One recent story that had been extremely problematic to report on recently has been the fate of tiny daytimer WINW/1520 Canton. Actually, make that DWINW/1520 Canton. That is the official call sign in FCC records, as the Pinebrook Corp.-owned gospel station last known as "Joy 1520" was officially yanked from FCC records on March 3. The details as to how and why this happened were and still are hard to figure out. For one, neither the Primary Editorial Voice (tm) nor yours truly were ever able … [Read more...]
Passings, Iconic and Immediate
Posted on March 1, 2011 · 5 Comments
Sometimes, OMW updates write themselves due to breaking media news, and we definitely have that this evening. CLEVELAND RADIO ICON DIES: Much of what you hear on the radio airwaves in Cleveland, even now, can somehow be connected to Carl Hirsch. And calling Hirsch a "radio management icon", as we did in our Twitter update, may be an understatement. Numerous media and trade reports say Hirsch, who was a key manager and owner in Cleveland and beyond, died in Palm Beach FL on Monday at the age … [Read more...]
Another Big Return
Posted on February 22, 2011 · 3 Comments
This time, the hiatus was caused by technical problems...which are now completely fixed. So, on with the show...we have a LOT of catching up to do! And if we missed anything, we'll get to it later... JOE TAIT: The "Voice of the Cavaliers" has been heard on the airwaves again, at least temporarily. Cavaliers Radio Network Hall of Fame broadcaster Joe Tait made an appearance by telephone on Fox Sports Ohio's Cavaliers pre-game show with Jeff Phelps and Campy Russell last Wednesday … [Read more...]
Four Short Items
Posted on February 11, 2011 · 5 Comments
Three from radio, and one from TV... 19 REACHES A DEAL: Those incessant "we're still negotiating with DirecTV" crawls on Raycom Media CBS affiliate WOIO/19 "CBS 19" and MyNetwork TV affiliate WUAB/43 "My 43" have changed. The message we saw last night announced that the station had come to an agreement to keep the two local affiliates on DirecTV, and thanked viewers for their support. In a Twitter update last night, we promised further details today...but we can't find them. Anywhere. The … [Read more...]
A Better Mix
Posted on February 10, 2011 · 2 Comments
From your Mighty Blog of Fun(tm), a better mix of today's and yesterday's media news items. (Well, since Clear Channel's WMVX changed to variety hits WHLK/106.5 "The Lake", the slogan hasn't been used much - give or take NextMedia's WHBC-FM "Mix 94.1" in Canton...) NEW ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR: Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 will have a new second-in-command in the newsroom, and she's actually a familiar name to long-time Cleveland TV news viewers. That's because Ellen Miller spent a number of … [Read more...]
Monday, Monday, February Style
Posted on February 7, 2011 · 1 Comment
UPDATE 2/7/11 6:15 PM: Our sincere apologies to long-time OMW reader Dr. Phil Hoffman, who may not be so avid a reader after we incorrectly posted his last name. It's probably not the first time his name has been confused with another local media Phil, and we certainly know the difference between the two (it was a temporary brain freeze). But, our apologies to both men! UPDATE 2/7/11 10:53 AM: It looks like "Fox 8" is running one of those "Robin Swoboda Shows" without either a name or Robin, … [Read more...]
The Curious Case Of WXOX…Radio?
Posted on January 30, 2011 · 5 Comments
We reported earlier that Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8" has applied to reallocate RF channel 31, its former digital home, presumably hoping to relocate from its post-transition VHF home at RF 8. While investigating that move, we stumbled onto another piece of interesting potential news. Is Cleveland in line for a so-called "Franken FM", a new commercial "radio station" on the lower end of the FM dial? For those unfamiliar with the "Franken FM" phenomenon: Low-power TV station operators … [Read more...]
Three Pronged Item
Posted on January 27, 2011 · 7 Comments
Here's that "three pronged item" we promised, all from the world of radio this time. Wait...it looks like we've added some prongs... NEW Q104ER: This is no surprise to anyone who follows our Twitter account, but CBS Radio hot AC WQAL/104.1 Cleveland "Q104" has named its new afternoon drive host. And she's coming from across the border to do it. She's Heather Backman, who comes to the Cleveland station from Montreal's Virgin 96 FM. Quoting a CBS Radio press release: “Heather’s love of pop … [Read more...]
Some Leftover Stuff
Posted on January 25, 2011 · 2 Comments
And now, some items that have nothing to do about major changes at a local sports radio station...though we'll revisit that in the next day or so... PERMANENT REPLACEMENT: It may just be a coincidence, but as the trial of former Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5" sports anchor/reporter Terry Brooks plays out on the station's own newscasts, the man who's been filling in for him has been given the job permanently. He's Mike Cairns, who is well familiar with the role of second sports … [Read more...]
The Really Big Fallout
Posted on January 22, 2011 · 10 Comments
OK, we'll run out of "really big" titles at some point. More on Friday's bombshell at the Galleria, and since we're now getting complaints about our verbosity, we'll save the other stuff for a later update. A reminder: if you don't like our writing or the length of our posts, feel free to file for a refund of every penny you've paid us to read OMW. All of the rumors and speculation this past week, much of it fueled by a Facebook update by Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100's Mike Trivisonno, … [Read more...]
