Dairy in the News: WMMB's Wisconsin Dairy News Airs Weekly
Byline: Liz Fitzsimmons, WMMB Director of Local Markets Communications

Informing consumers about Wisconsin's dairy industry has been an objective of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board since its beginning in 1983, to give them an appreciation of the variety of wonderful products, its contribution to our economy and to our quality of life. One of the important ways that WMMB reaches out to consumers across the state is through a partnership with "Discover Wisconsin" television series. In conjunction with Discover Mediaworks, the parent company of the program, WMMB has produced a variety of programs highlighting the role the dairy industry plays in our history, our economy, our communities and our future. Perhaps you have seen one of the 30-minute America's Dairyland features or a 90-second Wisconsin Dairy News clip during your local news over the last few years and did not know that they were brought to you "by the Dairy Farm Families of Wisconsin."

The America's Dairyland series began in 1998 as a program aimed at communicating with Wisconsin's dairy producers. Since then the series has evolved to include shows appealing to consumers as well. Topics have included "Why Wisconsin," a program that discovers how the state has become synonymous with dairy and award-winning cheese, "All about Alice," a documentary style program on the history of the Alice in Dairyland program, and "Pizza…Cheese Tops it All," a show that highlighted the 100th anniversary of pizza in America. America's Dairyland reaches an audience of some 8 million people per episode across a five-state area.

In conjunction with America's Dairyland, WMMB also produces 90-second news clips entitled Wisconsin Dairy News. These segments run each week of the year as part of the news broadcasts on six stations throughout the state. Dairy News, seen by over 115,000 people per week, is designed to give consumers a glimpse at the many ways that dairy products and our dairy industry impact them.

In 2007, for example, Dairy News included stories ranging from the rise of organic dairying to the importance of calcium and Vitamin D for osteoporosis prevention and general good health. "Bucky Comes to Town," "Learning the Importance of Three-A-Day," and "Robotic Milkers" were also among the 52 topics covered.

Liz Fitzsimmons serves as WMMB's Director of Local Markets Communications.