UPDATE: We just wanted to link Plain Dealer writer Mark Dawidziak's very extensive article to this item. We'll have more speculation and rumblings in a later post. As Mark notes, rumors of Romona Robinson leaving WKYC have actually been around for a few months, coinciding roughly with six months of contract talks that failed to produce a new deal...but the actual "final day" has been in the rumor mill for about a month now. He also gets WKYC GM Brooke Spectorsky to confirm that there have … [Read more...]
A Snowy Mix Piling Up
Posted on November 30, 2011 · 7 Comments
As we write this item, the first snow of the season can be seen outside the OMW World Headquarters. Meanwhile, our items are piling more than the snow in this short-lived event... THIS JUST IN, FROM THE FCC: Monday, the Federal Communications Commission officially approved the $6.5 million sale of Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting AAA WNWV/107.3 "V107.3" to Akron's Rubber City Radio Group. There's no word on a timetable for the deal to close, or on what the new owners plan to do with the … [Read more...]
The Exit Door
Posted on November 22, 2011 · 6 Comments
It's nearing the end of the year, and that means at least one high profile TV news personality in Cleveland is about to end her run here...and one other could follow in the next month or so... BELL MOVES ON: The first primary evening news anchor to exit the Cleveland market this season is Stacey Bell, who has been co-anchoring the 5 PM and 10 PM editions of Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8 News" with Bill Martin for the past few years...starting anchor duties on the 5 PM show in 2000, and adding 10 … [Read more...]
The New GMC Gang’s Together
Posted on November 10, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5" has announced the final piece of the new "Good Morning Cleveland" puzzle. From a station press release, which also mentions the hire of MMJ Josh Boose that we reported earlier: ----------- WEWS NewsChannel5 welcomes anchor Mike Dunston to Good Morning Cleveland. Dunston will join new anchor hire Macie McInnis Jepson, Meteorologist Christine Ferreira, Traffic Anchor/Reporter Alicia Roberts and new multimedia journalist hire Josh Boose. "I'm … [Read more...]
The All Ones Update
Posted on November 1, 2011 · 1 Comment
That's because today is November 1, 2011, otherwise known as "11/1/11". Some TV changes are up first, with radio not far behind... WHERE'S AMANDA? WHERE'S AJ?: The big movement among local TV newsrooms this week involves weekend weather forecasters. First, we'll start with brand new forecaster Amanda Jahn, who moved to Cleveland from Phoenix to join OMW reader Mark Zinni on the recently launched weekend morning editions of Local TV LLC Fox affiliate WJW/8's "Fox 8 News". You might recall the … [Read more...]
Comings And Goings, Late October Edition
Posted on October 25, 2011 · Leave a Comment
OMW once again becomes Grand Central Station, Media Hub... 3001 EUCLID, INCOMING: Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5" has two incoming newsies, and one is a familiar local TV name from the past. The station has already announced the arrival of Macie McInnis Jepson as one of two new "Good Morning Cleveland" co-anchors, the other to be named later. And yes, she is a name you'd recognize if you watched local TV news in the 1990s, says the station's announcement: Northeast Ohioans will … [Read more...]
The Monday Followup
Posted on October 17, 2011 · 5 Comments
As usual when big news comes out, there's a followup that comes a little later... BIG SHOES: To say that the next afternoon driver at Clear Channel Cleveland country WGAR/99.5 has "big shoes to fill" is probably our understatement of the year. But the station has begun the daunting process of filling the afternoon drive time slot left open by one of the biggest tragedies in local radio history - the passing of Chuck Collier. All Access reports that Clear Channel Cleveland OM Keith Abrams (Hi, … [Read more...]
Early Week Pileup
Posted on October 10, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Some items have been piling up here at OMW World Headquarters, so it's time to clear the traffic lanes... QUICK EXIT: Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5" has parted ways with reporter/anchor Justin Michaels, rather suddenly. From a brief station memo about his exit from news director Jill Manuel: I want to share the news that Justin Michaels is no longer with NewsChannel 5. Please join me in wishing Justin luck in his future endeavors. From what we're hearing out of 3001 Euclid, … [Read more...]
The Wide World Of Media
Posted on October 5, 2011 · 1 Comment
Another set of items on our plate, and we're hungry, so let's eat... 5'S NEW ANCHOR: Again, this is no surprise to OMW readers, who read about it last week, but Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 has officially announced the name of its new 11 PM co-anchor. The shoes Chris Flanagan has to fill at "NewsChannel 5" are big - those of retired anchor Ted Henry (who left those empty shoes in May 2009), but the anchor heading to Cleveland from Dallas is looking to hit the ground running. From the … [Read more...]
Weekend Special
Posted on October 1, 2011 · 3 Comments
A few items hanging around for the weekend, hiding from all the rain and chilly temperatures... WEST MARKET CHANGES: Two staffers are no longer at the Akron Radio Center, as the AkronNewsNow newsroom faces an economic-driven "retooling" of some of its operations. But one other staffer is returning. The layoffs are of two key on-air names at the Rubber City Radio Group newsroom on West Market Street in Akron, which serves oldies/news/sports WAKR/1590, rock WONE/97.5 and country WQMX/94.9: … [Read more...]
