UPDATE 2/7/11 6:15 PM: Our sincere apologies to long-time OMW reader Dr. Phil Hoffman, who may not be so avid a reader after we incorrectly posted his last name.
It’s probably not the first time his name has been confused with another local media Phil, and we certainly know the difference between the two (it was a temporary brain freeze). But, our apologies to both men!
UPDATE 2/7/11 10:53 AM: It looks like “Fox 8” is running one of those “Robin Swoboda Shows” without either a name or Robin, with David Moss hosting.
We assume this is to fulfill sponsor obligations…
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As promised, though there is not a LOT going on, we do have a few updates…
NO NEW DAY YET: We had been speculating that Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 “Fox 8″‘s new mid-morning show “New Day Cleveland” could start as soon as today, given that (as pointed out by long-time OMW contributor Nathan Obral) WJW’s schedule showed “To Be Announced” at 10 AM starting today.
No, not yet.
OMW hears that the premiere of “New Day Cleveland” won’t be this morning at 10 AM, or for another few weeks yet.
“The Robin Swoboda Show” returns from its TV purgatory today and Friday, with repeats, of course.
The rest of the week will be filled by “double runs” of repeats of the half-hour Fox 8-produced syndicated show “Hollywood and Dine”, where celebrities dish about their favorite, uh, dishes (sorry, it was sitting there) with WJW entertainment reporter and future “New Day Cleveland” co-host David Moss.
OMW hears that the “Hollywood and Dine” experience will continue in the former “RS” time slot until the last week of the month…when “New Day Cleveland”, with Moss, Kristi Capel and various local radio personalities once featured with Swoboda (Rebecca Wilde, Jimmy Malone and Jen Toohey), takes to the “Fox 8” airwaves.
We hear at least the opening shows will be taped, before the show’s live run begins…not long after the debut.
The very last “Robin Swoboda Show With Repeated Robin” will air on Friday of this week.
As for Kristi Capel, whom only OMW readers and Pennsylvania residents have known about until now, EVERYONE knows about now. And we definitely mean EVERYONE.
That’s because “Fox 8” used a considerable chunk of its local promotional time during Super Bowl XLV on Sunday to promote Capel as its new “SkyFOX” traffic reporter on “Fox 8 News in the Morning”.
That’s right, not as a new morning meteorologist, or a new co-host of “New Day Cleveland” (not yet, at least).
Let’s go back to that (Wilkes-Barre PA) Times-Leader article we linked last month about Capel’s departure from NBC affiliate WBRE/28 in that Pennsylvania market:
Starting Feb. 1, (WBRE weathercaster Kristi Capel) will present the weather forecast to viewers watching the Fox news station in Cleveland, Ohio.
Her new duties in Cleveland include early morning traffic reports and an entertainment show arriving mid-day.
We never questioned that first line when talking to our friends at South Marginal, because we didn’t know it was in question, but the promos definitely spotlight her as being aboard SkyFOX.
And it makes sense to us, because her presence as a weather forecaster would make that section of the building at South Marginal a very crowded place…
MOBILE 3: Surely, you’ve seen local TV news operations use those Skype feeds in cars, giving them the option of showing moving traffic live on the air from a moving vehicle.
The feeds get used a lot during bad winter weather, and since we’ve had a LOT of that in Northeast Ohio this season, we’ve seen a lot of blurry shots of barely identifiable highways being streamed from cell phone video connections.
That’s why a recent live shot from Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3’s newly dubbed “Mobile 3” caught our eye a few days ago.
The highway! We could see it! We could make out the exit signs and the kind of precipitation!
So, we did some digging, and this video one early morning on Channel 3 helped us solve the mystery.
Reporter, er, MMJ Amanda Barren takes a moment, after chipping away some of the morning’s ice, to show off the station’s new “Mobile 3” backpack being carried by photographer Shane Snyder. (Note: the WKYC live truck’s microwave mast is fully down, and the station is actually using the unit on air.)
The backpack’s case says LiveU, which led us to find information about it on this page.
Barren does point out that the unit has “6 modems”…the system bonds together multiple cellular connections to get enough bandwidth for broadcast quality.
WKYC senior director and our blogging friend Frank Macek touches on the unit at his Director’s Cut blog…noting that it was very helpful in coverage not just of weather, but of a recent news story:
This system has been used recently to bring you live traffic updates during snowstorms from inside moving cars. Also we recently were able to get right into the heart of the Fairport gas explosions this week where vehicles (and other stations) weren’t allowed. This gave our viewers a unique perspective of news events through the eyes of those directly affected.
