There have been two major pieces of news from the world of Northeast Ohio media in the past day. And as big as the news from Cleveland radio was, news from the television side was even more amazing... MEDICAL LEAVE: For nearly 11 years, WKYC/3 sports director Jim Donovan has had a secret few people outside 13th and Lakeside knew about...but now, everyone knows. Donovan has been quietly battling leukemia. And "everyone knows" now because at the end of his sports segment on Wednesday's 11 PM … [Read more...]
Dick Goddard’s Way
Posted on May 24, 2011 · 1 Comment
We even joked about it in the last item...is the stretch of South Marginal Road in Cleveland, in front of Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8", Dick Goddard Way yet? Sure enough, the following day, Monday, the dedication was made. Fox 8 News' Lindsay Buckingham reports that the dedication ceremony was private on Monday morning, with a long list of local dignitaries, and Fox 8 personalities both past (Tim Taylor, Belinda Prinz) and present (Bill Martin, Andre Bernier and master of ceremonies … [Read more...]
Clearing Out The Week
Posted on May 22, 2011 · 1 Comment
Some of this will seem familiar to you, if you follow our Twitter account. Some, won't, but the Twitter feed often turns into a place we can "take notes" on future topics. There will be no word on some persistent rumors, discussion of which will be found on our social media presence. Let's just say we're not a "Fan" of the chances of a certain rumor involving a major Cleveland FM station coming true any time soon... FOX 8 SPORTS: The sports department at Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 is … [Read more...]
WEAO/49 Outage Update
Posted on April 18, 2011 · 12 Comments
UPDATE 4/23/11 1:07 PM: WEAO/49 is still off the air as of this writing - though is still airing on Time Warner Cable, with earlier volume problems long ago fixed. From the station's update on Friday: Work continues on the WEAO/Channel 49 transmission problem. Please know that restoring WEAO transmission is Western Reserve Public Media's number-one priority. We don't know what progress was made on Thursday, but the weather is once again not cooperating, with more rain pelting the area. Good … [Read more...]
Our Next Pile Of Items
Posted on April 15, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Now that Joe Tait has said "have a good life, everybody!" and retired to his southern Medina County farm, let's get to the other items piling up in the OMW Topics List... ...SOON ON FM?: You may be hearing Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 in Cleveland branding itself as "NewsRadio 1100, now on 99.1 FM", and soon. That's because it appears Cleveland is about to become the latest Clear Channel market where a powerhouse AM talk station takes up residence at an additional spot on the FM dial, and a … [Read more...]
WOIO Gets “Me”
Posted on April 13, 2011 · 1 Comment
Raycom Media CBS affiliate WOIO/19 pulls out another pronoun in the digital TV subchannel universe, which will make this a very challenging post to write. That's because WOIO recently signed up to air "Me-TV," as in "Memorable Entertainment Television," operated by Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting in a joint venture with movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. (You know, the same MGM whose very existence was in total limbo all of last year.) It joins the ranks of other subchannel "retro networks" … [Read more...]
WKYC Cuts A.J. Colby, Jeff Maynor
Posted on April 3, 2011 · 18 Comments
Budget cutbacks have also come once again to another television outlet. This time, Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 announced that they would be parting ways with weekend meterologist A.J. Colby and newscaster Jeff Maynor. The Plain Dealer's Mark Dawidziak elaborates more on Colby's dismissal. Maynor joined the NBC affiliate in the early 90s after lengthy stays as anchor/reporters for both WJW-turned-WJKW/8 (early to late 1970s) and for WEWS/5 (late 1970s to mid 1980s). For most of his stay at … [Read more...]
URGENT: Bill Ward out at WJW
Posted on March 31, 2011 · 6 Comments
CORRECTION (04/01/2001 at 3:08PM): Art Lafredo, in fact, did retire from WJW three years ago... the post below has been amended to reflect the change. My apologies for the oversight. Here's a sample of Bill Ward's work from the late 1970s, when he was at WEWS/5: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4DYX2nCobM] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- OMW has learned that Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 is currently making a series of budget-related personnel … [Read more...]
Assorted Monday News Nuggets
Posted on March 28, 2011 · 6 Comments
LAFORCE IS WITH FOX 8: It looks like Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 has brought aboard a new sports reporter after former weeknight sports anchor Tony Rizzo's departure last December. VermilionOhioNews.com posted on their March 28 issue that Vermilion native Allie LaForce has been hired by WJW as a sports reporter. A recent broadcast journalism graduate of Ohio University (where she also played on the Bobcats' girls basketball team), LaForce was the Miss Teen for 2005 and also made a guest … [Read more...]
BREAKING: Joe Tait to Return as Voice of the Cavs this March 27th
Posted on March 26, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Very good news for Cleveland Cavaliers fans that have had to deal with much change and turmoil this season: Joe Tait will be making his return to calling home games for the Cavs this Sunday, March 25, against the Atlanta Hawks - his first official game for the team since being sidelined on October 11 for pneumonia... that eventually resulted in a successful cardiac surgery and rehabilitation which took him out of service for the rest of 2010. Of course, Tait's iconic sign-on of "It's … [Read more...]
