Kidd O’Shea is coming home.
The Mequon native, who’s spent nearly three decades in broadcasting, is returning to the Milwaukee area to join WTMJ-TV’s morning news team as a traffic anchor and community correspondent for “TMJ4 News Today” in December, the local NBC affiliate announced Nov. 4.
August marked O’Shea’s 10th anniversary with WJLA-TV’s “Good Morning Washington,” where he’s the show’s co-host and travel correspondent.
“Returning to Milwaukee, where my career began, feels like a homecoming,” O’Shea said in the TMJ4 announcement. “I’m excited to reconnect with the community and bring fresh perspectives on traffic and local stories to our viewers. Whether it’s navigating our daily commutes or spotlighting the incredible people of Southeast Wisconsin, I am eager to be back in the heart of it all.”
At 16 years old, O’Shea would make fake radio shows in his bedroom and play them for his friend on a cassette tape during their drive to school, the Washington Blade reported in 2024.
“After meeting a neighbor who was a local TV news anchor, O’Shea was advised to get his start in radio –– and that’s exactly what he did,” the Blade reported.
The Homestead High School graduate found WTKM (a polka/country format radio station) in the Yellow Pages and called to see if they had any openings, O’Shea shared in a 2024 Instagram post.
“Little did I know that this small station in Hartford, WI would kickstart a career that has literally taken me around the world,” O’Shea said in the post.
O’Shea started working at WKTI-FM (94.5) as a teen in 1996 and wound up hosting a popular evening show.
In 2006, O’Shea became a co-host of WMYX-FM (99.1)’s morning show, as well as a regular contributor on WISN-TV (Channel 12), mostly doing feature stories on weekend events around town. He first co-hosted 99.1’s morning show with Jane Matenaer — who just announced her retirement — then starting in 2009, with Elizabeth Kay.
In 2015, O’Shea left to join “Good Morning Washington” as a social media anchor.
During O’Shea’s decade with ABC7, he covered high-profile events, including the Oscars, the CMA Awards and the Kennedy Center Honors, and delivered reports on lifestyle and community stories, TMJ4’s announcement said.
O’Shea has also been “Good Morning Washington’s” go-to correspondent for local, regional and international travel, according to his ABC7 bio.
O’Shea’s accolades have included winning the “Best of LGBTQ DC Local Radio/TV Personality” award from the Washington Blade in 2024.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kidd O’Shea is returning to Milwaukee to join WTMJ-TV (Channel 4)
Reporting by Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
