It was one of the nagging questions among local music radio types. What took them so long?Brecksville's Tom Kent has been building a syndication empire, most recently with the help of Citadel Media (the former ABC Radio Networks). He's landed on big market stations with his weeknight classic hits show, and has established a solid brand in the evening time slot.But Kent wasn't able to land on his hometown oldies, er, classic hits station - Clear Channel Cleveland's WMJI/105.7 "Majic 105.7".He's … [Read more...]
WOAC Flips
Posted on June 25, 2009 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 6/25/09 2:23 PM: A reader comment on this item led us to our digital tuner, and indeed, the WOAC call letters and channel 67 identification are both history.PSIP information now displays the Canton-licensed station as "47-1, WRLM-DT". We did not have to rescan our Zenith converter box to get the new information.The onscreen legal ID automatically inserted under the WOAC days appears to be in flux...it may well say "WRLM", but the last time we saw it, the call letters went above the top … [Read more...]
We Know And We Don’t Know
Posted on June 25, 2009 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 6/25/09 2:21 PM: Our report of the buyouts accepted by WJW/8 "Fox 8" veterans Belinda Prinz and Dan Coughlin has been confirmed/separately reported by Cleveland Plain Dealer media columnist Julie Washington...---------There is a lot of information floating around, most of it related to broadcast television in Northeast Ohio.And we "know" most of it, though some of it is still speculation based on information that's out there...WE KNOW - TV: OMW hears that two veteran local TV names are … [Read more...]
Chalmers Service Update
Posted on June 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 6/24/09 10:47 PM: John now tells us that times have been changed for Saturday:"Visitation will now be from 11 AM to 1 PM and the Memorial service will begin at 1."----------We've gotten some clarification for the timing and events, for Saturday's memorial service for former WMMS/WKYC graphic artist Brian Chalmers.Courtesy of former WMMS program director John Gorman:Regarding Brian Chalmers’ Memorial Service on Saturday June 27 - Visitation will be between 10 AM to 12 noon The Memorial … [Read more...]
Even Quicker Hits
Posted on June 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment
A funny thing usually happens to us on the way to a hiatus: Stuff happens, and we feel the need to post it.So, unlike the last item...this is a very quick collection of "quick hits" we didn't want to wait to post...CHALMERS SERVICES MOVE: It's no surprise to us, as an important figure in Cleveland radio (and TV) history will be memorialized Saturday...in a different location than planned.Former WMMS/100.7 program director John Gorman passes along word that a bigger venue has been secured for … [Read more...]
WMMS, WKYC Artist Brian Chalmers Passes On
Posted on June 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Long-time local radio and TV artist Brian Chalmers has passed away.Chalmers was most recently a graphic artist for Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, but is likely better known - at least inside the local media world - as the second "pen behind the Buzzard"...drawing the iconic graphic character for rock WMMS/100.7 after original Buzzard artist David Helton moved up in the Malrite Broadcasting chain.Former WMMS programmer John Gorman has an item up about Chalmers on his blog, with plenty of pictures … [Read more...]
ODTV: The VHF DTV Struggle
Posted on June 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Here we are, now over a week out from the June 12th digital TV transition, and stations which "transitioned" to a VHF frequency for their permanent digital channels are still getting a lot of flack.Read more on our Ohio Digital TV blog... … [Read more...]
Quick Hits For A Monday
Posted on June 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment
We're still "on hiatus", as it were, but we want to bring out some items we don't want to get moldy.OK, maybe this wasn't as "quick" as we thought...TV CHANGE: Cleveland Classic Media's Tim Lones gives us a heads up on the future of WOAC/67 Canton, the infomercial outlet being sold out of the bankruptcy case of Multicultural Broadcasting's TV division.And there is no future - for either the WOAC call letters, or, apparently, the old channel number 67.Incoming owner Tri-State Christian Television … [Read more...]
ODTV: Sorting Through The WJW Mess
Posted on June 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Yes, we were a bit harsh in yesterday's item, explaining the "lack of power" out of Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8's new digital transmitter...which was believed to be running at 30 kW, but is actually only putting out 11 kW, based on our research of FCC filings.Read more at our Ohio Digital TV blog... … [Read more...]
ODTV: WJW Power Mystery Solved?
Posted on June 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
(This is a full reprint of an item posted on our Ohio Digital TV blog.)The biggest post-DTV transition story in Northeast Ohio is the surprisingly anemic performance of WJW/8 "Fox 8"'s new signal on VHF channel 8, its old analog channel.As it turns out, the signal may be less powerful than pretty much everyone thought, including us, and WJW's digital channel 8 appears to be operating not at the approved post-transition power level of 30 kW, but at 11 kW instead.Yes, you read that right.It took … [Read more...]
