We've been on the road, and have spent a lot of time talking about what was supposed to be a nationwide event...the end of full-power analog TV...on Tuesday.We'll continue to pass along news about the still-ongoing transition, but this item will wrap up the detailed coverage of "Transition Day One"...and we'll be spending more time on our usual mix of items from now on. Coming up later, either tonight or tomorrow morning, more rumblings about that news video sharing "pool" announced by … [Read more...]
Back To Digital TV
Posted on February 10, 2009 · Leave a Comment
We return to the world of the Up In The Air Digital TV Transition on a key day.The deadline was late last night for local TV stations to file notifications that they intend to shut down their analog signals on the original transition date of February 17, 2009 - which, looking at the calendar, is exactly one week from today.A bill passed by Congress and awaiting President Barack Obama's expected signature (today?) moves the date to June 12.Even if stations had already filed such notifications, … [Read more...]
An Ohio Public Radio Merger
Posted on January 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment
As in commercial radio, the Incredibly Awful Economy is starting to affect public radio as well.That's what ultimately prompted a big move at Oxford's Miami University, where the university's NPR affiliate - WMUB/88.5 - will lose its original programming on March 1st.Cincinnati Public Radio will operate it starting that date, and will program it as a repeater for its own NPR station, WVXU/91.7.The Middletown Journal and the Dayton Business Journal have more, as does the university itself.You … [Read more...]
Clear Channel Layoffs Day 2
Posted on January 21, 2009 · Leave a Comment
OK, as much as we tried to put it off, we have to dig in and share the fallout from the massive Clear Channel restructuring - and how it affects Ohio, as news of yesterday's 9% layoff at the radio giant continues to trickle down.Or, as the trade website AllAccess headline says: "Now, 1850 People Have To Restructure Their Lives"...YOUNGSTOWN: We have some word of the cuts made Tuesday at Clear Channel's South Avenue compound in suburban Youngstown.OMW hears two on-air names let go were actually … [Read more...]
Heading For The Holidays
Posted on December 15, 2008 · Leave a Comment
The coming week, local media outlets are winding down for the holiday season. You'll see and hear a lot of fill-ins starting today, but it's still early enough in December that some regulars will still be working at least part of this week.We're here, too. Due to the general flow of news, the next three weeks will likely see fewer updates, and we'll probably try to put away the keyboard in the week between Christmas and New Year's Day...but we'll try to keep in touch...TIM WHITE EXITS: Today … [Read more...]
Toledo Media Job Dump
Posted on December 11, 2008 · Leave a Comment
In our earlier item about 13 jobs being cut at Raycom Media Cleveland CBS/MyNet affiliates WOIO/19-WUAB/43, we found that the cuts were nationwide for the Montgomery, Alabama-based TV chain.And we wondered about cuts at the other Raycom operations here in Ohio.We mentioned the company's FOX affiliate in Cincinnati, WXIX/19....where we still haven't heard anything about job losses. For that matter, neither has Jeremy Moses down at Tri-State Media Watch, who's still dealing with health … [Read more...]
Thoughts Going Out
Posted on December 9, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Our thoughts are going out today to the author of a blog which has become something of a Southwest Ohio companion to OMW.Tri-State Media Watch editor Jeremy Moses will be away from the blog that covers media in the Cincinnati area for some time, due to critical health concerns. He tells us:To sum up, I have been having what were termed by my doctors as "syncopal episodes", also known as fainting spells, over the last two days. It's not clear what is causing these, whether it's stress or other … [Read more...]
Wrapping Up December’s First Week
Posted on December 5, 2008 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 10:29 PM 12/5/08: Umm, oops.Our apologies to Akron Beacon Journal popular culture writer and OMW reader Rich Heldenfels, for posting this item without yet reading his detailed story on the WKYC changes in Friday's paper.Rich's item even contains some of the information we listed as "not confirmed 100%" below, including the weekend anchor moves involving Jeff Maynor and Kim Wheeler. We guess "not confirmed" meant "we hadn't read the Beacon yet" in this case.Since we're pretty sure Rich … [Read more...]
WKRP? Well, Sort Of
Posted on November 30, 2008 · Leave a Comment
A small Cincinnati TV station is getting nationwide attention for a name change - sort of.Though we first picked up on this thanks to an item on the Cincinnati-area based Tri-State Media Watch blog last Monday, the name change of Cincinnati low-power Class A station WBQC-CA/38 to "WKRP" - inspired by the popular TV show about a fictional Cincinnati radio station - made the national news Saturday, via this Associated Press story.That story was presumably inspired by Cincinnati Enquirer TV/radio … [Read more...]
Friday Cleanup
Posted on November 21, 2008 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 3:15 PM 11/21/08: We added a new item below, about the debut of a new Toledo weekend radio show produced by one of our regular readers. Scroll down for the update...-------Cleaning up some items as we intend to head out the door for the weekend...WNEO'S DIGITAL: OMW hears from Western Reserve PBS that the station is still technically in testing mode today with its new digital signal for Youngstown market WNEO/45 Alliance, which lit up for the first time on Thursday evening.For now, WNEO … [Read more...]
