We don't spend a lot of time listening to either of Radio One's AM stations in Cleveland, so when we first heard just what changes were made this week, we were surprised.But starting Monday, the company has moved Syndication One host Al Sharpton's national show talk in the Cleveland market from urban talk WJMO/1490"The People's Station" to its original frequency home in Cleveland, gospel WJMO/1300 "Praise 1300". Syndication One is an arm of Radio One.Sharpton's program airs in its live 1-4 PM … [Read more...]
Some Random Items
Posted on January 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Starting our week with, well, odd stuff that may or may not be related:WBNX BLOG: It's actually been around for a while, but we only recently stumbled onto a local TV station getting into this blogging thing.Cleveland market CW affiliate WBNX/55 Akron's blog is mostly full of promotion for the station's CW network programming, and the various syndicated programming aired by the station.But there are a few local tidbits in there, and not just appearances by station-linked stars or locations of … [Read more...]
Gladiators Tap WKNR
Posted on January 13, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Not like it was any surprise, but the new Arena Football League team in Cleveland will air its games on Good Karma Broadcasting sports WKNR/850 "ESPN 850".The Cleveland Gladiators and Good Karma announced Friday that WKNR, and sister sports outlet WWGK/1540 "KNR2", will be the Official Radio Home of the team in its first season, which kicks off March 3 at Quicken Loans Arena.From the release issued Friday by the AFL team:ESPN 850 WKNR and Cleveland’s AM 1540 KNR2 will air the Gladiators regular … [Read more...]
Midweek Housekeeping
Posted on January 9, 2008 · Leave a Comment
While sharpening our creative writing skills, some brief headlines of stuff we've not posted so far...and some fairly new stuff...BELLO EXITS: AllAccess reports that Radio One urban AC WZAK/93.1 Cleveland assistant program director/music director/midday personality Terry Bello is no longer in the building on St. Clair Avenue.In addition to his duties on WZAK, Bello was also program director of sister gospel outlet WJMO/1300 "Praise 1300"...MR. BURBANK'S RETIREMENT: We regret providing the … [Read more...]
End Of The Week
Posted on January 5, 2008 · Leave a Comment
No, no announcement yet...just a couple of updates, though! Well, it was a "couple of updates", but it grows by the hour...WKSU RESPONDS: OMW reported the end of Kent State University NPR outlet WKSU/89.7's "Your Way Home", hosted most recently by staffer Daniel Hockensmith.With Hockensmith's departure to the Crain Business Media Empire - in specific, Akron-based "Plastics News" - he won't be replaced as host, and the show will no longer air.But WKSU public relations chief and regular OMW … [Read more...]
A FOX 8 Folo
Posted on December 26, 2007 · Leave a Comment
On this day after Christmas, we've had a couple of days to read followup on the reported sale of "Cleveland's Own" WJW/8 "FOX 8" and its seven mid-market owned and operated sister stations to Oak Hill Capital Partners.It's old news to us, of course, though we did have one bump in the road - which we quickly and publicly corrected.In the end, though, our first report that Oak Hill would be buying the for-sale FOX O&Os turned out to be fully correct...though we couldn't foresee the moves … [Read more...]
BREAKING NEWS: WJW, FOX O&Os Sold – This Time, Officially
Posted on December 22, 2007 · Leave a Comment
OMW first reported weeks ago that Cleveland's WJW/8 "FOX 8" - and eight of FOX's other smaller market owned-and-operated stations - were being sold to Oak Hill Capital Partners.The sale is now official. (Well, minus one of the stations, which we'll explain later.)OMW hears that this News Corporation press release was put up this morning, on walls all over the local station's South Marginal Road headquarters:------------News Corporation Announces Sale of Eight Television Stations to Oak Hill … [Read more...]
Weekend Update Without Chevy Chase
Posted on December 22, 2007 · Leave a Comment
...or, whoever's doing that segment now on "Saturday Night Live". (That show is still on, right?)We have a couple of items that can't wait until Monday. And we're basically on hiatus for the holidays, though again, we have promised to post major items whenever we are able to do so... like, perhaps, these...BUTTE LEAVING WEWS: OMW hears that Scripps Cleveland ABC affiliate WEWS/5 general manager John Butte is retiring from the station effective January 31st.And what do you know...Butte's … [Read more...]
BREAKING NEWS: Bruce Kalinowski Joins WKYC
Posted on December 20, 2007 · Leave a Comment
And yes, this is the Cleveland TV weather move we hinted about some time ago. After not being able to get confirmation about it in all this time, it's now official.WKYC/3's Frank Macek reports in his "Director's Cut" blog this afternoon that former WOIO/19 "19 Action News" metereologist Bruce Kalinowski will join Channel 3.Kalinowski's exact role isn't yet known, but he'll fill the weather staff vacancy left when "Channel 3 News" chief meterologist Mark Nolan left the weather center a while … [Read more...]
Randy, Tribune And TV 8
Posted on December 20, 2007 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 3:56 PM 12/20/07: The Sam Zell takeover of Tribune is complete, and Randy Michaels has been announced as "executive vice president and chief executive officer of Interactive and Broadcasting" for Tribune under Zell's leadership...------------------This is by no means a confirmation of our earlier report that Local TV, LLC, the television operating arm of Oak Hill Capital Partners, is in line to buy the FOX sub-top 10 market owned-and-operated stations being sold - most notably, for this … [Read more...]
