in New Orleans. New 
Orleans' rich musical culture inspired Mike's life-long passion for R&B 
that landed him twice on the R&B soul charts in the 1970s with ``Snake 
out of Green Grass'' and ``Grapevine will Lie Sometimes.'' His musical 
accomplishments continued into the early 1990s and helped spawn a 
unique brand of journalistic storytelling.
  Mike attended Louisiana State University and the Career Academy 
School of Broadcast Journalism in Atlanta, GA. He started his career as 
a disc jockey in various Atlanta radio stations in 1970 and got his 
start in television in Seattle, WA, in 1979. When Mike took the job at 
WISN in Milwaukee in 1981, he planned to stay 3 years. He retired from 
the station 36 years later in 2017.
  Mike's journalism career spanned nearly four decades and six U.S. 
Presidencies. He was proud to have interviewed Richard Nixon, George 
Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. But Mike's most powerful work 
involved telling powerful and moving stories about the Milwaukee 
community. He is perhaps best known for his two award-winning 
documentaries on inner-city violence, ``Children in the Line of Fire'' 
and ``Solutions to Violence.''
  Five years after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Mike returned 
to his home city to cover the city's devastation and its slow process 
of rehabilitation. Through his interviews with local residents, Mike 
found stories of hope, resilience, and many sobering reminders that 
much work was left to be done. As always, Mike brought his unique style 
of warmth, kindness, and optimism to even the darkest issues and 
events.
  After breaking racial and class barriers, he mentored other 
journalists of color and worked to celebrate their success through his 
work with the Wisconsin Black Media Association and Milwaukee's annual 
Black Excellence Awards.
  Mike's straightforward style and commitment to fairness led to a deep 
sense of trust on the part of his viewers. He will long be remembered 
for telling the stories of Milwaukee honestly and with a deep 
connection to the community.
  Mike Anderson's most lasting legacy, however, is that he was beloved 
by the Milwaukee community for not only being a great reporter people 
could trust, he was a good person whose kindness will be missed.

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