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, … [Read more...]
The Year Starter
Posted on January 5, 2011 · 6 Comments
UPDATE 1/5/11 11:13 AM: An update on "The Homeless Radio Voice Guy": With Ted Williams' story going national, he's appeared on national morning TV (NBC's "Today" and CBS' "Early Show", among others), and has gotten job offers from diverse places like MTV and the Cleveland Cavaliers. (They want him for voice work, not to play power forward.) RTDNA's website cites a "Mail Online" report that Williams once "worked overnight shifts" for WVKO/1580 Columbus, in its days as an urban music station. … [Read more...]
TV People Changes
Posted on December 15, 2010 · 1 Comment
Some exits at local TV operations... END OF HIS ERA: OMW has confirmed a tip we received Tuesday about Time Warner Cable's management locally. Vin Zachariah has resigned as head of Time Warner Cable's Northeast Ohio division for "personal reasons". He took over the local arm of the cable giant in September 2009, taking over for long-time TWC NEO boss Steven Fry. We're told that Doug Whiting, the company's Midwest Regional Vice President for Customer Operations, will step in on an interim … [Read more...]
TV, Radio And Other Stuff
Posted on December 1, 2010 · 4 Comments
We guess you could say that items have been piling up again. But we have another full menu for you this late Tuesday evening, and it's chock full of TV, radio and other stuff... NOT THE HELP THEY WERE LOOKING FOR: A recent FCC filing is bound to disappoint some over-air TV viewers in the immediate Akron/Canton area. OMW uncovered two recent filings by signal-challenged Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8", to add low-power digital translators to improve the station's reception in some … [Read more...]
The Big Update
Posted on November 23, 2010 · 3 Comments
"We're slipping," as a reader said. Just days after our big return, your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) became scarce, and we did not invoke our Secondary Editorial Voice(tm), though we notice he was busy with some items "off stage". So, it's a Thanksgiving feast of items, some of them courtesy of our second... EARLY CAST: Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 is joining a growing trend in local TV news across the country - pre-5 AM newscasts. GM Sam Rosenwasser notes, in a memo that floated out of … [Read more...]
A Week’s Worth Of Stuff
Posted on November 9, 2010 · 1 Comment
We've been hanging onto most of this, but one just happened today... HO, HO, HELLO: There have already been early Christmas music flips, even though Thanksgiving is still a few weeks off. Cleveland got on the Holiday Music Sleigh Ride today. And the first entrant in the sweepstakes isn't a traditional Christmas music convert...with Clear Channel hot AC WMVX/106.5 "Mix 106.5" jumping into Radio Jingle Bells sometime today. (We'll assume it happened shortly after the "Valentine in the … [Read more...]
Two Quick Hits
Posted on October 28, 2010 · 5 Comments
Some stuff we forgot earlier, or want to spend a little time with now... ESPN/TWC: One effect of the recent deal between the ESPN networks and Time Warner Cable has taken hold. Starting Monday, Time Warner subscribers gained access ESPN and ESPN3.com oniine from any Internet connection. We've tried it from a tethered cell phone, and though we wouldn't recommend it due to bandwidth issues, it did work - give a take a pause or ten, and some pixellation. You don't need to be a Time Warner Cable … [Read more...]
Tons of Assorted News
Posted on October 5, 2010 · 1 Comment
'A veritable potpourri' of interesting news items gathered throughout the weekend: FSO AND DAN PATRICK: Dayton native Dan Patrick's satellite TV simulcast of his late-morning sports radio show will soon be available to non-satellite subscribers. Yesterday morning, DirectTV, which produces the show for radio and television, announced a syndication agreement with the regional sports network service Fox Sports Net that takes the show over to basic cable, expanding the show's reach to more than 85 … [Read more...]
Just Like Starting Over
Posted on June 25, 2010 · 1 Comment
...no, not the John Lennon song of the same name, but here's another item about the cable TV feature "Start Over". Time Warner Cable, as of today, has added the digital cable feature to the feed of its first local participating broadcaster, Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3. "Start Over" allows viewers to return to the start of a program, even if they tune to the channel in the middle of the show. Digital cable service is, of course, required, and you have to show up and "Start Over" before the … [Read more...]
Holiday Weekend Post
Posted on May 29, 2010 · 2 Comments
UPDATE 8:33 PM 5/29/10: There's an update to the last story in this item. Please scroll to the bottom of the item for more... ------ Here's an update to get you through Memorial Day weekend... LOST UPDATE: First, an update on Channel 5's problems with the series finale of ABC's "Lost", parts of which were, well, lost to area viewers last Sunday night. As we noted on our original item, the Scripps-owned local ABC affiliate was able to convince the network to allow it to rerun the show before … [Read more...]
