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...]
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...]
A Home Run Update
Posted on April 5, 2014 · Leave a Comment
No, we're not bragging...it's just that baseball is on our mind, after Friday's big Opening Day at Progressive Field. This update is very TV heavy, though those looking for an important update on an earlier radio story should immediately scroll down to our last item... DISH AND STO CONNECT: And since these things usually come down to the last minute, the Indians home opener probably nudged SportsTime Ohio and Dish Network into an agreement. Just hours before the rain-delayed first … [Read more...]
L’Affaire Rizzo – The End
Posted on March 28, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Long-time Cleveland sports media personality Tony Rizzo has had his day in court. And it appears that Rizzo, who was originally charged with domestic violence, may not serve any jail time. The host of Good Karma sports WKNR/850 "ESPN Cleveland"'s midday "The Really Big Show" agreed to a plea deal Thursday in Medina Municipal Court. Northeast Ohio Media Group via Cleveland.com reports that he pled to a lesser charge: Rizzo, 52, of Medina pleaded no contest to persistent disorderly … [Read more...]
The Shamrock Update
Posted on March 17, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Yes, it's St. Patrick's Day as we write this, and we have a rather long parade of items to share... MANUEL OUT AT 5: The long tenure of Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5" news director Jill Manuel has ended rather abruptly. In what's not really a surprise to anyone who's even driven by 3001 Euclid, Manuel's departure was announced late last week. From one of those management memos that took the prevailing winds to the doorstep of the OMW World Headquarters: Jill has informed me she … [Read more...]
The Five Item Pileup
Posted on February 27, 2014 · 6 Comments
You walk away from a blog, and items start to pile up like cars on snow and ice covered roadways. Ah, but a sign of spring is here... STO OFF DISH: It's snowy and wind chills are in the negative numbers on this February day in Ohio, but it was 73 degrees in Goodyear AZ, where the Cleveland Indians played their second Spring Training warmup contest this afternoon against the Cincinnati Reds. Viewers all over the Indians TV territory could get a mental break from winter and watch that … [Read more...]
Controversy On Tap
Posted on January 15, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Our first two items are definitely of a controversial nature... and the first one has spread like wildfire all over Northeast Ohio media... SALES BOMBSHELL: We don't normally spend a lot of time with off-air items in local TV and radio, but this one is too...interesting. When we first heard that a lawsuit had been filed claiming salacious working conditions in a local TV station's sales department, we joked, "oh, it's probably at Reserve Square"...the home of Raycom Media duo CBS affiliate … [Read more...]
