WKBT La Crosse, WI-NewsChannel 8-Bart Winkler

Bart Winkler

In his spare time, Bart runs The Bucky Channel, a blog about Wisconsin sports. You can access it at www.thebuckychannel.com. Thanks!

Bart is a General Assignment Reporter for NewsChannel 8. He started at WKBT in August of 2005 as a part-time sports photographer. After graduating college, he was hired full-time for his video work, although now in the news department. Bart began reporting for WKBT on a fill-in basis in December of 2006, and then in April of 2007, he was hired as a full time reporter.
 
Bart was born and raised in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. You may be familiar with Fond du Lac as the home of the "Miracle Mile", Walleye Weekend, and the home of the guy who's eaten the most Big Macs. Bart says he's "95% sure" he was named after Packers legend Bart Starr, although his parents haven't officially confirmed it. Bart has three younger brothers, all with the same initials, BGW. His parents haven't given him a reason for that either.

He knew he wanted to be in television since the age of 5, when he told his parents he wanted to be a game show host. His first appearance on TV also occured at the age of 5, when he appeared on the local cable "Oscar the Clown" show. He took that early success with him to UW-La Crosse, where he majored in Telecommunications and minored in Political Science. Bart won an award from the Wisconsin Broadcaster Association for his work while in school. Before he was hired at WKBT, he was the Sports Director at the UW-L station WMCM, was a sports reporter for COW 97 FM, and also worked in master control at KQEG TV. He says he's enjoyed working at WKBT, especially as a reporter. Bart enjoys the job because "it's challenging and rewarding at the same time", and also enjoys meeting people he might have otherwise never met.
 
Bart's interests include, but are not limited to: Packers, Brewers, Badgers, Bucks (in that order), soccer, traveling, visiting friends and family, 24, Neil Diamond, writing, poker, swimming, biking, and a new-found interest in racquetball, in which he vows to beat Aaron Matas by the end of the year. He also says he's a "television dork" that has been following the primetime network ratings since 8th grade. He's pretty sure he's alone in this hobby.

If you have an interesting story to tell, have a question about how to get started in television, need some fantasy football advice, or have a hot stock tip, feel free to email him at bwinkler@wkbt.com.