We’re just in an odds and ends kind of mood lately…
HELP INCOMING: Just two days after WEWS/5 lost sportscaster John Chandler to the land of New England, OMW hears that a fill-in may already be on the way.
We hear that if it hasn’t happened already, former WKYC/3 sportscaster Andy Baskin will soon be tapped to pitch in at the local ABC affiliate – to ensure Sue Ann Robak isn’t chained to the sports department 7 days a week, and to help with “team coverage” of events like the Cavaliers’ run in the NBA Playoffs.
(We’re pretty sure the definition of “team coverage” includes having more than one person on the air, after all.)
After leaving the local NBC affiliate, Baskin has started his own production company (“Over The Falls Productions”), and produces shows on a freelance basis for SportsTime Ohio.
We haven’t heard much about the details of Baskin’s upcoming work with “NewsChannel 5”, but we get the idea it is strictly on a fill-in basis.
UPDATE 4/24/07 2:03 PM: We wrote this article before reading Akron Beacon Journal sports/media writer George M. Thomas’ column in Tuesday’s Beacon.
Thomas writes that Baskin will come aboard at WEWS starting Friday. We’ve been aware of the possibility since late last week.
And we maintain our original reporting, that as far as we know, Baskin will only be aboard at “NewsChannel 5” on a fill-in basis. One assumes that his production company would preclude any full-time gig.
As for now-former WEWS sports anchor John Chandler, we hear that he’ll also get to do some feature-length pieces for the New England Cable News (NECN) sports department…
NOT REALLY LOCAL, BUT…: …but, the person quoted by AllAccess Monday was definitely a local radio mainstay at one time.
Former WAKS/96.5 “Kiss FM” programmer Dan Mason, who’s now in Sacramento by way of Miami, has landed a new morning show for the Entercom top 40 outlet there – you know, the one which ran That Contest, long before Mason showed up to clean up the mess.
And that’s what Dan has brought to mornings at KDND/107.9 “The End” – a Mess.
No, we mean “The Morning Mess”, a morning show which used to air on Clear Channel top 40 station WHKF/99.3 in Harrisburg PA, a sister “Kiss FM” outlet to Dan’s Cleveland station.
In its new Sacramento incarnation, the show will become known as “The Wakeup Call”.
And Mr. Mason mentions this in the AllAccess quote:
“I’ve been aware of JASON, KELLY, and GAVIN, since I programmed for CLEAR CHANNEL in CLEVELAND. I always thought the show would find it’s way to a major market and I am thrilled that it’s happening at KDND.”
We have no confirmation to a rumor that the Harrisburg trio won’t even be allowed to MENTION Nintendo video games…
THE CINCY GANG IS SPLITTING UP: With the sale of Clear Channel’s television division to investment group Providence Equity Partners for $1.2 billion dollars, the split between Clear Channel’s TV and radio holdings will become official when it closes.
In Ohio, this affects only one station – Clear Channel CBS affiliate WKRC/12 Cincinnati “Local 12”, which will break ranks with Clear Channel’s massive radio cluster in the Queen City at the sale’s completion.
It almost seems like a footnote to us at OMW. Remember, dominant Clear Channel talk WLW/700 already had its own split from sister station “Local 12”, when “The Big One” decided to hook up with NBC affiliate WLWT/5 for its news, weather and content sharing partnership some ways back.
A trivia question with an answer: There is, technically, one other Clear Channel-owned TV outlet in Ohio – at least for a while.
The company’s hot AC WDFM/98.1 Defiance “Mix 98.1” operates WDFM-LP/26 in the same Northwest Ohio city, which is a locally programmed LPTVer that mainly features frequent repeats of local public affairs shows.
With Clear Channel’s pending sale of hundreds of small market radio stations, including “Mix 98.1”, the distinction won’t last long…though the small market radio sale has hit a bump or two recently.
Technically, WDFM-LP isn’t considered an asset of Clear Channel Television. It’s a side business of the radio operation…
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