This one is all about radio, catching up on a couple of news items... CATHOLIC EARS: Word came out Friday that a local lay Catholic media group will be the new operators of Cleveland's WWMK/1260. The current kid-pop music format will certainly change, and the call letters will likely change as well, as St. Peter the Rock Media takes over AM 1260 from Radio Disney. The reported takeover price, as Disney continues to unload all but one of its RD over-air stations, is $895,000. Before … [Read more...]
Bob Frantz Resurfaces
Posted on January 7, 2015 · 3 Comments
In early July, talk show host Bob Frantz was unceremoniously shown the door at Oak Tree...bounced from his evening talk show on then-Clear Channel-now-iHeart talk WTAM/1100 in Cleveland. The reason? Budget cuts. Before being moved to evenings, Bob was hired to clean up the midday mess left behind by liberal syndicated talk host Jerry Springer...before WTAM brought back conservative syndicated host Glenn Beck. It's that midday slot where Frantz will return to the Cleveland radio airwaves … [Read more...]
The Monday Aftershock
Posted on January 5, 2015 · Leave a Comment
As if our earlier item - with a whole laundry list of changes at local TV newsrooms - wasn't enough... SAM'S REPLACEMENT: With well-liked Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 VP/general manager Sam Rosenwasser no longer in the building at 3001 Euclid, we now know who'll replace him. We'll turn to the company's official press release: Steve Weinstein, an award-winning journalist and forward-looking leader, has been named vice president and general manager of WEWS in Cleveland, effective Jan. 12. His … [Read more...]
Opening The Year
Posted on January 5, 2015 · 8 Comments
Welcome to 2015...but first, we have to clear out the backlog from the end of 2014... WKYC CHANGES: First, we turn to 13th and Lakeside, one of several busy places TV-wise as the calendar winded down the year. (We'll wind our way through all the other local TV news operations in Cleveland, as this string continues.) The job descriptions in the Spectorsky-Byrnes household have once again shifted, and Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 station manager Micki Byrnes has taken the top job at the station … [Read more...]
Happy Holidays
Posted on December 23, 2014 · 1 Comment
There is one news item here (stay tuned!), this is mostly a note to let readers know that we are officially taking a Holiday Hiatus. Our news item is brief, and involves local TV. Denise Polverine, long-time Editor in Chief/Director of Digital Operations for Cleveland.com/Northeast Ohio Media Group, is making the jump to broadcast TV. Starting January 5th, she'll be taking her talents to 13th and Lakeside, where she'll be assistant news director at Gannett NBC affiliate … [Read more...]
John And Johnny
Posted on December 15, 2014 · 1 Comment
And about the only thing missing from our item in that department is "WKRP in Cincinnati"'s Dr. Johnny Fever. But first... UNWRAPPING DIGITAL TV: Those looking for new digital TV options have a couple of new presents on the over-air dial in the Cleveland market...and one, well, let's just say we're checking to see if pigs are flying over Portage County. That is because (as we signaled earlier) a long-time low-power analog TV stalwart has appeared on area digital TV tuners. Media-Com's … [Read more...]
Heading For 50 Years
Posted on December 11, 2014 · 1 Comment
The phrase "83 year old TV personality signs multi-year deal" is not something you would hear in pretty much any other TV market. But this is Cleveland, and he's Dick Goddard. The Plain Dealer's Mark Dawidziak reports that the veteran weatherman, who has been forecasting lake effect snow and summer sun in Cleveland longer than a large chunk of his audience has been alive, has indeed inked a multi-year deal with Tribune Fox affiliate WJW/8 that keeps him with the station through his 50th … [Read more...]
The Captain Passes
Posted on December 1, 2014 · 4 Comments
"Captain" Carl Reese has passed away. A long and fruitful career in Cleveland radio was capped when even recent listeners got to hear him as a voice on standards WRMR, first at 850 AM, and then moved lock, stock and standard to 1420 AM when Robert Conrad decided to air the displaced format on his new AM station (first WCLV[AM]) instead of simulcasting WCLV-FM 104.9. The Plain Dealer's Tom Feran has an obituary here. We now turn the OMW virtual keyboard over to Cleveland radio historian … [Read more...]
Football And Justice
Posted on November 20, 2014 · 3 Comments
No, we're not writing about Adrian Peterson. The title just happens to be our two subjects for this update... BROWNS TO 5: For those used to watching Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 for your preseason Cleveland Browns fix, starting next year...you'll have to "Catch 5". Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 will become the Browns' "TV and digital partner" starting with the 2015 season. From a release out of 3001 Euclid: “Our consistent goal is to continually communicate with our fans and connect with … [Read more...]
Changes At 3001 Euclid
Posted on November 18, 2014 · 2 Comments
The folks at Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 are no strangers to change, and here comes a big one... SAM STEPPING DOWN: Vice president/general manager Sam Rosenwasser, who took over the top post at WEWS in 2010, is stepping down next month. It's been no secret that Rosenwasser has been battling health problems, but he all but brings the medical X-rays to Plain Dealer television writer Mark Dawidziak: Rosenwasser's health crisis began when his intestines were punctured during surgery for … [Read more...]
