How to Find and Publish Obituaries Through WCSM
WCSM is an independent TV station based in Marinette, Wisconsin, and they run a dedicated obituary section on their website. If you are trying to find an obituary there or submit one, it is not as straightforward as you might expect. Most people assume there is a simple contact form, but the process involves a few steps that are not documented well. The obituary section at wcsmtv.com serves as a local repository for death notices and memorial content from the Door County and Upper Bay Area communities. These aren't just formatted death notices with service times. The ones that actually resonate with readers are the longer narrative pieces families sometimes submit or that the editorial team pieces together from funeral home information. I have seen readers write into the station months after a viewing because a particular story about the deceased stood out to them. Here is how the submission process actually works. The primary route is through the station's newsdesk email or phone line. You can also submit directly through the online contact form under their news section, but I found that email gets faster results. When I was submitting obituaries for my grandmother's service back in 2019, I called the newsdesk first because the form kept failing on mobile. The person who answered gave me the specific formatting they wanted: full name, age, city of residence, date of death, surviving family members, and service details. They also asked if the family wanted a photo included. Having everything typed out before you make the call saved me about twenty minutes of back-and-forth.
The turnaround time is usually one to two business days for standard submission, though weekend submissions tend to carry over to Monday. During holiday weeks it can stretch to three days. The station publishes obituaries on their website and occasionally reads select ones during newscasts, particularly around major local events or for residents with notable community ties. There is a cost associated with placing an obituary that includes a photo. The standard text-only notice is generally free, but once you add an image, there is a fee that runs somewhere in the range of fifty to one hundred fifty dollars depending on whether it is a single photo or a gallery. Pricing varies, and they do not always advertise it on the site. I had to call twice before someone confirmed the current rate. A reasonable expectation is around seventy-five dollars for one photo with a standard-length piece. One thing most people miss is that WCSM accepts obituaries from funeral homes directly as well as from families. If you are working with a funeral director in the Green Bay or Marinette area, ask them if they already submit through WCSM. Many local funeral homes have established relationships with the station and can handle the entire submission without you lifting a finger. This saved me time when my uncle passed and we were already dealing with arrangements. The funeral home forwarded everything directly and I only had to review the final copy before it went live.
The main pitfall I want to warn you about is the photo specification. WCSM requires high-resolution images, typically at least 300 DPI, and they reject photos that are clearly phone snapshots or heavily compressed. I learned this the hard way when my first submission got bounced back because I attached a JPEG pulled from Facebook. It took me another hour to get a proper scan from a physical photo and resubmit. Use a scanned image or a high-quality original whenever possible. PNG or TIFF formats are preferred over heavily compressed JPEGs. Another limitation worth noting is that WCSM does not handle out-of-area obituaries for communities outside their broadcast zone. If the deceased lived in Madison or Milwaukee, they will likely direct you to the appropriate station or newspaper instead. Their coverage area is fairly specific: Marinette, Menominee, Green Bay surroundings, and the Door Peninsula. Trying to force an obituary outside that area will just waste your time. If you need a more permanent or widely accessible obituary beyond the local WCSM audience, pairing the local submission with a paid notice in the Detroit News or a statewide platform like Legacy.com gives you broader reach at a predictable cost. WCSM works best when you treat it as the local component of a multi-channel approach rather than the only place you publish.
Get the Full Details
For the actual submission, go to the WCSM website, navigate to the contact or news section, and look for the obituary submission guidelines. Email is the most reliable method, and having your text and photo ready in advance prevents delays. Keep your tone straightforward, include the essential biographical details, and don't expect the editor to rewrite your family's words for you. They will clean up minor errors but they are not going to draft the piece for you.
