Incoming and outgoing news tops our agenda today, in people, shows and channels... MOVING UP AT DICK GODDARD WAY: Sales wins the day when it comes to replacing former Tribune Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8" VP/general manager Greg Easterly. The station has tabbed one of two strong internal candidates to replace Easterly, who moved to Chicago to run new Tribune sister station (and Tribune TV flagship) WGN/9. He's Paul Perozeni, who's been VP/general sales manager for WJW for 13 years, and has … [Read more...]
Confusion And Change
Posted on June 5, 2014 · 2 Comments
UPDATE 6/5/14 2:00 PM: OMW hears that the open afternoon drive slot at Cumulus rock WYFM/102.9 "Y-103" in Youngstown will be filled by Steve Hammond. Hammond previously worked at Rubber City Radio rock WONE/97.5 Akron in afternoons and evenings. Hammond's time slot at WONE was filled by program director Tim Daugherty, who moved from morning drive when WONE hired Jeff Kinzbach for that time slot. Hammond starts at Y-103 next Tuesday... ----- Those who haven't been paying attention, or … [Read more...]
The U.S. 62 Update
Posted on May 30, 2014 · Leave a Comment
So named because most of our items today involve either Canton or Youngstown... THE STANSBURY CANTON SHOW: Veteran Northeast Ohio personality Dan Stansbury has found a new place for his radio show, and we're pretty sure the station will still be broadcasting in English next month. Stansbury has taken a ride down I-77, where "The Stansbury Show" will air weekday mornings on Clear Channel rock WRQK/106.9 Canton starting next week. He'll be joined by Matt Fantone, who was unceremoniously … [Read more...]
New Canton Country Radio
Posted on May 24, 2014 · 2 Comments
Clear Channel's latest local HD2-to-FM translator project returns a format to one Northeast Ohio community. "99.7 Canton's New Country" launched Friday at 2 PM. Our content partners at RadioInsight had first word, as Life Intervened for your Primary Editorial Voice(tm). RadioInsight's Lance Venta has details of the new station's on air lineup: W259BW is launching commercial-free until June and featuring a Premium Choice lineup that includes Billy Greenwood, Joe Boxer and Michael J. … [Read more...]
Get Down
Posted on May 21, 2014 · 1 Comment
If there was ever a weekend kickoff that'd was nearly official, it was delivered to Northeast Ohioans by Murray Saul. The man known for his weekend-starting Friday rants on WMMS/100.7 in its heyday in the 1970s has passed away at the age of 86. Yes, 86. The Northeast Ohio Media Group's Cliff Pinkard has more: Saul became a radio icon in Cleveland with his Friday Get Down rants, in which he talked about about heartless bosses, boring jobs and the screwed-up state of the world. Whipped to … [Read more...]
Rover’s Legal Case Over
Posted on May 13, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Clear Channel rock/talk WMMS/100.7 morning chien Shane "Rover" French has avoided a trial. Just over a week before he would have been tried on a host of charges linked to setting off fireworks on the night of July 4th last year at Whiskey Island, French pleaded guilty in a deal that will avoid felony charges and jail time. The Cleveland Plain Dealer has the case details involving the ringmaster of "Rover's Morning Glory" and sidekick Michael "Chocolate Charlie" Toomey, with both men … [Read more...]
A Whole Box Of Media Changes
Posted on May 12, 2014 · 2 Comments
As usual, the busiest times in the life of your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) roughly coincide with the busiest times in local media news, and the past few days are no exception... NEW RESERVE SQUARE LEADER: We've written words and words and more words about now-retired Raycom Media CBS/MyNet affiliate WOIO/19-WUAB/43 VP/general manager Bill Applegate. Will his successor have such a high profile? Incoming at Reserve Square is Dominic Mancuso, who has been leading Sinclair's stations in … [Read more...]
Spring Changes
Posted on May 1, 2014 · Leave a Comment
The theme for this one is change... in one way or the other... CHARTER, NOT COMCAST: Northeast Ohio customers of Time Warner Cable, the area's dominant cable provider, were preparing themselves to deal with Comcast. The merger of Time Warner and Comcast has been in the works, and is currently awaiting federal regulatory approval. It's that bid to garner approval that led Comcast and Time Warner to team up with a third company, Charter Communications...which will either directly or … [Read more...]
The Media Court
Posted on April 25, 2014 · 5 Comments
Time once again to go through the legal media files. We'll start with the most recent news... ROVER AND HOWARD: Clear Channel rock/talk WMMS/100.7 syndicated morning doggie Rover is mounting his defense over charges related to an arrest by an off-duty Cleveland police officer, after French was launching fireworks late last Independence Day night at a local yacht club. And Shane French has called another big name in radio to the stand in his upcoming trail. One of the very biggest, in … [Read more...]
Spring Layoff Season
Posted on April 17, 2014 · Leave a Comment
The snow is no longer flying again, for now, but the layoff season is in full swing... CLEAR CHANNEL SALES CUTS: It'd been foreseen for weeks. Media giant Clear Channel was expected to radically overhaul its sales structure, cutting back on local sales efforts and streamlining that end of the company's operations. Sure enough, that became a reality on Wednesday. We'll let the excellent Tom Taylor Now newsletter handle the basic description, quoting from a company release about a topic Clear … [Read more...]
