Role: Host, Wisconsin’s Afternoon News
Hometown: Zion, Ill., but he’s lived in Wisconsin longer than in Illinois.
When did he join WTMJ? October 2010.
Connect:
- Twitter (X): @johnmercure
- Facebook: John Mercure
Five Fun Facts About John Mercure:
- John and his wife, Michelle have twin daughters.
- He was embedded with a Wisconsin military unit and was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait with them during the War. Click here for more of that story.
- John has won five Emmy awards.
- His grandfather survived the attack on Pearl Harbor while aboard the USS Honolulu, which was damaged in an undersea bomb explosion.
- John has been to 45 countries and tries to visit a few new ones each year.
Bio:
A five-time Emmy award winner who helped push the medium of investigative journalism forward from the Milwaukee area, John Mercure knows all the right questions to ask. Naturally, that made him the ‘no-brainer’ pick to lead Wisconsin’s Afternoon New when the tentpole show was launched in 2010.
Mercure, who received his Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Illinois State University, took an alternative approach to investigative journalism during his time with TMJ4-TV. His inquisitive nature and passion for justice helped cultivate the Perverted Justice movement, confronting alleged or attempted sexual predators under the pretense they were meeting with an underaged individual whom they met in chat rooms. This ultimately inspired the Dateline series ‘To Catch A Predator.’
During the Iraq war, Mercure was embedded in a Wisconsin-based military unit to provide firsthand journalistic experience of the conflict in the Middle East. Although he was under high pressure in dangerous situations, John thrived in relaying his experience back to Wisconsin communities through world-class journalistic efforts.
Giving back to the community is of the utmost importance to John, who is proudly on the Board of Directors for Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. He has also worked extensively with the American Lung Association and Fisher House during his career.
Mercure is on the air every weekday afternoon from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News, where he dives into hard news topics in our communities and beyond, using his expertise to relay crucial information while still leaving room for fun, human interest and community-driven stories.
