In which a swirl of controversy envelopes radio and TV personalities...some of it significant, some of it not... HE'S GONE: When David Oliver became now-former chief of the Brimfield Police Department, we noted that as far as we knew, he still had his part-time job as a weekend radio host at Media-Com talk WNIR/100.1 "The Talk of Akron". After all, his employment there didn't depend on being chief of a small town Portage County police force. But Oliver's unceremonious exit from that … [Read more...]
The Talk Of Brimfield
Posted on January 17, 2015 · Leave a Comment
Ordinarily, the resignation of a small town Ohio police chief embroiled in controversy would not attract worldwide attention. But we're talking about David Oliver here, "the Internet Sensation" and Facebook star...who until Friday was the chief of the Brimfield Township police department. And ordinarily, we wouldn't talk about the doings of a small town police chief, but as you probably know, Oliver has been a weekend host at Media-Com talk WNIR/100.1 "The Talk of Akron"...a short drive … [Read more...]
A Radio Followup
Posted on January 13, 2015 · 5 Comments
This one is all about radio, catching up on a couple of news items... CATHOLIC EARS: Word came out Friday that a local lay Catholic media group will be the new operators of Cleveland's WWMK/1260. The current kid-pop music format will certainly change, and the call letters will likely change as well, as St. Peter the Rock Media takes over AM 1260 from Radio Disney. The reported takeover price, as Disney continues to unload all but one of its RD over-air stations, is $895,000. Before … [Read more...]
Bob Frantz Resurfaces
Posted on January 7, 2015 · 3 Comments
In early July, talk show host Bob Frantz was unceremoniously shown the door at Oak Tree...bounced from his evening talk show on then-Clear Channel-now-iHeart talk WTAM/1100 in Cleveland. The reason? Budget cuts. Before being moved to evenings, Bob was hired to clean up the midday mess left behind by liberal syndicated talk host Jerry Springer...before WTAM brought back conservative syndicated host Glenn Beck. It's that midday slot where Frantz will return to the Cleveland radio airwaves … [Read more...]
The Monday Aftershock
Posted on January 5, 2015 · Leave a Comment
As if our earlier item - with a whole laundry list of changes at local TV newsrooms - wasn't enough... SAM'S REPLACEMENT: With well-liked Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 VP/general manager Sam Rosenwasser no longer in the building at 3001 Euclid, we now know who'll replace him. We'll turn to the company's official press release: Steve Weinstein, an award-winning journalist and forward-looking leader, has been named vice president and general manager of WEWS in Cleveland, effective Jan. 12. His … [Read more...]
Opening The Year
Posted on January 5, 2015 · 8 Comments
Welcome to 2015...but first, we have to clear out the backlog from the end of 2014... WKYC CHANGES: First, we turn to 13th and Lakeside, one of several busy places TV-wise as the calendar winded down the year. (We'll wind our way through all the other local TV news operations in Cleveland, as this string continues.) The job descriptions in the Spectorsky-Byrnes household have once again shifted, and Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 station manager Micki Byrnes has taken the top job at the station … [Read more...]
John And Johnny
Posted on December 15, 2014 · 1 Comment
And about the only thing missing from our item in that department is "WKRP in Cincinnati"'s Dr. Johnny Fever. But first... UNWRAPPING DIGITAL TV: Those looking for new digital TV options have a couple of new presents on the over-air dial in the Cleveland market...and one, well, let's just say we're checking to see if pigs are flying over Portage County. That is because (as we signaled earlier) a long-time low-power analog TV stalwart has appeared on area digital TV tuners. Media-Com's … [Read more...]
The Captain Passes
Posted on December 1, 2014 · 4 Comments
"Captain" Carl Reese has passed away. A long and fruitful career in Cleveland radio was capped when even recent listeners got to hear him as a voice on standards WRMR, first at 850 AM, and then moved lock, stock and standard to 1420 AM when Robert Conrad decided to air the displaced format on his new AM station (first WCLV[AM]) instead of simulcasting WCLV-FM 104.9. The Plain Dealer's Tom Feran has an obituary here. We now turn the OMW virtual keyboard over to Cleveland radio historian … [Read more...]
Moves, Both Good And Tragic
Posted on November 12, 2014 · 1 Comment
UPDATE: A sad update to our second story...from Rover's GoFundMe site: UPDATE 11-12-2014: Unfortunately little Serena has succumbed to her injuries. She passed away this morning. Sarah and Ben remain hospitalized in serious condition. Please keep Rob and his family in your thoughts. Our original item is below... --- When life situations call for a move, changes that result can be both good...and end up in tragedy... BOURQUIN MOVES NORTH: When Digity talk WHBC/1480 Canton brought aboard … [Read more...]
Items From All Over
Posted on October 28, 2014 · 2 Comments
Our collection is from all over, but there's a Northeast Ohio connection for each one... TSJ BUYS COLUMBUS: In speculation about the fate of for-sale Radio Disney O&O WWMK/1260 Cleveland, we wondered if Cincinnati-based TSJ Media would buy the station. TSJ operates "La Mega 87.7", the Spanish-language station being leased from Tom Wilson's Murray Hill Broadcasting, and known to the FCC as LPTV outlet WLFM-LP/6, recently given a temporary and possibly permanent reprieve as a "radio station" … [Read more...]
