UPDATE 9:01 AM 8/7/08: OMW has confirmed that WJW "FOX 8 News" Columbus bureau reporter John Damschroder is a victim of the station's recent round of layoffs, as the station is closing the bureau entirely at the end of the month.We hear out of South Marginal that the bureau's existing photographer will head back to home base in Cleveland.With the WJW bureau closing, will anyone come in and take over a ready-made TV news bureau in the State Capital?We don't know if there's any interest out of … [Read more...]
Two Columbus Sales
Posted on August 6, 2008 · Leave a Comment
There's new word on two Columbus broadcasting sales, one just announced, the other approved by regulators.APPROVED: The TVNewsday trade website reports that the FCC has given its blessing to the previously announced sale of Columbus market station WSFJ/51 Newark by Guardian Enterprise Group to religious superbroadcaster Trinity Broadcasting Network.WSFJ has been the Columbus market affiliate of the ION Network, though it's gone off on its own direction in the past year or so.Guardian is leaving … [Read more...]
Monday Update
Posted on July 21, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Starting a new week with these items...DRAGGED INTO THE 21ST CENTURY: It's the Nagging Rumor That Won't Go Away, Northeast Ohio radio-wise.Is Media-Com talk WNIR/100.1 "The Talk of Akron" about ready to become "The Talk of the (Internet) World", as it were?An OMW reader tipped us a month or two back to an on-air comment by WNIR midday host Howie Chizek...that the station was apparently readying a streaming audio feed, offering the local talk station's programming to Internet listeners.And then, … [Read more...]
Midweek Drop In
Posted on July 9, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Just checking in...and some of these items have been sitting around for a while...THREE EXIT, ONE RETURNS: We've gotten some inquiries about some of these recent local radio departures, and a former local radio mainstay is coming back to this area to take one of the openings.AllAccess reports that NextMedia AC WHBC-FM 94.1 "Mix 94.1" Canton program director and afternoon driver Hunter Scott is out, confirming rumblings we've heard the past week.And the trade site reports today that his … [Read more...]
Columbus TV Outlet Sold
Posted on June 30, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Guardian Television independent/religious/former ION affiliate WSFJ/51 Newark/Columbus is being sold.The trade site TV Newsday (or is it tvnewsday, or TVNEWSDAY?) reported last week that Guardian is flipping WSFJ to Trinity Broadcasting, giving the Santa Ana CA-based religious TV giant its third full-power O&O station serving a major Ohio market.(The others are WDLI/17 Canton in the Cleveland market, and WKOI/43 Richmond IN, a rimshot into the Cincinnati and Dayton markets.)The move beans … [Read more...]
Stopping By For A Visit
Posted on June 28, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Our infrequent update schedule had one formerly regular reader assuming that we're gone for good!No, we're not.Your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) has been out of town and busy, for one, and we're about to leave Northeast Ohio for a while again.In the past, that's triggered something in the space-time-media continuum, but we're not sure our exit from the region still results in major changes. One of our vacations a couple of years ago ended up with even Cleveland Browns GM Phil Savage scrambling … [Read more...]
A Thursday Smorgasbord
Posted on May 22, 2008 · Leave a Comment
We''l stop in Columbus, first, before ending our trio of notes all about talk radio with a curious Cleveland item...COLLINS OUT: Everyone's being kind of mum about it, but Clear Channel talk WTVN/610 Columbus program director Bruce Collins is out.The veteran programmer (Oklahoma City, Nashville, Atlanta, all at Clear Channel talk stations) tells the folks at Radio & Records that he basically won't say anything about his departure, but will say "are you hiring?" to a prospective new … [Read more...]
A Quick Group Of Items
Posted on May 13, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Just some stuff that's been floating around the OMW Inbox, mostly outside of our immediate Northeast Ohio focus. OK, there is one Cleveland item, which we've saved for last...WSYX HD NEWS: As hinted and expected, Sinclair has flipped the HD News Switch at its Columbus stations, WSYX/6 (ABC) and WTTE/28 (FOX).The move makes the company's news operation the last Columbus market TV newsroom to go the HDTV route.We haven't figured out yet, despite input from our readers in the market, how far … [Read more...]
Loose Ends For A Friday
Posted on May 2, 2008 · Leave a Comment
Fridays seem like just the time to clear up loose ends before the weekend...so, here we are!NOT YET FOR ALL: Though it appears that Time Warner Cable has flipped around its digital cable channel lineups for the bulk of its Northeast Ohio customers, there are apparently some yet to be converted.We're basing this on our own anecdotal evidence, but the former Adelphia/Western Reserve cluster in northeast Summit County and nearby would appear to be doing without the digital channel realignment - … [Read more...]
A Decision To Make
Posted on April 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment
In what would have been much bigger news around the Buckeye State a couple of years ago...Even if you're no longer within earshot of a liberal talk station, you've probably heard of all the hot water syndicated host Randi Rhodes got into recently...after what's been called a "profanity-laced" tirade about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and others, at what amounted to a stand up comedy/personal appearance on behalf of her San Francisco affiliate, KKGN/960 "Green 960".The … [Read more...]
