It looks like four big Clear Channel FM stations in the Cleveland market, and a number of other stations in three other Ohio markets, are being spun off to a trust to satisfy FCC regulatory caps, in connection with the ongoing effort to spin Clear Channel itself off to private equity firms.The four Cleveland stations would be: country WGAR/99.5, rock WMMS/100.7, oldies WMJI/105.7 and hot AC WMVX/106.5. They'd go to Aloha Station Trust LLC.Also on the list of 71 stations - a large number in … [Read more...]
BREAKING NEWS: Clear Channel Flipping Ohio Stations Into Trust
Posted on June 22, 2007 · Leave a Comment
The Media Circus
Posted on June 21, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Forgive us for treating it like, well, the elephant in the middle of the room...but we have yet to comment on the Northeast Ohio Media Circus.That is, the fact that much of the national media has descended upon Canton and nearby areas concerning the disappearance of a certain pregnant mother, 26 year-old Jessie Marie Davis, from her home in North Canton.A virtual media village has set up at the Stark County Sheriff's Department, and national network and cable news reporters have made the area … [Read more...]
Through The Weekend
Posted on June 15, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Clearing out the ol' Inbox again, with some non-connected stuff from various trade sites and our own reporting...LATEST FM HD RADIO OUTLET: We hinted at it earlier, and now it's official - Clear Channel has lit up another Northeast Ohio station with HD Radio.Not long after hot AC WMXY/98.9 "Mix 98.9" in Youngstown turned on the digital bits, its sister hot AC station about 40 miles to the west has also done so.Akron/Canton hot AC WKDD/98.1 is new to the digital radio game, as of Friday morning. … [Read more...]
Legendary Local Sports Voice Retires
Posted on June 1, 2007 · Leave a Comment
When you've been doing something for a long, long time, and are good at it, that's when labels like "legendary" get applied to you and your work.Thus, we haul out the word this morning, as today is the last day for veteran Canton radio sports director Jim Johnson, who's retiring from NextMedia news/talk WHBC/1480.Johnson was born in Coshocton, and started his radio career back in 1964 in Miamisburg, Ohio. After stints in Indiana, and at Uhrichsville's WBTC/1540 and Akron's WCUE/1150, he spent … [Read more...]
New Landings
Posted on May 31, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Our title this Thursday is appropriate, at least, for the first two items:A NEW KLEON: WRQK/106.9 nighttime personality Joe Kleon exited the Canton rock station shortly after Clear Channel took over the station's operations from Cumulus.AllAccess reports that Kleon has landed at crosstown D.A. Peterson top 40 WZKL/92.5 "Q92" and sister soft AC WDPN/1310 Alliance as that station's new promotions manager.Yes, that's the same job once given to a Louisville KY radio guy now better known in his home … [Read more...]
My 1-0-OOPS
Posted on May 23, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Clear Channel Canton market AC outlet WHOF/101.7 "my 101.7" is a family-friendly, female-friendly standard-issue AC format station.Which is what makes what happened there Monday all the more out of place.Canton Repository entertainment writer Dan Kane reports that a "string of profane words" aired during a recorded segment at 6:30 on Monday's morning drive show - by the timing, it was presumably a newscast.And as a result, WHOF news anchor and co-host Jesse Johnson is "no longer with the … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE: WKDD Munroe Falls?
Posted on May 17, 2007 · Leave a Comment
It hasn't been that long since we pointed out a new way the FCC does business with radio stations, and how the agency now handles such things as changing a station's community of license.In the past, in the process followed by Clear Channel to move the allocation of WJER-FM/101.7 Dover to North Canton, a company had to bring up a mountain of evidence to change an FM allocation - then, after that was approved, file a construction permit under that new allocation and wait for it to be … [Read more...]
Welcome To Monday
Posted on April 9, 2007 · Leave a Comment
...such as it is. And as per usual with our early week posts, we're in a mix of updates and ongoing topics...LES ON THE RADIO: When Good Karma sports WKNR/850 started revamping its lineup, bringing in names like Tony Rizzo and Mark "Munch" Bishop, we wondered what would happen when these hosts took time off.With a rather busy sports month or so mostly behind us, it's no surprise that Rizzo - in his "day"/night job as WJW/8's primary sports anchor - would be taking some time off from both TV … [Read more...]
Weekend Loose Ends, April Edition
Posted on April 6, 2007 · Leave a Comment
After enough snow delays to stop a baseball game four times, time to clear out the odds and ends before we hit the weekend...ANOTHER WHBC CHANGE: OMW hears that NextMedia talk WHBC/1480 Canton, now finishing its second week as "NewsTalk 1480", is making another adjustment to its new format.And judging from the feedback we get here, it's one that will please many of our readers.We hear that WHBC weekend mainstay Jim Albright will premiere a Saturday morning talk/information program starting … [Read more...]
Finally, Akron/Canton News Closure Is Near
Posted on March 28, 2007 · Leave a Comment
No, we don't know if it was our incessant "coverage" of the lack of the WKYC/3-produced "Akron/Canton News" on the former Adelphia Summit County systems now owned by Time Warner Cable. But it looks like we'll finally get our wish."Akron/Canton News" anchor Eric Mansfield, on his DiscoverNEO blog, says Akron area residents on the former Adelphia system should be able to see his program soon:Don't touch that dial: The official announcement is coming Friday from Time-Warner Cable but it looks like … [Read more...]
