The rumors have been bouncing all over Northeast Ohio radio for some time, and have intensified this week, but it's now official - with confirmation coming from the website of the co-owned newspaper to Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting AAA WNWV/107.3 Elyria "V107.3". ELB announced today that it is selling WNWV to Rubber City Radio Group, which owns Akron market stations oldies/news WAKR/1590, rock WONE/97.5 and country WQMX/94.9. From ELB's sister paper, the Chronicle-Telegram: The agreement still … [Read more...]
Early Week Pileup
Some items have been piling up here at OMW World Headquarters, so it's time to clear the traffic lanes... QUICK EXIT: Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5" has parted ways with reporter/anchor Justin Michaels, rather suddenly. From a brief station memo about his exit from news director Jill Manuel: I want to share the news that Justin Michaels is no longer with NewsChannel 5. Please join me in wishing Justin luck in his future endeavors. From what we're hearing out of 3001 Euclid, … [Read more...]
The Wide World Of Media
Another set of items on our plate, and we're hungry, so let's eat... 5'S NEW ANCHOR: Again, this is no surprise to OMW readers, who read about it last week, but Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 has officially announced the name of its new 11 PM co-anchor. The shoes Chris Flanagan has to fill at "NewsChannel 5" are big - those of retired anchor Ted Henry (who left those empty shoes in May 2009), but the anchor heading to Cleveland from Dallas is looking to hit the ground running. From the … [Read more...]
Weekend Special
A few items hanging around for the weekend, hiding from all the rain and chilly temperatures... WEST MARKET CHANGES: Two staffers are no longer at the Akron Radio Center, as the AkronNewsNow newsroom faces an economic-driven "retooling" of some of its operations. But one other staffer is returning. The layoffs are of two key on-air names at the Rubber City Radio Group newsroom on West Market Street in Akron, which serves oldies/news/sports WAKR/1590, rock WONE/97.5 and country WQMX/94.9: … [Read more...]
Just Us Folks
What has become a major music festival in the Northeast Ohio region has long had the backing of an area public broadcaster. The 45th Kent State Folk Festival turns the Akron suburb of Kent into Folk Music Headquarters...and given that Kent State NPR outlet WKSU/89.7 dedicates a programming stream to its "Folk Alley" service, it's no surprise that the station is heavily involved. We brought WKSU's OMW Handler Ann VerWiebe - who honestly has a more impressive marketing-related title than that - … [Read more...]
Mid-September Grab Bag
There isn't really a lot connecting all of the below items, but here we are with the grab bag anyway... KIMBERLY GILL LANDS: After being unceremoniously dispatched from the Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 morning show "Good Morning Cleveland" in early July. co-anchor Kimberly Gill has a soft landing to the east. CBS O&O KDKA/2 in Pittsburgh announced that Gill is joining their news staff. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Ms. Gill will co-anchor at noon and 4 p.m. with Stacy Smith and serve … [Read more...]
Clearing Out The Inbox
We've spent a lot of time talking about a certain new FM sports station, but that's mostly settled for now. Well, there is one "92.3 The Fan" mention: the "Will or Won't Jeff Phelps Co-Host with Andy Baskin" matter, which has had so many turns that we're about to call it "Cleveland's Talking Heads with Andy Baskin and (a player to be named later)", but... There's a lot more going on, and if we can type it up inside an hour, here goes...an item that is MOSTLY sports radio free from now … [Read more...]
Quick Hits, Mid-August Edition
Getting a Round Tuit(tm) on a mid-summer's day.. FSR TO 92.3: OMW has confirmed that Fox Sports Radio will be used to fill the overnight hours on incoming CBS Radio sports talker WKRK/92.3 "The Fan", when that station launches a week from Monday. We also hear that a lineup for "92.3 The Fan" is nearly complete, and that the station's local evening programming will last until midnight. (It had been expected to run until 10 PM.) The use of FSR on 92.3 will likely mean the network's end on its … [Read more...]