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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
Akron’s Most Trusted (Retiring) Radio Newsman
Posted on September 4, 2014 · 1 Comment
If you're at the top of your field, and have been for decades, you're basically the living dictionary definition of your profession. If the broadcasting dictionary entry is "Akron radio newsman", the answer is clearly "See: States, Larry". After over 40 years in radio news, the last 30-plus at Rubber City Radio Group talk WAKR/1590 Akron, Larry States is calling it a career. We'll call on long-time OMW reader and Rubber City VP/information media Ed Esposito for a few words about Larry, … [Read more...]
UPDATE: Bob Frantz Out At WTAM In Budget Cuts
Posted on July 8, 2014 · 28 Comments
UPDATE 7/8/14 7:23 PM: WTAM Indians beat reporter Nick Camino announced on Twitter that he'll take over the station's evening talk show time slot, after the exit of Bob Frantz due to budget cuts: Today has been a bittersweet, emotional ride. I received a promotion to become the new nightly talk show host on Newsradio WTAM 1100. The #Indians beat has been a blast! I'll still be doing some pre-game stuff & obviously post-game, but my duties will be shifting. Excited! I'll be keeping my … [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...]
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...]
