The Northeast Ohio media community is stunned this morning by the death of veteran Akron and Cleveland broadcaster Chuck Collins. Chuck's death is not a surprise, per se. He's been battling brain cancer for years. But Chuck Collins had an impact on local broadcasters in both personal and professional ways. Chuck was most recently operations director for the Rubber City Radio Group's three Akron stations, then-oldies/news (now news/talk/sports) WAKR/1590, rock WONE/97.5 and country … [Read more...]
Soon To Be “Action” Less
Posted on May 18, 2015 · 5 Comments
A bunch of items this time around, but first... NO ACTION: We've told you for weeks (exclusively) what's coming soon at Reserve Square...the long-time "19 Action News" branding at Raycom CBS affiliate WOIO/19-MyNetwork TV affliate WUAB/43 is about to be put out of "action". And for the first time, we have outside clues that it's about to happen soon. Lance Venta at our content partners RadioInsight is no stranger to divining future radio changes from broadcasters' domain name … [Read more...]
Press Release Theatre, Vol. 13
Posted on May 14, 2015 · Leave a Comment
And as always...oh, you should know by now who comes first in these things...and that the releases were all released in a timely matter. We're just getting a Round Tuit(tm)... WKSU WINS TEN OAPME AWARDS FOR WORK CREATED IN 2014 Ann VerWiebe, WKSU In a Columbus ceremony, WKSU was honored with 10 OAPME Awards from the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors this weekend, including the top award for General Excellence (an award presented to the large market radio station with the best showing … [Read more...]
New Starts
Posted on May 12, 2015 · 2 Comments
Some changes in Northeast Ohio broadcasting to be chronicled...some permanent, some temporary... BOOMS-LESS: As widely expected, CBS Radio sports WKRK/92.3 "The Fan" has opted for evening host Ken Carman to sit alongside Kevin Kiley in morning drive...who co-hosted "Kiley and Booms" for nearly four years with now-former "Fan" co-host Chuck Booms. Uh...not permanently, yet. We hear Carman is scheduled to sit next to Kiley on what is still called "Fan's Morning Show" for this week, and what … [Read more...]
The Booms Fallout
Posted on May 8, 2015 · 8 Comments
As per usual, our Day Two reaction on the exit of morning co-host Chuck Booms from CBS Radio Cleveland sports talker WKRK/92.3 "The Fan". This morning, Booms' long-time partner Kevin Kiley and morning producer J.G. Spooner were about as open as possible about the Euclid native's departure. Kiley says didn't know what precipitated Booms' exit from the Halle Building on Thursday. But he said he was "sad" about the end of the latest incarnation of "Kiley and Booms", noting that he "came to … [Read more...]
THIS JUST IN: Booms Ousted At “The Fan”
Posted on May 7, 2015 · 4 Comments
Numerous sources report that CBS Radio sports WKRK-FM/92.3 “The Fan" morning co-host Chuck Booms ("Kiley and Booms") is out of the building. Cleveland Scene columnist and OMW reader Vince Grzegorek first reported the news, then confirmed it with "Fan" program director Andy Roth, and got comment from Booms himself: Update: Program director Andy Roth confirmed and had this to say: "I can confirm we parted ways with Chuck. We wish him well and we'll announce his replacement in the near … [Read more...]
Out Of A (Kris) Pickel
Posted on April 30, 2015 · 3 Comments
Local TV newsrooms have always featured a virtual revolving door, but this one's a big one. There's one more exit on our list (who is also heading west), but first... ARIZONA BOUND: Kris Pickel, brought in from Sacramento to Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 in March 2012 to become co-anchor with former CBS News anchor/reporter Russ Mitchell, is heading back west. Word spread quickly on Wednesday that Pickel was heading for Phoenix, and indeed, that's where she's going. From the Plain … [Read more...]
The Mouse Is Silent, Here Comes The Rock
Posted on April 29, 2015 · 2 Comments
At Cleveland's WWMK/1260, the "mouse" is silent, but the "rock" could take its place soon. Sometime in the past few days, the kiddie-pop music heard on AM 1260 went away, and the Radio Disney-owned station signed off the air. Up next: OMW hears that the new occupant of the 1260 dial spot, St. Peter the Rock Media lay Catholic "AM 1260 The Rock", could be heard as soon as Monday, May 4th. That meshes with the current "coming soon" message on the "Rock" website (May 2015). We have no … [Read more...]
Reprieve For “La Mega”
Posted on April 28, 2015 · 3 Comments
As expected, the looming September 1st FCC deadline for analog LPTV stations to convert to digital has been suspended. The excellent Tom Taylor Now E-mail newsletter gave us first word of the FCC's decision (released on Friday) here, and explains some of it: The reprieve is a logical move given the early-2016 TV spectrum auction that’s going to turn the whole dial upside down after it’s been trimmed up and “re-packed.” The FCC says postponing the September 1 transition date is “appropriate … [Read more...]
Spinoff Name Change For Cleveland TV Owner
Posted on April 22, 2015 · 1 Comment
It's all the rage in communications. Large companies with holdings in both broadcast and print are spinning off their print properties from broadcast operations. It's already happened twice in Cleveland TV, and it's about to happen again. NBC affiliate WKYC/3 owner Gannett announced Tuesday that its newspaper side will become a separate operation this summer from its broadcast side, but unlike in previous splits, the broadcast part of Gannett will take a new name...TEGNA. Our blogging … [Read more...]
