GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – It was 1:38 p.m. on Friday, May 9. The final time I walked out of John Laughrin’s office at WFRV-TV, his final day working for Local 5 News.
John had been our news director since 2021, and he accomplished great things in that time while also expanding his family. Most of all, he helped in the development of young journalists, like myself.
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“More than any story we cover or any award we will win or any big coverage, for me the biggest thing has been the opportunity to guide and mentor people,” he said. “An idea here, a spark there, that makes them better. And watch them grow and apply it. And then maybe get promoted within the station, or move on to a bigger station.”
Nobody knows what climbing that ladder is like more than John Laughrin, who, after a quarter of a century, is only one of a few broadcasters in history that can say they have worked in three out of the four northeast Wisconsin newsrooms…