Some of this you’ve already read before, of course, but it’s official…
SLATS TO WNCX: In a previous item, we told you that former Cleveland market radio veteran Tim Slats was heading back to town for a big gig…morning driver at CBS Radio classic rocker WNCX/98.5.
On Friday, we found a familiar sight in our mailbox…official confirmation that Slats would start in morning drive on WNCX (as we reported) today, Monday, November 7th.
And from that official release out of the Halle Building, rock division:
“We are excited to have Slats as a member of the WNCX team. His love of Classic Rock and knowledge of Cleveland made him the obvious choice for the position,” commented Bill Louis, WNCX – Program Director.
Slats, a 29 year veteran in the radio industry spent the past six years in the Orlando market where he most recently served as midday host on rocker WHTQ-FM.
“I feel lucky to be back in Cleveland,” said Slats. “It’s a great opportunity to be working at such a heritage Classic Rock station.”
The Slats “welcome” page linked above notes something we’ve reported before…aside from returning to radio in Orlando, Slats was, well, on the links…working as a golf professional in Florida. (It sure beats working as a golf professional in Cleveland in November.)
Slats, a veteran of both Clear Channel rock WMMS/100.7 and CBS Radio alt-rock WK-or-X-whatever-its-calls-were/92.3, takes the 5:30 to 10 AM time slot once occupied by the talk “Maxwell Show”. Former WKRK “Radio 92.3” program director Dominic “Nard” Nardella filled in on the WNCX morning drive shift between the Maxwell Departure and the Slats Return.
And as our Secondary Editorial Voice(tm) notes, Slats actually preceded “Maxwell” as afternoon drive host at WMMS…
TV EXIT: OMW hears that Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 “NewsChannel 5” is losing reporter Maurielle Lue to a larger market.
We know for sure that she’s headed for Detroit. We have not confirmed the station, but it would appear that she’ll be working for FOX O&O WJBK/2 there..
INCOMING TRAFFIC: Literally, as OMW hears that Raycom Media CBS/MyNet combo WOIO/19-WUAB/43’s “19 Action News” has found a replacement for morning traffic reporter Joy Redmond.
Redmond exited Reserve Square last month for a weeknight news anchor slot at Fox affiliate WDBD “Fox 40” in Jackson, Mississippi.
Her replacement, we’re told, is coming from Ohio…Toledo to be exact.
She’s Ashley Johncola, who parlayed a gig as “The Face” of LIN TV Fox affiliate WUPW/36 “Fox Toledo” into a part-time job as an MMJ (Multi-Media Journalist, aka reporter for us old school types). Johncola is a graduate of NYU, and we’re told she’s worked hard to establish herself in the “Fox Toledo” newsroom.
We do not know if she’ll actually be an employee of 19/43 parent Raycom, or be working for Metro Networks, as Redmond and long-time “Action News” traffic reporter Rick Abell both did…
FAIR WEATHER: And yes, as expected, now-former Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 “Channel 3 News” weather forecaster AJ Colby landed on South Marginal Road…er…Dick Goddard Way.
Colby started Saturday on the weekend editions of “Fox 8 News in the Morning”, where he sits alongside “Fox 8 News” reporter/anchor and OMW reader Mark Zinni.
As we reported earlier, the opening at “Fox 8” came rather suddenly, when newly hired weekend forecaster Amanda Jahn left the station – the former Phoenix TV/radio personality and WJW coming to mutual agreement that it, well, just wasn’t working out.
We know Colby has worked for at least three of the four Cleveland market newsrooms, and in fact, his latest gig with “Fox 8” is a return to WJW. We’re not entirely sure if he was at Reserve Square for any length of time…
AND SOME MORE FOX 8 STUFF: Nothing solid or official yet, but small tidbits.
OMW hears that WJW is hard at work getting ready for its over-air return to UHF channel 31, its over-air location pre-transition.
Here at OMW World Headquarters(tm), the pre-transition “Fox 8” signal via UHF 31 was our strongest signal by far, and the post-transition VHF 8 facility is our weakest signal, by far. (Well, give or take WOIO’s VHF 10 facility, but the OMW World Headquarters is now well served by the station’s new UHF 24 translator out of the Akron antenna farm.)
The return to UHF 31 for WJW will result in a facility very similar to the pre-transition one, so those who had “Fox 8” via digital over-air pickup before the transition should get the signal back again.
Of course, WJW “Fox 8” will still display as “8” on over-air tuners after the UHF 31 facility takes over, thanks to the “PSIP” protocol built into over-air digital TV. You’ll have to rescan your tuner after the move, and watch here for details for when you need to do so.
And of course, the over-air signal does not affect WJW’s extensive cable or satellite carriage…
AND ANOTHER: “Fox 8 News” is looking for a replacement for anchor Stacey Bell, who we’re told will leave the building sometime next month.
We don’t yet have a bead on any outsiders who may be considered, but we hear morning co-anchor Tracy McCool is the odds-on favorite as far as in-house candidates go…
Really sad to hear Stacy Bell is leaving Channel 8, it won’t be the same without her and if anyone out there from channel 8 is reading this please do NOT replace Tracey McCool with Stacey Fry she is terrible, she has a nasty attitude and it comes through on camera.