In the current State of OMW, it’ll be much more convenient to update via our Twitter feed, which is also seen to the left of this report.
As it turns out, this time around, there’s a lot to recap over the past few days…so let’s tackle the items in reverse chronological order…
MANGINO TO KDKA: Clear Channel talk WKBN/570 Youngstown morning drive host Robert Mangino is heading down the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes. He’ll take the open 6-10 PM talk slot at CBS Radio news/talk KDKA/1020 Pittsburgh.
The Youngstown Business Journal has more.
That evening time slot used to be occupied by KDKA’s Mike Pintek (“Pintek Tonight”), but Pintek was recently named the station’s 12 noon-3 PM host.
That midday time slot became vacant in the worst possible way, as veteran host Fred Honsburger passed away.
Mangino started in talk radio as host at what used to be a Clear Channel sister station to WKBN – now-Forever talk WKST in New Castle PA, not that terribly far from Pittsburgh.
There’s no word yet on what WKBN plans to do in morning drive…but if Clear Channel Youngstown market manager and OMW reader Bill Kelly is reading, we’d be happy to hear from him…
BACK TO NE OHIO: Word came rather quickly that NextMedia hot AC WHBC-FM 94.1 Canton “Mix 94.1” program director and afternoon host Jerry Mac was no longer in that position, but word came even faster about his replacement.
And what do you know…it’s someone who can find the Pro Football Hall of Fame without help.
“Mix’s” new PD is inbound from Saginaw MI’s WGER (a NextMedia sister to WHBC-FM), but he’s familiar to Northeast Ohio radio listeners and readers of the Mighty Blog of Fun(tm) – former CBS Radio hot AC WQAL/104.1 Cleveland “Q104” assistant program director/PM driver Brian “Fig” Figula will start on-air in Canton on Monday.
“Fig” will, according to AllAccess, will continue his duties programming the Saginaw station…from Canton…
A SHANLEY PASSES: The last name “Shanley” is certainly known in Northeast Ohio…the late Gib Shanley was a local sportscaster – at Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 and the long-time radio voice of the Cleveland Browns.
Shanley’s son Greg later built quite a career for himself, as a news director and talk show host for Iowa’ Public Radio. Greg Shanley died Tuesday night.
The Waterloo (IA) Courier has more:
Pat Blank, his longtime station co-worker, said the on-air host and producer once told her he had thought about doing sports broadcasting like his father, Gib, the voice of the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns for 24 years. But Shanley told Blank he got bored waiting for something exciting to happen and realized his passion was in news.
The newspaper reports that the younger Shanley had worked at the Iowa public radio network since 1987. The station’s website schedule lists him as the host of the midday talk program “Talk of Iowa”:
Host Greg Shanley brings a range of experts to the microphone to discuss the the things that make Iowa unique, offer practical advice on home improvement or insightful analysis of politics.
The main Iowa Public Radio site has a tribute graphic to Greg Shanley:
Over the 23 years we’ve known Greg, we’ve admired his curiosity about the world, as well as his ability to speak knowledgeably about anything from politics to horticulture. We’ll all miss his engaging conversation, his love of Iowa, and his award-winning Double Burgers.
Greg Shanley died at the age of 49…
REALITY EXPERIMENT: Not on our Twitter list, and really, only worth a small mention.
Clear Channel rock/talk WMMS/100.7 Cleveland has added a new cast member to its afternoon drive “Alan Cox Show”.
It’s not like we have anything against 22 year-old Erika Lauren personally.
But she’s the latest reality TV personality to waltz into a radio studio and take up a chair. Ms. Lauren is a cast member of MTV’s “The Real World: Washington, DC”, which may or may not be running its current season right now. (We long ago forgot where to find MTV on the cable dial.)
We have this old-fashioned notion that reality TV stars are not really radio hosts by background, trade or skill, but we’ll give her a chance.
And long-time readers know we don’t entirely hate the reality TV genre. The new season of CBS’ “The Amazing Race” is almost underway, and we still hope some Pittsburgh radio station gives a show to Matt Kennedy Gould.
Ms. Lauren joins host Alan Cox and co-host Chad Zumock on the WMMS afternoon show, at least as long as the experiment lasts…
SOCIAL MEDIA: It’s fitting that we used our Twitter account to give first word of another new job title for an Oak Tree denizen.
Clear Channel has named WMMS/WAKS “Kiss FM” program director Bo Matthews as its Director of Social Media.
Bo will be responsible for Twitter, Facebook and other online social media presence for the entire Clear Channel Cleveland cluster.
It’s kind of a natural evolution. Matthews has already been busy using the various social media outlets to promote his stations, and to interact with WMMS and “Kiss” listeners…
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