One of our readers commented the other day that they wished "we'd post more often"...but of course, life continues to intervene, and off-blog business is keeping us very busy...dealing with both extreme highs and lows. But...we're around this afternoon, so here goes... THE R WORD WATCH: When you're 80 years old and have been doing weather on TV for 50 years, it's no surprise that there's speculation on your eventual retirement. But for now, we have no information on when Local TV LLC Fox … [Read more...]
The Awards Post
Posted on June 5, 2012 · Leave a Comment
Local TV and radio broadcasters spent a lot of time in Indianapolis and Columbus this past weekend, picking up awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Great Lakes Chapler (the local Emmy awards), and the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters. Here are the winners for stations and organizations within the OMW primary coverage area. Of course, a number of operations did not enter nominations... ----------- EMMY AWARDS (Only categories with Northeast Ohio winners are … [Read more...]
THIS JUST IN: Romona Robinson to “19 Action News”
Posted on January 24, 2012 · 1 Comment
There's a TV news bombshell this time...out of Reserve Square. Raycom Media's WOIO/19-WUAB/43 "19 Action News" announced just moments ago the hiring of former Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 "Channel 3 News" primary anchor Romona Robinson, who will start at "19 Action News" on February 2nd. The untold story here...apparently at least one person at Reserve Square is not happy with the hiring, and "not happy" is perhaps an understatement. The hiring, oddly enough, also returns Robinson to her … [Read more...]
Weekend Cleanup
Posted on January 22, 2012 · 3 Comments
With such a busy week, even the weekend provides us with the opportunity to clean up news from the remainder of the week... NOLAN RADIO AND THEN SOME: We were mostly playing around last week when we were speculating about the radio future of now-former Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 morning news co-anchor Mark Nolan. Though that speculation intersected with changes at CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1, now known as "New 102", it turns out Mark's return to radio will take place at a different location - … [Read more...]
The Local Media Scorecard
Posted on January 16, 2012 · 5 Comments
Yes, as a reader asked, this has indeed been one of the busiest periods of change in Northeast Ohio media...and we've been covering that particular topic for some six years and change. "You can't tell the players without a scorecard," so the saying goes, so let's update the Local Media Scorecard as we write this late on Sunday night... YES, THERE IS A RUSS: Heading off our scorecard is the debut of Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3's new evening anchor and managing editor Russ Mitchell, whom you … [Read more...]
A Week of Bombshells
Posted on January 11, 2012 · Leave a Comment
There are so many new media news items this week, you'd think your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) was on vacation in a far off land. (That's our standard statement and rule here at OMW - if we leave town, all heck breaks loose.) We have more big news from the local TV and radio scenes. We'll start with radio, since it's the most recent item... YOUNGING UP: It would appear that the major changes at CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1 "New 102" are nearly complete. So, if you're an AC warhorse like WDOK, and … [Read more...]
Two TV Notes
Posted on January 10, 2012 · Leave a Comment
And from the world of local TV on this Tuesday... MORNING GLITCH: The world of morning TV news has quickly become a hotly competitive landscape. From the days where congenial "Today in Cleveland" hosts Tom Haley and Del Donahoo held forth on a folksy kitchen set on Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3, the playing field has turned morning news into a multi-hour, multi-anchor extravaganza at all four local TV news operations. To say "the stakes are high" in local TV morning news would be an … [Read more...]
The Other Stuff
Posted on January 10, 2012 · 5 Comments
As promised, a few hours late...let's go through the other stuff not connected (mostly) with the rebranding of CBS Radio AC (we think it still is) WDOK/102.1, now known to the world as "New 102". For now... THAT OTHER CONTRACT: The renewal of the contract of WDOK..er..."New 102"'s morning man Trapper Jack Elliot became a public item, when Elliot told the Plain Dealer's Chuck Yarborough late last week that the 2 year deal was sitting there, unsigned. When he came back to the 102.1 airwaves on … [Read more...]
THIS JUST IN: Nolan Exiting WKYC
Posted on January 4, 2012 · 7 Comments
We were aware of this "off stage", but thanks to Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 morning co-anchor Mark Nolan talking to a trade site, it's now public. MediaBistro's TVSpy reports that Nolan is leaving 13th and Lakeside, sometime between now and March. Quoting: “After 18 years here at WKYC, I’m allowing my contract to run out and moving on,” Nolan told TVSpy in an email. (snip) The date of his last broadcast is undetermined, but he says it will be before March 14, which is the last day of his … [Read more...]
Tracy McCool For Stacey Bell At Fox 8
Posted on December 13, 2011 · 1 Comment
It's no surprise to anyone, particularly anyone reading the Mighty Blog of Fun(tm), but it's now official. Local TV LLC Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8 News" morning co-anchor Tracy McCool is putting the early alarm clock away, and will sit alongside anchor Bill Martin on the 5 and 10 PM editions of "Fox 8 News", starting in January. Our friend Rich Heldenfels at the Akron Beacon Journal had first word of the move this afternoon on his Ohio.com blog "The HeldenFiles Online": McCool told me she … [Read more...]
