From signals off to court humor on, here we are... UPDATE: As if by magic, the moment we posted this item, WEAO/49's over-air signal returned. Read on for news of program rescheduling to make up for the outage... 49 OFF AGAIN: Western Reserve PBS' Akron signal is off the air again. This time, it's the wait for a needed part replacement that has kept WEAO/49 from area over-air tuners since an equipment failure that happened Sunday morning. Western Reserve PBS communications coordinator and … [Read more...]
New Starts
Posted on October 20, 2014 · 5 Comments
Some changes, and some observations... RODA TO WHBC: Veteran Cleveland sports talk radio host Kenny Roda has found a landing spot...a good ways down I-77 from his long-time radio home in Cleveland. Starting October 27th, the former afternoon drive host at Good Karma sports WKNR/850 "ESPN 850" takes over afternoon drive at Digity talk WHBC/1480 Canton, taking over the 3-7 PM slot from WHBC sports director Sam Bourquin. Bourquin remains sports director, and moves his daily on-air presence … [Read more...]
A Flood Of Items
Posted on October 14, 2014 · 4 Comments
From radio to TV, to TV passing off as radio, we're bailing out the water here... LA MEGA STAYING?: If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times...or maybe it only SEEMS like a thousand times. We have frequently cautioned fans of first, alt-rock "87.7 Cleveland's Sound" and then, Spanish-language CHR "La Mega 87.7", not to become too attached to a radio signal at 87.7 on the FM dial. Just one example, from our item when it was announced that "La Mega" would be displacing … [Read more...]
More Sports And Radio, Plus TV
Posted on October 7, 2014 · 1 Comment
The influence of LeBron James continues to affect local media... CAVS TO FM: There'll be less music on iHeart[/former Clear Channel] rock/talk WMMS/100.7 in Cleveland, and more balls. That's because WMMS has become the FM flagship of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. You know, that little team at Quicken Loans Arena that may actually win a lot more games because of the return of hometown superstar LeBron James this year. The announcement was tweeted by Erika Lauren, of the station's afternoon … [Read more...]
Kevin Metheny Is Dead
Posted on October 4, 2014 · 2 Comments
A man who once held a high-level radio programming job in Cleveland has passed away. All Access had first confirmation that former Clear Channel Cleveland cluster programmer and regional programming VP Kevin Metheny died suddenly on Friday afternoon: Tragic news out of the BAY AREA: Sources confirm to ALL ACCESS that CUMULUS Talk KGO-A and KSFO/SAN FRANCISCO OM KEVIN METHENY has passed away from an apparent heart attack. Our content partners at RadioInsight passed along this from … [Read more...]
This Is (Still) CBS
Posted on October 3, 2014 · Leave a Comment
The folks at the Halle Building, and at other large-but-not-major market CBS Radio clusters, must feel like they're on a roller coaster at Cedar Point, and that coaster has taken another sharp dip. After repeatedly signaling that it wants out of sub-major markets, and wants to concentrate on the biggest markets, CBS Radio took the first big step* in that direction on Thursday. CBS will flip its significant clusters in Charlotte and Tampa to Florida-based Beasley, which in turn will bolster … [Read more...]
Gone And Staying
Posted on September 29, 2014 · 2 Comments
Some random items while waiting for proverbial footwear to drop...and we're talking large shoes here... RADIO DISNEY IS STILL ALL EARS: You were supposed to be hearing the Sounds of Silence on Radio Disney stations like WWMK/1260 Cleveland by now, and no, not the Simon & Garfunkel hit. But instead of silencing 23 signals nationwide (all AM except for one FM in the Indianapolis market), the Mouse House decided at the last minute to keep them operating at Friday's previously announced … [Read more...]
Rumors And Reality
Posted on September 25, 2014 · 3 Comments
And let's start with the rumblings first... CBS SALE?: The folks at the Halle Building are probably used to it by now...their big boss is once again making noises about leaving below major market radio, selling off its stations in even large markets like Cleveland. But will it ever happen? Cleveland would certainly be a candidate, if CBS boss Les Moonves is looking to concentrate solely on markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and wants to exit markets below, say, the top 15 … [Read more...]
Changes And Lawsuits
Posted on September 18, 2014 · 6 Comments
Let's start with the legal action first... MAGGIE SUES: It was no surprise that former Media-Com talk WNIR/100.1 "The Talk of Akron" morning co-host Maggie Fuller was going to file a sexual harrassment lawsuit against her former employers. We just didn't know when. Welcome to When. The suit against Media-Com and its family owners, brothers Bill and Bob Klaus, was filed Tuesday in Summit County Common Pleas Court. Here, we'll let the Beacon Journal's Paula Schleis do the heavy … [Read more...]
Chilly Catchup
Posted on September 15, 2014 · Leave a Comment
As we write this, temperatures are pushing close to 40 degrees in the early morning hours. Time to grab a space heater... CHICAGO SPECULATION: Former Cleveland radio personality Maxwell is out of a job in Chicago. The former Clear Channel rock/talk WMMS/100.7 afternoon driver, who had a cup of coffee in mornings at CBS Radio classic rock WNCX/98.5, is no longer hosting mornings at Cumulus classic rock WLUP/97.9 "The Loop" in Chicago. Chicago media reporting guru Robert Feder has details … [Read more...]
