It's a rather odd combination for our first Wednesday update, a mix of personnel changes, facility changes and other signal news...KIM JOHNSON EXITS: Trade sites have widely reported the exit of cluster programmer Kim Johnson from Radio One's Cleveland cluster.As far as we know, Johnson was directly responsible for programming the company's two powerhouse FMs - urban AC WZAK/93.1 and hip hop WENZ/107.9, both regular fixtures near the top of the Cleveland ratings.Radio One also operates gospel … [Read more...]
Dan Coughlin Throws Own Retirement Party
Posted on August 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Our apologies to OMW reader Ted Lux, the Cleveland radio veteran, for hanging onto this for so long.It's a nice "inside" story on the send-off for now-former Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 sports reporter and anchor Dan Coughlin, a name instantly familiar to legions of Cleveland sports fans from both his days on Channel 8, but also from his long run at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.Coughlin recently accepted a WJW buyout offer, and headed into retirement with his own lively party last month...which … [Read more...]
All Over The Media Map
Posted on August 3, 2009 · Leave a Comment
As usually happens when we don't update for a few days, items are piling up in the OMW Warehouse. That's odd, since we didn't know we actually owned a warehouse...CHOPPER DOWN: No, that's not a literal use of the phrase, thank goodness.But in the Cleveland TV news wars, OMW hears that yet another station has decided to abandon its aerial news firepower...leaving the sighting of a TV news helicopter as a rare event in Northeast Ohio.The latest grounding is of Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8's … [Read more...]
Midweek Potpourri
Posted on July 28, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Here we go, again...as our list of items continues to grow...C-BUS TO DETROIT: OMW hears that Clear Channel Columbus top 40 WNCI/97.9-AC WLZT/93.3 program director Michael McCoy is heading to Michigan, and not to watch the Buckeyes play the Wolverines.McCoy is heading for a new job at Clear Channel sister top 40 outlet WKQI/95.5 "Channel 95-5" in Detroit. We hear his last day will be this Friday.Back in Columbus, OMW hears about the temporary shuffle to fill-in for the exiting McCoy, which … [Read more...]
Hoping For Good News
Posted on July 27, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Yes, your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) is the bearer of bad news again.On our Twitter account, we shamelessly begged for some good news to throw into the below mix, but there doesn't seem to be much to share.And yes, we're as tired of the drumbeat of bad economic news as you are, but here we go again...we don't make the media news, we just report it...IDEASTREAM CUTS: OMW hears that Cleveland public broadcaster Ideastream is cutting 8 percent of its full-time staff - resulting in the elimination … [Read more...]
Honest. Fair. Everywhere. Except On Twitter.
Posted on July 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment
When doing some housecleaning on our Twitter account, we noticed that we were following the Twitter accounts of pretty much all local media outlets, both broadcast and print, except for one.We attempted to add the account of WOIO/19's "19 Action News" into our PC client - the excellent "Twhirl" - and the software responded that we couldn't view the station's profile. We were also unable to add "19actionnews" to the list of accounts we were already following.It took a trip to Twitter's web … [Read more...]
Shakeups And Awards
Posted on July 21, 2009 · Leave a Comment
IMPORTANT UPDATE: - 7/22/09 7:35 AM: OMW has received some new information calling the accuracy of the first part of this report into question. We have removed that portion of the report, which cited financial-related rumblings linked to the CBS Radio cluster and its employees in Cleveland.In addition, though it appears the rest of the item is accurate, it may have taken place a little less recently than believed...a few weeks ago, as opposed to in the past few days.At OMW, we're the first to … [Read more...]
Uncle Walter Has Left Us
Posted on July 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment
It would appear that we've waited until just about everyone with access to a computer keyboard has weighed in on Friday's passing of CBS News icon/legend Walter Cronkite, who died at the age of 92.That's partly because we really had no special insight or stories to share with you. We were just regular viewers of Cronkite via now former local CBS affiliate WJW/8, where he was part of the news dominance the station had in the Cleveland market for so many years. (WJW flipped to Fox network … [Read more...]
Weather And Storms
Posted on July 16, 2009 · Leave a Comment
And the latter part of our title, this time, isn't necessarily about thunderstorms...it's about economic storms, again. But first...MCSHEA RETURNS: OMW hears that former Cleveland Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 meteorologist and "Good Company" co-host Eileen McShea is about to return to local TV, but not at 13th and Lakeside.Instead, she'll be doing weather on Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5"'s weekend newscasts...at least for now.The folks at 3001 Euclid are "down one" weather … [Read more...]
New Vision Bankruptcy
Posted on July 15, 2009 · Leave a Comment
The operator of nearly all commercial TV stations in the Youngstown market is now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.New Vision Television owns CBS affiliate WKBN/27 and Fox affiliate WYFX (WYFX-LP 62/WFXI-CA 17/WKBN-DT 27.2), and operates PBC (Parkin Broadcasting) owned ABC affiliate WYTV/33 and sister MyNetworkTV affiliate MyYTV (WYTV/33.2). That's every commercial station in the Mahoning Valley except for one big one, Vindicator NBC affiliate WFMJ/21, along with its sister CW affiliate "WBCB" … [Read more...]
