A week ending update of some new starts…some temporary, some permanent…
FILL-INS: Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 has gone to some experienced freelance sports help while it awaits the legal resolution of the case of weekend sports anchor Terry Brooks.
The station is turning to former WKYC/3 weekend sports anchor Mike Cairns to fill-in on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Since leaving WKYC, Cairns has physically gone – well, not far at all – as he’s been freelancing on various shows for SportsTime Ohio. (STO’s facilities, of course, are in the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center.)
In specific, “NewsChannel 5” sports director Andy Baskin notes that “Mike hosts the Ohio High School Kickoff show, the Viking Basketball Report and is co-host of Tee It Up Ohio. He also does play-by-play for STO’s OHSAA Coverage.”
The other freelancer at 3001 Euclid is also seen on STO, and was seen on WEWS tonight.
Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 Browns beat reporter Andre Knott gets more TV face time, on the Channel 5 sports shows “5 On Your Sideline” on Fridays, and “Sports Sunday” on Sundays.
And yes, rather unfortunately for Andre, he has Sundays free these days…after the Cleveland Browns installed in-house employee Jamir Howerton as sideline reporter for the Browns radio network.
Knott is seen on STO’s Training Camp Daily, Berea Report, and the live call-in show Browns Red Zone.
The station’s news staff has pitched in so Baskin doesn’t have to work 7 days a week, with reporters John Kosich and Paul Kiska taking turns at the sports desk…
NO LONGER FILL-IN, AT LEAST IN INDIANA: Having his Monday through Fridays mostly free the past few months, WTAM/1100 weekend host and former WKDD/98.1-WHLO/640 host Matt Patrick is getting a day job.
Monday through Friday will find Matt in South Bend IN, where he tells us that he’s taking the open morning drive slot at Federated Media talker WTRC/95.3 “NewsTalk 95.3 MNC, Michiana’s News Channel”.
He’s filled in there a handful of times over the past few weeks.
Patrick joins a lineup very similar to what surrounded him at WHLO – WTRC features Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.
Matt tells OMW:
“We can be heard into Chicago! Not to mention I see Notre Dame from the studio! It’s a great station..a great team of people…and a fabulous opportunity!”
Matt tells us that he’s not abandoning talk radio in Ohio, as he’ll continue doing his WTAM weekend show (Saturdays from 1-4 PM) from back here in Northeast Ohio.
Matt also tells us he will continue doing fill-ins for WTAM “Big One” brother talker WLW/700 in Cincinnati, as needed…
CONGRATULATIONS: …to an OMW Reader at Freedom Avenue, for an addition to his family.
Clear Channel Akron/Canton operations director/WKDD program director/morning drive co-host/OMW reader/you know the rest Keith Kennedy and “love of (his) life” Kara have welcomed the second baby in the WKDD morning drive show family.
From Keith’s Twitter account:
“Welcome Landon Keith-Alexander born at 6:20pm August 27th, 2010”
Landon joins the other member of the WKDD morning drive infant family, Katherine Ann, recently born to co-host Krissy Taylor, and her husband, sister top 40 WAKS/96.5 “Kiss FM” afternoon driver/assistant program director/music director/OMW reader Kasper.
If any other OMW readers are expecting birth, please let us know, OK? There’s something in the water…
MANSFIELD TALK: OMW hears that a TV station is picking up a show heard for a long time on the radio.
The TV station is Mansfield independent WMFD/68, and the show is “Plant Talk”, which we’re told is “a revival of a long-running call-in show” that aired for some 30 years on Clear Channel talk WMAN/1400.
We’re told the show airs Thursday nights from 7-8 PM, hosted by Bill Collins & Chuck Gleaves from the Kingwood Center in Mansfield.
While we’re visiting Mansfield, electronically, OMW hears that today is the last day on the job for Mansfield Christian School WVMC/90.7 general manager Josh Hooper.
Hooper, who hosted afternoon drive on the “Christian Hit Radio” station, will be replaced by Scott Saunders.
Hooper has a farewell message on his “Afternoons with Josh” page.
WVMC also operates translators W216AH/91.1 Ashland and W274AN/102.7 Jefferson (Wooster)…
AND SPORTS ALL OVER: High school and college sports are taking over the radio and TV airwaves starting this week.
We won’t list everyone, particularly those which haven’t changed their coverage, but some changes we’ve noted:
* We noticed that Clear Channel sports WARF/1350 Akron “Fox Sports 1350” is picking up the high school football baton much earlier this year, bumping Akron Aeros games to Internet-only this Thursday and Friday. In previous years, they’d run the games on sister talk WHLO/640 until the Aeros’ season is over.
We’d ask Keith Kennedy at Clear Channel, but he’s, umm, busy. (See above.)
Thursday’s opener with Akron Hoban vs. Garfield was heard both on WARF, and Rubber City Radio oldies/news WAKR/1590 Akron…as usual preceded by the station’s high school sports preview show.
* We noticed that Time Warner Cable’s schedule of games on the cabler’s Northeast Ohio Network (NEON) Channel 23 includes a healthy schedule of Akron area games, which must mean they were able to come to a production agreement this year for Akron games.
* And Fox Sports Ohio is in the mix with their “Game of the Week” – we believe competitor SportsTime Ohio joins the high school football game parade for the OHSAA playoffs.
College sports will feature a new MAC Football package on STO this year, with additional coverage of the University of Akron Zips on STO – also new to the regional sports network.
We’ll put up various releases and schedules in a separate post, probably sometime this weekend or early next week….
TALKING MARKET SIZE: And OMW hears that the Cleveland-Akron (Canton) TV market stays put at ranking number 18 for the 2010-2011 Nielsen TV season.
The area gained about 5,500 TV homes compared to 2009-2010, for a total of 1,526,200 homes.
Just above Cleveland on the list, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and Denver swapped places…the Miami region moving up to 16th, and Denver moving down to 17th…
Hopefully, Cairns and Knott can score full time gigs out of this.
On paper, WEWS can have a hell of a sports department.
Baskin weekdays, Cairns weekends, Knott as a reporter, plus they brought in former Buckeye (and part of the 2002 National Championship team) Dustin Fox to do OSU analysis, former Brown Reggie Rucker on Sundays to do Browns analysis, and former Buckeye and NBA star Brad Sellers for Cavs analysis.
Cairns is doing Wed and Thur so Baskin can be on weekends during football season.
Fri – High School football
Sat – Buckeyes
Sun – Browns
Mon – Mangini presser
Tue – Tressel presser
I think WEWS .. Or some other station .. Could use a Female personality .. C-Town could really use a fresh face!!! Any word on who is line for the Job at Fox 8?
Well, Sue Ann Robak was the weekender at WEWS for awhile, then did some freelance at WOIO.
I’m looking forward to Howerton doing a far better job than Knott as a sideline reporter. I hope I’m not too harsh, but the vast majority of Knott’s reports consisted of him reading a bunch of statistics that he typed up the day before. He didn’t even need to be on the sideline most of the time. He could have just taped his reports the day before and phoned them in from his couch.