General Manager
Milwaukee Public Television, Milwaukee

Ellis Bromberg has been General Manager of Milwaukee Public Television (MPTV), which operates WMVS and WMVT, since 2000. He has a joint appointment as Dean of Television and Video Production at Milwaukee Area Technical College, the stations’ licensee. 

Ellis has spent more than 30 years in public broadcasting management, previously as Station Manager of WILL-TV, Urbana, Illinois (1990-2000); as Director of TV Broadcasting at WMHT, Schenectady, New York (1983-1990); and as Director of Broadcasting and News Director at WSKG TV and Radio, Binghamton, New York (1976-1983).  

Under Ellis's leadership, MPTV has launched one of the most ambitious multicast plans in the country, experimenting with broadcast channels that offer local weather, traffic, and music, in addition to more traditional public television fare. MPTV has also distinguished itself with an extensive commitment to local programming, all in high definition, including full-length performances by regional arts companies, ongoing public affairs series that serve southeastern Wisconsin’s minority communities, a weekly forum about local issues taped on location with a live studio audience, and the ambitious five-hour mini-series “The Making of Milwaukee,” about the city’s history.  Five of MPTV’s local productions and contract series, “Tracks Ahead,” “Outdoor Wisconsin,” “Garden Paths,” “Low Carb Cookworx,” and “The Kitchens of Biro,” are seen on public television stations across the nation.

As president of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council from 1996-2000, Ellis led the effort to obtain a $22 million allocation from the Illinois legislature for the transition of that state’s eleven public television stations to digital broadcasting; it was one of the most generous state grants in the nation for that purpose.  

Ellis is currently vice-chair of the University Licensee Association, and serves on the boards of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, NETA, the Public Television Major Market Group, and on the executive committee of the MPTV Friends board. Ellis has also been recognized by PBS with a special certificate of achievement for his responsiveness to viewers.

In the community, Ellis is active on several boards.  Last year, he was honored by the Milwaukee Jewish Council with its Saul Sorrin Award for community service. 

A native of New York City, Ellis earned an M.A. in Journalism from the Ohio State University, where he worked as a news intern for WOSU Radio, and a B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He is also a graduate of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Management Development Program for Public Broadcasting Executives at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.   

Ellis's, Mel, is the principal of her own consulting company, WaterShed International. Their adult daughter, Kyra, is an actress in New York City.