Now that Joe Tait has said "have a good life, everybody!" and retired to his southern Medina County farm, let's get to the other items piling up in the OMW Topics List... ...SOON ON FM?: You may be hearing Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 in Cleveland branding itself as "NewsRadio 1100, now on 99.1 FM", and soon. That's because it appears Cleveland is about to become the latest Clear Channel market where a powerhouse AM talk station takes up residence at an additional spot on the FM dial, and a … [Read more...]
THIS JUST IN: It’s Curtains For WCER
Posted on March 31, 2011 · 14 Comments
UPDATE (03-31-2011 at 5:29PM): Or is it? We've heard from different sources that WCER may have changed their minds about signing off today or tonight. More on this as details emerge... The original post as follows: ---------------------------------------------------- **This is a developing story... please keep checking back for the latest developments! ** We've also received word that another AM radio station in Canton has decided to throw in the towel and go silent. This time, it's … [Read more...]
Skip Hornyak Passes Away
Posted on March 26, 2011 · 3 Comments
OMW has learned that WHBC/1480 Canton personality Skip Hornyak passed away early yesterday. Hornyak was a fixture at the then-Beaverkettle-owned WHBC starting in 1967 as morning host, then moved to the midday slot, and finally hosted overnights until his retirement in 2000. Hornyak also hosted "Tradio" on WHBC for many years. Prior to joining WHBC, Hornyak also served as the program director for WTIG/990 Massillon (of course, WTIG now operates as an ESPN Radio affiliate). The … [Read more...]
Another Big Return
Posted on February 22, 2011 · 3 Comments
This time, the hiatus was caused by technical problems...which are now completely fixed. So, on with the show...we have a LOT of catching up to do! And if we missed anything, we'll get to it later... JOE TAIT: The "Voice of the Cavaliers" has been heard on the airwaves again, at least temporarily. Cavaliers Radio Network Hall of Fame broadcaster Joe Tait made an appearance by telephone on Fox Sports Ohio's Cavaliers pre-game show with Jeff Phelps and Campy Russell last Wednesday … [Read more...]
Busy News Cycle
Posted on January 14, 2011 · 2 Comments
UPDATE 10:30 AM 1/15/11: We have corrected now-former WTAM/1100 evening anchor Dean Leyland's name below. Sorry about that! And we hear that now-former WTAM weekend evening anchor Cliff Baechle is not leaving the building - his voice will be heard elsewhere, moving to a weekday gig feeding news to Clear Channel hub stations WPGB/104.7 Pittsburgh and WKBN/570 Youngstown from Oak Tree... ------------ Though your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) clearly has his own schedule when it comes to updating … [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...]
Comings And Goings
Posted on December 2, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Or, more accurately, in order, "goings, and comings, and goings"... HE'S OUT: It's no secret that Clear Channel Canton hot AC WHOF/101.7 "My 101.7" morning driver Gary Rivers has been in, uh, a little legal hot water lately..and it's a pretty decent educated guess that those problems have turned him into the now-former morning driver for "My 101.7". The folks at Freedom Avenue say Rivers is indeed no longer with the station, and tell OMW: "We are searching for the next My 101.7 morning show … [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...]
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...]
