A bunch of items this time around, but first... NO ACTION: We've told you for weeks (exclusively) what's coming soon at Reserve Square...the long-time "19 Action News" branding at Raycom CBS affiliate WOIO/19-MyNetwork TV affliate WUAB/43 is about to be put out of "action". And for the first time, we have outside clues that it's about to happen soon. Lance Venta at our content partners RadioInsight is no stranger to divining future radio changes from broadcasters' domain name … [Read more...]
Press Release Theatre, Vol. 13
Posted on May 14, 2015 · Leave a Comment
And as always...oh, you should know by now who comes first in these things...and that the releases were all released in a timely matter. We're just getting a Round Tuit(tm)... WKSU WINS TEN OAPME AWARDS FOR WORK CREATED IN 2014 Ann VerWiebe, WKSU In a Columbus ceremony, WKSU was honored with 10 OAPME Awards from the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors this weekend, including the top award for General Excellence (an award presented to the large market radio station with the best showing … [Read more...]
Out Of A (Kris) Pickel
Posted on April 30, 2015 · 3 Comments
Local TV newsrooms have always featured a virtual revolving door, but this one's a big one. There's one more exit on our list (who is also heading west), but first... ARIZONA BOUND: Kris Pickel, brought in from Sacramento to Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 in March 2012 to become co-anchor with former CBS News anchor/reporter Russ Mitchell, is heading back west. Word spread quickly on Wednesday that Pickel was heading for Phoenix, and indeed, that's where she's going. From the Plain … [Read more...]
Reprieve For “La Mega”
Posted on April 28, 2015 · 3 Comments
As expected, the looming September 1st FCC deadline for analog LPTV stations to convert to digital has been suspended. The excellent Tom Taylor Now E-mail newsletter gave us first word of the FCC's decision (released on Friday) here, and explains some of it: The reprieve is a logical move given the early-2016 TV spectrum auction that’s going to turn the whole dial upside down after it’s been trimmed up and “re-packed.” The FCC says postponing the September 1 transition date is “appropriate … [Read more...]
On To The Next Radio
Posted on April 23, 2015 · 2 Comments
Radio and TV, both traditional and "new", in this update. But first... NEXT RADIO MOVE: We're still compiling items for our "#TheNextRadio" series, focusing on non-broadcast versions of "radio" in 2015. One long-time OMW reader is diving into that universe head first. Chuck Matthews, who has a thriving voiceover business, is leaving his "day job" at Akron's Rubber City Radio Group to join the region's most high profile online radio operation. It was John Gorman's "oWOW" that we first … [Read more...]
Spinoff Name Change For Cleveland TV Owner
Posted on April 22, 2015 · 1 Comment
It's all the rage in communications. Large companies with holdings in both broadcast and print are spinning off their print properties from broadcast operations. It's already happened twice in Cleveland TV, and it's about to happen again. NBC affiliate WKYC/3 owner Gannett announced Tuesday that its newspaper side will become a separate operation this summer from its broadcast side, but unlike in previous splits, the broadcast part of Gannett will take a new name...TEGNA. Our blogging … [Read more...]
No Longer Ink Stained
Posted on April 20, 2015 · Leave a Comment
The trend is growing - with long-time print reporters trading ink and print for electrons. Veteran Akron Beacon Journal reporter Phil Trexler is the latest "ink stained wretch" to go electronic, as he's leaving East Exchange Street to take his talents to the North Coast... Proud to announce I'll be Seeing the Possible @wkyc as their investigative producer with @tommeyerWKYC. Of course @denisep is a bonus!— PHIL TREXLER-ABJ (@PhilTrexler) April 17, 2015 That's Denise … [Read more...]
Press Release Theatre, Vol. 12
Posted on April 8, 2015 · Leave a Comment
As usual, guess who starts our press release parade? Well, she WAS first...and she has some help from another Kent-based Friend of OMW... ----- (WKSU and Western Reserve PBS) WKSU AND WESTERN RESERVE PBS EXAMINE VIETNAM’S LEGACY 40 YEARS LATER COLLABORATION INCLUDES RADIO REPORTS AND DOCUMENTARY FILM The WKSU newsroom looks back at two significant historical events, presented in collaboration with Western Reserve PBS. As the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the … [Read more...]
A Cozi Laff
Posted on April 6, 2015 · 8 Comments
There were rumblings that the previously announced "Laff" comedy subchannel would not actually directly replace "Live Well Network" on Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5's 5.2 subchannel when that home and lifestyle subchannel goes away later this month. That turns out to be correct, but only because another subchannel network will come to Cleveland on WEWS' 5.2 subchannel instead. The station confirms in an official release that the "Cozi TV" network, another treasure trove of popular reruns, … [Read more...]
Jobs And Other Stuff
Posted on April 1, 2015 · 3 Comments
As promised, some job openings and some other stuff. And...not a single April Fools Day-inspired post in the bunch... JOB OPENING #1: A staffer at Radio One Cleveland has nabbed a new job, and that means the cluster is looking for a new assistant chief engineer. Chief engineer Gary Zocolo, who is a long-time Friend of OMW and then some, lets us know: Ben Slagle was hired here as Assistant Chief Engineer two years ago. Ben had IT skills but very limited broadcast knowledge. After two very … [Read more...]
