When CBS Radio AC WDOK/102.1 took the name "New 102" in early 2012, we wondered how long "New" would last. Peg it at three years and three months, as the AC side of the Halle Building has trotted out its "Star" destiny...and has become "Star 102" as of today. The move was first reported earlier this week by super domain snoop Lance Venta of our content partners at RadioInsight...who, as usual, spotted a domain name registration before anyone short of the registrants themselves: As the … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
Jobs And Other Stuff
As promised, some job openings and some other stuff. And...not a single April Fools Day-inspired post in the bunch... JOB OPENING #1: A staffer at Radio One Cleveland has nabbed a new job, and that means the cluster is looking for a new assistant chief engineer. Chief engineer Gary Zocolo, who is a long-time Friend of OMW and then some, lets us know: Ben Slagle was hired here as Assistant Chief Engineer two years ago. Ben had IT skills but very limited broadcast knowledge. After two very … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
Here We Go Again
Another week, another week opener. We haven't forgotten our #TheNextRadio series. It's just that Life has Intervened to the point that we haven't had time for the extra processing needed for the next segment. But in the meantime... BEEFING UP THE WX: Some more changes (stop us if you've heard this before!) are coming to 3001 Euclid. But it's an effort to add staff to the weather department at "NewsChannel 5". An Alert OMW Reader actually spotted one of the two new additions coming to Scripps … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
So Many Changes
So many changes, so little time...just one day for most of this... NEW ND: Raycom CBS/MyNet combo WOIO/19-WUAB/43 has found its replacement for now-former news director Dan Salamone, and it appears quite obvious he won't be leading the "19 Action News" newsroom. Well, OK, not the newsroom under that long-time moniker. Here, let's share the first few lines of the official press release from Raycom HQ in Montgomery AL: Fred D’Ambrosi has been named News Director at WOIO/WUAB, the Raycom Media … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
On The Street
And we'll start with a, uh, "handful of layoffs" at a local TV station... SCRIPPS HAMMER: Word spread among various markets that Scripps was letting a few people go (to the parking lot, then home for good). We have been told that the layoff count is a pretty big "handful" (more on that phrase later) at Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 here in Cleveland...the last number we heard was that seven people are no longer "on your side" at NewsChannel 5. We don't have any names at this point, but we're … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
Pieces Of Information
We have a pretty scattered list of items. But first, what we don't actually have... NO IDEA AT THIS TIME: If you've followed us on social media the past few days, well, we've been a bit annoyed. Our apologies, but we've been shelled with questions (and many E-mails as well) about a certain Cleveland AM sports talk radio host and his absence from the airwaves - and apparently, the station's own website. What we know at this point is that the host, Good Karma sports WKNR/850 "ESPN Cleveland" … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
The Next Radio 1: oWOW
Our first #thenextradio installment is a question and answer session with John Gorman. Both in Cleveland and beyond, he is best known for his stint programming iconic rock station WMMS/100.7, which is today the iHeart-owned blend of talk, rock and sports. Here's a snippet of his bio, in case you're one of a handful of readers at a Northeast Ohio media blog who doesn't know his past: Gorman programmed and served as Operations Manager at WMMS from 1973 to 1986, the station’s glory years, while … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
About The Next Radio
Each Monday, we will have an installment in our series called #thenextradio. The series came about when we were, like many, noticing experienced broadcasters striking out on their own...more often than before. Some had left "traditional radio" voluntarily, some not in such a voluntary way. In the old days, these people basically disappeared when they left the chair behind the microphone...until they managed to get a new radio job, a lot of times "across the street" in radio parlance. Of … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
Held A Virtual Hostage
And other items...but first... RADIO/TV HOLDUP: Last month, a tiny West Michigan radio station was turned asunder...as parties unknown held a virtual gun to its computer systems. Grand Rapids NBC affiliate WOOD-TV/8 covered the story at Jim Higgs-owned standards WAKV/980 Otesgo MI: On Jan. 9, crooks used software called “ransomware” to remotely shut down the computers Higgs uses to get his station on the air. His files were encrypted so he couldn’t get to them. “Our entire music … [Read more...]
![post](https://ohiomediawatch.com/wp-content/themes/mindstream/images/post-formats/default.png)
Stations New And Old
And our opener today is a big signal upgrade for a translator that'll apparently add to iHeart's Oak Tree stable... LATEST FORMAT?: Our content partners at RadioInsight first spotted a move that'd turn translator W291BV/106.1 Solon into a player in the Cleveland market, signal-wise: In Cleveland, an application filed by iHeartMedia will see EMF’s 106.1 W291BV Solon, OH move to the current auxiliary antenna of CBS’ 102.1 WDOK where it will operate with 200 watts at 264 meters rebroadcasting an … [Read more...]