It's a "name" theme this time around for your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm)... GEORGE OF RESERVE SQUARE: Raycom Media CBS/MyNet combo WOIO/19-WUAB/43 has a new anchor who started this week, and he's coming off a national stage. George Smith was a reporter for sports TV giant ESPN for nearly 10 years, and moves to "19 Action News" as 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM weekday anchor (with Danielle Serino) and reporter for the station's 10 PM news on "My43 The Block", and the 11 PM news on "CBS 19". Smith's "Action … [Read more...]
Remembering Danielle Fink, WKYC Assignment Editor
Posted on January 21, 2013 · 2 Comments
In the past, the tragic death of a TV newsroom assignment editor wouldn't register with most members of the "general public". But for some very specific reasons, those beyond the local TV news community are mourning the death of Danielle Fink, who worked as an assignment editor for Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3...and earlier, she was employed by Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5. Danielle's home station reports that she died in a car crash in North Olmsted sometime late Saturday night/early Sunday … [Read more...]
Welcome To A Busy 2013
Posted on January 5, 2013 · 2 Comments
And as usual when we start a new year, or return from a hiatus, there's stuff waiting to land like so many airplanes. We are probably missing a topic or three, so don't be surprised if there's a crash...we'll pick up where we left off in a future update... UPDATE 1:35 AM 1/5/13: Cox and Raycom have reached an agreement, and OMW social media followers tell us that the local stations, WOIO/19 and WUAB/43, are back in the Cox lineup. Here's part of what we originally wrote before Friday … [Read more...]
The Fox-STO Shoe Drops
Posted on December 28, 2012 · 9 Comments
We've discussed the rumors. We've discussed the reports from every outlet this side of "Shopper's Weekly" that a sale of Cleveland-based regional sports network SportsTime Ohio was imminent. It's now official, slipped just under the Tax Impact Door of 2012. As expected everywhere (including here), Fox Sports Media Group has signed on the dotted line, with a reported, estimated $230 million purchase of the network owned by the Dolan family, who also happen to own the Cleveland Indians of Major … [Read more...]
Press Release Theatre (Vol. 9), The Time Warner Cable SportsChannel Edition
Posted on December 20, 2012 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 12/20/12 10:07 PM: We're told that the network actually launched in August...we haven't had Time Warner Cable's digital service since before then. But TWC's own release talks about the network in terms of "will be" and "will bring", so they must see this as a post-soft launch statewide. Some wording fixed... ----- Having apparently lost or abandoned its reported bid to buy SportsTime Ohio, Time Warner Cable is going ahead full steam with its own statewide sports network...called "Time … [Read more...]
THIS JUST IN: Trapper Jack, Jim McIntyre Exit WDOK
Posted on December 19, 2012 · 14 Comments
A bombshell hit Cleveland morning radio today, as the two longest-running hosts on the CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1 "New 102" morning team are leaving the station. In fact, this morning was the last day for Trapper Jack after 17 years on the station's morning show, and "Infoman" Jim McIntyre exits this week after 18 years. Co-host Jen Toohey, who moved over from sister hot AC WQAL/104.1 "Q104"'s morning show to join WDOK, remains... and in fact, WDOK has performed what we call around here a … [Read more...]
Posting To The Holidays
Posted on December 15, 2012 · 4 Comments
This will be the last regular news post of 2012, barring any major (and we mean major) Northeast Ohio media news. We'll continue to put breaking media bulletins and other observations on the OMW Social Media Presence(tm) (uh, our Twitter and Facebook accounts). May all of our readers have a very happy holiday season, and we'll see you in January...but, until then... AL BARTHOLET'S REPLACEMENT: Kent State University public radio outlet WKSU/89.7-and-its-many-simulcasters has found its … [Read more...]
The Clear Channel Aftermath
Posted on December 7, 2012 · 6 Comments
We should be used to this by now, but you never get used to hundreds of broadcast professionals getting tossed out of their radio studios for Christmas. Or any other time, really. In what's become a very sad tradition around this time of year, broadcast giant Clear Channel Media+Entertainment+Pork Rinds looked at its staffing levels in markets across the nation and said, "oh, we can do without these people" as the year comes to a close. (And really, anymore, we're only half kidding about the … [Read more...]
Chad And Larry
Posted on December 4, 2012 · 2 Comments
Two names have dominated local media news the past few days. Let's start with the most recent update... CHAD'S OUT: It was pure speculation in our last item...a prediction that comedian and Clear Channel rock/talk WMMS/100.7 afternoon co-host Chad Zumock would ride out the storm of an OVI arrest in Lakewood, his second in the past four years. Here, let's just see how wrong we were: He might get a brief suspension under Clear Channel policy (as far as we know, Zumock wasn’t on the air Friday), … [Read more...]
Early December
Posted on December 3, 2012 · 5 Comments
Here's another update as we round into early December...as items seem to have accumulated in enough quantity to release them into the wild... STO'S FUTURE: The occasional rumbling we've heard about SportsTime Ohio's impending sale has turned into a loud roar. Now, from just about everyone not named "Dolan", we hear that the regional sports network owned by the family which owns the Cleveland Indians is thisclose to being sold. Early on, there were rumors that Time Warner Cable and Fox Sports … [Read more...]
