Behind-the-Scenes Broadcasting more than anchors, microphones
by Jason Arndt STAFF WRITER
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had Wuttke finds working in the broadcast television industry an experience unlike any other. Wuttke, an Elkhorn Area High School graduate, often encounters a demanding environment consisting of deadlines and split-second ramifications of helping with live productions. “When you’ve got a deadline, going on the air at a specific time, you are going on there regardless whether you are ready or not,” he said. “It is nerve-wracking. It is exciting and it is like a drug in a way.” But Wuttke isn’t holding the microphone, or appearing in front of television viewers,
he spends most of his time packed inside a truck packaging and editing highlights from Wisconsin’s most prominent sporting events. These include telecasts of Milwaukee Brewers, Bucks, other professional sports and Wisconsin Badger athletic contests. “It is a very demanding environment, but you keep coming back,” Wuttke said. “There is nothing like producing live television. Live television is where it is at.” Wuttke, a freelance broadcast technician, acknowledged he serves as a small piece of a very large puzzle in delivering telecasts appealing to sports fan. On any given day, inside a broadcast truck, Wuttke is just one of about 10 to 15 people producing a telecast for Brewers games.
This includes a producer, director, technical director, audio and graphics crews, engineer, among a series of other specialists. “There is a lot of controlled chaos. Anyone walking in would be amazed at how organized it is,” Wuttke said. The controlled chaos, he said, begins well before the first pitch of a baseball game, opening kickoff for football and tip-off in basketball. Wuttke, a freelancer for Bally Sports Wisconsin, typically arrives to American Family Field in Milwaukee six hours prior to the Brewers taking the field for a 7 p.m. game. “We get in about six before first pitch, then we start going through our checks and effect
Chad Wuttke, a freelance broadcast technician, returned to Elkhorn to start a family with his wife, Sarah. Pictured with Chad and Sarah are their 10-month-old daughter Tessa and 3-year-old son, Leo. SUBMITTED PHOTO Spirit of Geneva Lakes
SPIRIT of GENEVA LAKES
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