We don’t know if other stations in the market are adding these similar, more advanced units, but will pass along such news as soon as we find out about it.
While we’re talking about our friends at 13th and Lakeside and technology, we’ll note the new WKYC Radar smartphone weather app, which was recently made available for iPhone/iOS and Android users.
As of yet, WKYC is the only local station without a full-fledged smartphone news app, though it recently revamped its mobile website.
Judging from Frank’s blog hints, we wouldn’t be shocked to see a WKYC smartphone news app show up soon, and hope it’s also available on Android…
TIME WARNER NEWS: For whatever reason, we never got a Round Tuit(tm), but the local Time Warner Cable system has added more online access to ESPN networks.
Subscribers can now access ESPN2, ESPNU and the ESPN Buzzer Beater channel via their Internet connection – TWC has offered online versions of ESPN3.com and the main ESPN network since October.
The access is tied to the subscriber’s video subscription, which means those viewers can go to ESPNnetworks.com to view the online version of the networks. Authentication is done through Time Warner’s MyServices online account system (the ESPNnetworks site will handle that redirection).
A TWC press release says “access through certain other Internet enabled devices such as mobile phones and tablets is expected in the near future.” (We’ll again lobby for an Android version.)
The area cable giant is also offering movies from the Sundance Film Festival. Quoting a release: “The Sundance Movies On Demand catalog offers a variety of Sundance films past and present, available in both standard and high-definition on channels 500 and 1500 respectively…”
STEEL DRUMS: We’ll go the extra mile for long-time admitted OMW reader Dr. Phil Hoffman at the University of Akron, who has another documentary about to air on Western Reserve Public Media’s stations (WNEO/45 Alliance-WEAO/49 Akron).
From a release we’ll let tell the tale:
The history and heart of steel drum music and its journey from tropical Trinidad to northeast Ohio is the focus of “Hammer on Steel,” two programs premiering Feb. 15 on Western Reserve Public Media (formerly PBS 45 & 49).
Set in Akron and the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago, both programs feature The University of Akron Steel Drum Band. They are the first documentaries about steel drum music ever shot in high definition. Produced, written and directed by multiple Emmy award winner Dr. Phil Hoffman from the University of Akron’s School of Communication, the programs bring home the sound of the steel pan to Ohio and celebrates 30 years of steel pan at The University of Akron under the direction of music professor Dr. Larry Snider.
First, documenting the compelling and conflict-torn history of steel drum music, “Hammer on Steel: Bad Boys and Genius” premieres Feb. 15, at 9:30 p.m. on Western Reserve PBS WNEO.1/WEAO.1.
The second program, “Hammer on Steel: The Concert,” captures the UA Steel Drum Band’s 30th anniversary concert with Calypso singer Relator and percussionist Andy Narell last April at E.J. Thomas Hall on the UA campus. It premieres Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. on Western Reserve PBS WNEO.1/WEAO.1.
Phil tells us that those who want to see a “sneak preview” of the show’s outtakes, or photos of Trinidad and Tobago, can search Facebook for “Hammer On Steel”.
Additional airings can be found on the station’s schedule, and the UA Steel Drum band can be found online as well.
And the combination of high definition production and great music means this one’s likely to both look, and sound, good….
ENGINEER WANTED: If you’re a radio engineer looking to work in Northwest Ohio, a local station group is looking for you.
This ad was forwarded to us from numerous places, originally posted by Findlay Publishing VP Kurt Heminger:
After over 40-years, our Chief is putting away his soldering iron and heading-off for a very well deserved retirement.
So, we’re looking for an engineer with at least 2-3 years experience as an Assistant or Chief Engineer for our 3 station cluster [WFIN-AM, WKXA-FM & WBUK-FM] in Findlay [OH]. If you know of an individual who may be interested in this position, please have them contact me. Thanks very much.
Since the Findlay group’s contact information isn’t as well known as places like Oak Tree or Freedom Avenue, we’ll provide it: The Findlay Publishing Company, 701 West Sandusky Street, Findlay, OH 45840… (419) 427-8077 or kurtheminger (at) findlayoh (dot) com…
I generally watch WKYC news in the morning, and their mobile reporting from various roadways is really nice. It’s so much more helpful to be able to see conditions and not just guess based on what the traffic copters say.