By Paul Greeley, 817-578-6324, Paul@NewsBlues.com

Sean O’Flaherty, a staple in Wisconsin journalism community dies after 53-year career working at WTMJ, Scripps NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, according to a story on WTMJ’s website.

He graduated from UW-Madison with a journalism degree in 1971. Then he got the only job he ever had at TMJ4 News. He spent 53 years working there.

Sadly, on July 26, 2024, Sean died after a courageous battle with multiple myeloma cancer. He was 74.

O’Flaherty was destined to be a journalist. He received an audio recorder as a child and began conducting interviews with anyone he could. Eventually, Sean got his hands on a camera.

“He got a camera before our parents got a camera. But he took a trillion billion pictures of me,” his brother Dan O’Flaherty said.

Sean started studying journalism at UW-Madison in 1967 and graduated in 1971. During that time, he would file Madison-related reports for TMJ4 News. Upon graduation, he began his full-time job at TMJ4 and never got another job.

“Sean O’Flaherty was perhaps the most dedicated journalist I ever met,” says Chris Ford in a post on LinkedIn.  Ford was assistant news director at WTMJ from 2007 through 2012.

“To describe Sean as the heart of the TMJ4 News organization is faint, inadequate praise that fails to capture the scope of what he brought to 720 East Capitol Drive, and by extension, to the people of Wisconsin,” Ford says.

“He defined the principle of service to the community, not through bravado or hyperbole, but through action. Godspeed, Sean O’Flaherty. I will remember you by reminding myself: it’s about the work. Do it right, get it done, whatever it takes. Like you did every single day. Thank you for everything. One last favor, Sean. Say hello to Jim Cullen for us. If heaven has a newsroom, I know the two of you will be the ones really calling the shots.”

O’Flaherty began as an on-camera reporter but transitioned into a behind-the-scenes role. He mastered nearly every technical operation at TMJ4 News.

To honor Sean and his years of service, the City of Milwaukee declared it Sean O’Flaherty Day on June 4, 2021. That marked his 50th work anniversary. Also, at the heart of the TMJ4 newsroom is the ‘Sean O’Flaherty Real-Time Desk’.

“Sitting next to Sean every single night was sitting in the VIP circle. It was a very big honor to get to sit next to Sean at his desk,” says Madison Goldbeck, a former TMJ4 employee and Sean’s friend.

“We need more Sean’s. We really do,” says Andrew Triplett, a former TMJ4 photographer and Sean’s friend,

“He did have a very big heart,” Goldbeck said.

Here’s a video to honor O’Flaherty on his 50th anniversary at WTMJ.

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