Piled This High

It’s a wide assortment of news items this time, that apparently didn’t melt like those piles of snow we had…

JAMIE’S IN DC: Now-former Raycom CBS-MyNet combo WOIO/19-WUAB/43 “19 Action News” (stay tuned!) morning traffic reporter Jamie Sullivan disappeared so quickly and quietly late last year, she was almost on milk cartons.

And despite the best efforts of This Space and others, no one would share a peep about What Happened To Jamie.

We now know.

A week ago, Jamie Sullivan landed as a traffic reporter at Sinclair ABC affiliate WJLA/7 (and its associated cable channel “NewsChannel 8”) in Washington DC.

It’s actually a return to that 24 hour cable news channel for Jamie…she appeared there while working for the Total Traffic (then-Clear Channel) operation in DC. Jamie has also done TV traffic in Indianapolis…

LET’S NOT ASK AMERICA: The folks at Scripps have put a big effort into syndicating their own programs.

Here at Cleveland’s WEWS/5, and at other Scripps stations, that included replacing “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” (now on WOIO) with original shows including the Skype-fueled game show “Let’s Ask America” and news magazine “The List”.

Scripps won’t be asking America anymore.

From the folks at TVNewsCheck:

The syndicated game show Let’s Ask America distributed by MGM Domestic Television Distribution and hosted by Bill Bellamy will not return for a fourth season this fall, a spokesperson for station group E. W. Scripps confirms.

“In reviewing the data after three seasons of the game show, we see that the audience affinity settled at a level that is below where we want it to be,” she says.

That is the most convoluted way we’ve ever seen to say “people didn’t like the show”.

One other reason for the end of “Let’s Ask America” – the man who picked it up for Scripps, Bob Sullivan, recently left the company for Gannett, where he’s SVP/programming.

“The List” (and “RightThisMinute”) continue in the Scripps stable…the former show recently adding the company’s WRTV/6 Indianapolis.

There’s no word yet on what might replace “Let’s Ask America” on WEWS or other Scripps stations…

RADIO GIANT RETIRING: Ron Colman has been a multi-decade fixture in the Ashland/Mansfield radio market.

The personable morning driver at iHeart country WNCO/101.3 is entering retirement, soon.

He’s a guy so associated with his station and his time slot that a WNCO press release calls him “Colman in the Morning”:

Mid-Ohio’s Country Music Station, 101.3 WNCO, announced today that longtime morning show host, Ron Colman, will retire from his on-air duties after 30 years with the station. Colman’s last day on-air will be Friday May 1, 2015 but he will continue partnering with the station as Community Ambassador.

Colman in the Morning first came to Mid-Ohio August 1, 1984 after hosting radio shows in Pennsylvania, Kansas and Youngstown, Ohio. Each weekday morning since 1984 he has been waking up listeners to 101.3 WNCO.

In 1994 he was inducted into the Country Western Music Association DJ Hall of Fame. More recently, Colman was inducted into the Ohio Radio and Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2014. Colman received numerous awards for his outstanding community service during tenure at WNCO.

“30 years of waking up with my listeners has truly been a blessing.” said Colman. “I’m looking forward to one final month on the air, then I’m throwing my alarm clock out the window.” “You’ve allowed me into your homes and cars each morning, and it has been a privilege.”

iHeart market manager Margie Tasseff talks about Colman’s “positive impact” in the Ashland/Mansfield community, and iHeart senior programming VP and OMW reader (no, it doesn’t mention us in the release) Keith Kennedy says Colman “is not just a local legend”, citing his impact on the country music community nationwide.

WNCO’s signal reaches beyond mid-Ohio, so people in places like Canton and Akron, and nearly to Columbus on I-71, have been able to hear Ron Colman as well.

With Colman retiring, Tony Mitchell and Chelley Kemper over at AC WVNO/106.1 “Mix 106.1″ hold the Mid-Ohio market’s longevity crown, recently celebrating the show’s 20th anniversary…

STAN’S KARMA: Former MediaCom talk WNIR/100.1 “The Talk of Akron” morning drive co-host Stan Piatt has indeed returned to Northeast Ohio, after a retirement move to Western Pennsylvania to be with his girlfriend/long time sweetheart.

He’s wasted no time keeping busy…agreeing to host a daily show on soon-to-launch Internet radio station KRMA Radio, headed up by his former WNIR co-host Maggie Fuller.

But he’ll also put some toes in the Terrestrial Radio Pool as well.

Piatt will become the regular fill-in host for another former WNIR colleague, iHeart talk WHLO/640 midday host Jim Albright, and will appear on Albright’s show each Friday.

The Albright show fill-in role was once filled by, yes, yet another WNIR host…Bob Earley, who also did a weekend show on WHLO for a short time.

Before your head stops spinning, note that Earley will also appear on Fuller’s KRMA Radio, with a Monday through Thursday show from 2-5 PM.

Friday’s out, of course, as Earley’s newly moved “Rockin’ On The River” concert series starts up soon at Black River Landing in Lorain.

And we’ll have much more on KRMA in a Q&A with Maggie Fuller…in an upcoming #TheNextRadio item. It’ll be third in the series, after the one we keep working on…

TWO JOBS: OMW, as always, provides free job listings to help those looking for work.

There will be a separate post later today for two openings: assistant chief engineer for Radio One’s Cleveland Cluster…replacing Ben Slagle, who moved to the role as chief engineer of Cumulus’ Youngstown cluster…and a master control/traffic technican opening at Western Reserve PBS.

But as Ian Shoales (Merle Kessler) used to say on ABC’s overnight show “World News Now”, we Gotta Go. The alarm is ringing as we speak…