Veteran Tribune Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8 News" meteorologist Dick Goddard almost left this earth after over 83 years (28 Celsius, as he says), but not due to his advanced age. Goddard, and weather forecasters across Northeast Ohio, have surely repeated advice to those driving in flooded areas..."turn around, don't drown"...but he didn't take that advice this week in Medina County. The Medina County Gazette's David Knox has details, including very vivid on scene pictures of Goddard's … [Read more...]
A Whole Box Of Media Changes
Posted on May 12, 2014 · 2 Comments
As usual, the busiest times in the life of your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) roughly coincide with the busiest times in local media news, and the past few days are no exception... NEW RESERVE SQUARE LEADER: We've written words and words and more words about now-retired Raycom Media CBS/MyNet affiliate WOIO/19-WUAB/43 VP/general manager Bill Applegate. Will his successor have such a high profile? Incoming at Reserve Square is Dominic Mancuso, who has been leading Sinclair's stations in … [Read more...]
Spring Changes
Posted on May 1, 2014 · Leave a Comment
The theme for this one is change... in one way or the other... CHARTER, NOT COMCAST: Northeast Ohio customers of Time Warner Cable, the area's dominant cable provider, were preparing themselves to deal with Comcast. The merger of Time Warner and Comcast has been in the works, and is currently awaiting federal regulatory approval. It's that bid to garner approval that led Comcast and Time Warner to team up with a third company, Charter Communications...which will either directly or … [Read more...]
Spring Layoff Season
Posted on April 17, 2014 · Leave a Comment
The snow is no longer flying again, for now, but the layoff season is in full swing... CLEAR CHANNEL SALES CUTS: It'd been foreseen for weeks. Media giant Clear Channel was expected to radically overhaul its sales structure, cutting back on local sales efforts and streamlining that end of the company's operations. Sure enough, that became a reality on Wednesday. We'll let the excellent Tom Taylor Now newsletter handle the basic description, quoting from a company release about a topic Clear … [Read more...]
A Home Run Update
Posted on April 5, 2014 · Leave a Comment
No, we're not bragging...it's just that baseball is on our mind, after Friday's big Opening Day at Progressive Field. This update is very TV heavy, though those looking for an important update on an earlier radio story should immediately scroll down to our last item... DISH AND STO CONNECT: And since these things usually come down to the last minute, the Indians home opener probably nudged SportsTime Ohio and Dish Network into an agreement. Just hours before the rain-delayed first … [Read more...]
Ending March With A Bang
Posted on March 31, 2014 · Leave a Comment
It's nearly April...and news is breaking out all over... LANIGAN'S GONE: Clear Channel classic hits WMJI/105.7 "Majic 105.7" morning icon John Lanigan has been hearing "goodbye" for weeks from thousands of people, particularly the last week. He finally said "goodbye" himself to his over 40 years in Cleveland radio this morning. Lanigan was honored during the intermission of Saturday's 2014 edition of the station's signature event, the "Moondog Coronation Ball" at Quicken Loans Arena. We … [Read more...]
The Shamrock Update
Posted on March 17, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Yes, it's St. Patrick's Day as we write this, and we have a rather long parade of items to share... MANUEL OUT AT 5: The long tenure of Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5" news director Jill Manuel has ended rather abruptly. In what's not really a surprise to anyone who's even driven by 3001 Euclid, Manuel's departure was announced late last week. From one of those management memos that took the prevailing winds to the doorstep of the OMW World Headquarters: Jill has informed me she … [Read more...]
The Five Item Pileup
Posted on February 27, 2014 · 6 Comments
You walk away from a blog, and items start to pile up like cars on snow and ice covered roadways. Ah, but a sign of spring is here... STO OFF DISH: It's snowy and wind chills are in the negative numbers on this February day in Ohio, but it was 73 degrees in Goodyear AZ, where the Cleveland Indians played their second Spring Training warmup contest this afternoon against the Cincinnati Reds. Viewers all over the Indians TV territory could get a mental break from winter and watch that … [Read more...]
The Jasen/Jasons Have It
Posted on February 24, 2014 · 4 Comments
And as it would happen, two of our newsmakers this Monday have the same first name, albeit with slightly different spellings... JASEN RADIO: The local talk show tipped in an earlier item at Rubber City Radio talk WAKR/1590 Akron will be hosted by an existing station staffer. As we post this, "The Jasen Sokol Show" is making its debut on WAKR, with a time slot of 10 AM to 2 PM weekdays. The show bridges the news/talk/information gap on 1590 AM, airing between the morning drive news block … [Read more...]
Thawing Out
Posted on February 19, 2014 · 2 Comments
We're putting away the parka for a few days, and warming up with some news items... CANCER: The word "cancer" is a bombshell when connected to a local media personality. But sometimes it can be treated, and that's what happened to Tribune Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8 News" anchor/reporter and OMW reader Mark Zinni. A routine physical uncovered signs of what turned out to be thyroid cancer, and after talking to his doctor, Zinni opted to remove his thyroid to prevent any future problems. Yes, … [Read more...]
