George Mallet, who rejoined WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) in 2016 as the co-anchor of the NBC affiliate's flagship newscast six years after leaving the station, is out again.
Mallet said in an interview Sunday that he was let go by the NBC affiliate Friday afternoon. OnMilwaukee.com first reported the news Saturday.
"I honestly thought things had been going pretty well," Mallet said. "We had a couple of bad ratings books, but when I first got here we had some successive ratings victories."
According to January ratings numbers provided by WISN-TV (Channel 12), WISN came in first at both 5 and 10 p.m., with a 7.2 household rating at 5 and 5.6 at 10. In the same time slots, WTMJ came in second and third respectively, with a 4.8 rating at 5 and a 4.9 at 10 p.m.
WTMJ-TV management declined to comment. But per usual broadcast-industry practice, Mallet's bio has been erased from the station's website.
Two years ago, Mallet returned to Channel 4 to co-anchor the station's 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts with Carole Meekins. He had left the station in 2010 to become the main anchor at WPTZ-TV, in the Plattsburgh, N.Y., and Burlington, Vt., market.
Before his first stint as a reporter and anchor in Milwaukee, from 2007-'10, Mallet worked at TV stations in Guam, Washington, D.C., Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Philadelphia.
"This is the only TV market I ever returned to," Mallet said Sunday. "We move around in this business. … I kind of thought I had unfinished business."
In his second stop at Channel 4, Mallet said he tried to serve as a mentor to the station's younger reporters. Since the news of his exit, he said, he's been "really heartened" by their support.
One reason he came back to Milwaukee is a key reason Mallet said he plans on staying in Milwaukee: his son, Colton, now 5. Colton, an ardent hockey player, is starting first grade next year.
What his next career step will be is less certain.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/ente...s-anchor-george-mallet-out-wtmj-tv/304777002/
Mallet is out from WTMJ-TV and note this is his second stint in Milwaukee.