UPDATE 3/2/09 6:30 PM: We'd forgotten Paul Harvey's third regional affiliate here - NextMedia talk WHBC/1480 Canton. WHBC has a link to the Paul Harvey site, which now allows you to hear this week's daily tributes to Mr. Harvey, done by Gil Gross.Here's the rest of our original item...-----Here's our look from a Monday morning perspective...PAUL HARVEY: Tributes continue to pour in throughout the world of broadcasting, and beyond, after the death of iconic radio newsman and commentator Paul … [Read more...]
THIS JUST IN: WKDD Wants To Return Home
Posted on February 27, 2009 · Leave a Comment
It's been nearly eight years since Clear Channel Akron market hot AC WKDD stopped airing from its transmitter site on Bellaire Lane in Cuyahoga Falls in 2001 - its format heading for Canton-licensed 98.1, the former WHK-FM and WTOF-FM.WKDD has now officially filed to return to that former home.The station, now licensed to the Akron suburb of Munroe Falls, has filed an application with the FCC to move from its current Hartville facilities on 98.1, to the Bellaire Lane site...and literally to the … [Read more...]
New Syndie Hosts
Posted on February 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Two new syndicated talk radio hosts are embarking on a new national journey...one, expected, and one, just announced.ALREADY SET: The "expected" host is former Republican presidential candidate, Tennessee senator and star of NBC's "Law & Order", Fred Thompson, who takes the Westwood One 12 noon-2 PM weekday clearance being abandoned by Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly and his "Radio Factor" starting on Monday, March 2nd.One of O'Reilly's two Northeast Ohio affiliates has already announced … [Read more...]
Enough To Run
Posted on February 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment
We're a day late, and hopefully not a dollar short...but to be honest, aside from issues like the news video sharing plan among Cleveland TV newsrooms, not much has been going on.We do have some items this Tuesday morning, though...SPORTS SHUFFLE: Clear Channel sports WARF/1350 and Media-Com sports WJMP/1520 in the Akron market* have shuffled networks and formats quite a few times before, and OMW hears it's in the works again...at least network-wise.It won't be happening right away, but we're … [Read more...]
Random Week Exit
Posted on February 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment
We're closing out our weekend with a random grab bag...and for once, we have media related news on the positive side...MOVING UP: Long-time OMW reader Steve Kelly is moving up in the ranks at Saga's Columbus cluster.After a shuffle among Saga's four radio stations in Ohio's capital city, AllAccess reports that the afternoon driver at AC WSNY/94.7 "Sunny 95" adds programming duties at the newly-moved classic hits WODB/104.3 "Big Hits B104-3".The trade site also reports that the middayer at … [Read more...]
The End Of The Road
Posted on February 19, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Neither item below directly impacts this area - but some readers might be interested.THE DEATH OF "FM TALK": The young male-skewing "FM talk" format, primarily seeded by former CBS Radio morning star Howard Stern, can pretty much be pronounced dead.CBS Radio made a go of it with "Free FM", the company's post-Stern FM talk strategy.After Stern went to Sirius Satellite Radio, the CBS outlets featured a trio of regionally syndicated Stern replacements, including Cleveland's own Shane "Rover" … [Read more...]
The Week That Will Be
Posted on February 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
So, we're back for our usual Monday morning go-around.Like last week, news about the now-mostly-moved digital TV transition will be hard to avoid this week - at least through the first part of this week, at any rate.For now, we'll start on the radio...with a digital TV update to follow later this morning...PAUL HARVEY...GOODBYE: Clear Channel talk WTVN/610 Columbus is the latest station to part ways with the news commentary nominally hosted by veteran broadcaster Paul Harvey.Echoing earlier … [Read more...]
An Uplifting Radio Item
Posted on February 6, 2009 · Leave a Comment
To help brighten your mood on this Friday, here's a radio item that isn't about layoffs...and about the significant power the medium still has to do good.Clear Channel Akron/Canton hot AC WKDD/98.1 is in the midst of a huge annual event - the 10th Annual "Have A Heart, Do Your Part Radiothon" to benefit Akron Children's Hospital.Looking back at our item from last year, the 2008 edition raised $1,000,760 for the local hospital last year, a record...and much more than even top 15 market stations … [Read more...]
Yes, There’s Radio
Posted on February 6, 2009 · Leave a Comment
We've focused so much on the digital TV transition recently, that we wouldn't be surprised if some of our newer readers wondered if we forgot about radio.Of course not. We just can't control all the crazy activity surrounding the change in the digital TV transition date.But here are some radio items hitting our radar, along with one that also touches TV. Unfortunately, not all the news is good...MORE LAYOFFS: OMW hears that the already devastated Cumulus cluster in Toledo is undergoing … [Read more...]
Jerry Healey Passes Away
Posted on February 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Except perhaps for very young listeners in the Rubber City, the name Jerry Healey invokes many memories of Akron's WAKR/1590.Word is coming in that the former WAKR mainstay has passed away "peacefully" near his Southern California home.Quoting his obituary, which an OMW reader passed along to us this morning:The dominant areas of Healey's career were as a sports broadcaster and as a radio morning show host. A product of Syracuse University, he was the voice of football for the University of … [Read more...]
