As Life is Intervening(tm) a little less here at the OMW World Headquarters, we have some time to catch up... WKNR MIXES IT UP AGAIN: The rumored lineup change at Good Karma sports WKNR/850 "ESPN Cleveland" came to fruition, but not quite as rumored. Still, the big pieces are as expected, and the biggest move affects the station's signature program, "The Really Big Show" in middays. The changes take effect August 25th. The 9 AM-1 PM show keeps its lead host, long-time local sports … [Read more...]
Newspapers? Remember Them?
Posted on August 6, 2014 · 2 Comments
For many years, Northeast Ohio broadcasters have gone without newspaper siblings locally. The last such pairing (newspaper/TV division) was shuttered in the early 1980s, when the E.W. Scripps-founded Cleveland Press (originally the "Penny Press") was sold off by the media company that still bears its founder's name. The only broadcast/newspaper pairing left is in Elyria, where Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting still owns talk WEOL/930 and its sister stations in the Sandusky area - WKFM/96.1 … [Read more...]
Latest TV Mega Deal Reverberates Here
Posted on July 31, 2014 · 3 Comments
In the latest TV Super Deal, Cleveland's ABC affiliate will gain a bunch of sister TV stations, and even some sister radio stations. E.W. Scripps Company, the Cincinnati-based owner of WEWS/5, announced a merger with Milwaukee-based Journal, which owns TV, radio and newspaper assets nationwide. In the end, WEWS will remain a key piece of the new Scripps, which will focus on broadcast and digital while sending both companies' newspapers to the new Milwaukee-based Journal Media … [Read more...]
The When? The Now
Posted on July 28, 2014 · 2 Comments
Scripps is readying another in-house syndication project for its TV stations, and the next one is coming to the company's ABC affiliate in Cleveland, WEWS/5, soon. "The Now" is already airing on two of the company's stations - Denver ABC affiliate KMGH/7 and Kansas City NBC affiliate KSHB/41. (The picture is from the KMGH website, with Denver local anchor Lionel Bienvenu, who has been a sports anchor.) So, what is "The Now"...or as stylized by Scripps, "The NOW"? Let's let them describe … [Read more...]
Weekend Reading
Posted on July 19, 2014 · 2 Comments
We've got some reading for you to help fill your media weekend. Or, you can catch up at work on Monday morning... BACK UP: For nearly a week, Western Reserve PBS' Akron outlet was nowhere to be found on the airwaves. The outage at WEAO/49, the Cleveland-Akron market half of the public TV station's duo, lasted at very least from early Friday morning of last week. This Thursday night, a half-power signal came on the air from the station's Copley Township tower at about 9 PM. WEAO then … [Read more...]
Quick Hits Revisited
Posted on July 15, 2014 · Leave a Comment
UPDATE 10:16 AM 7/15/14: Another long-time friend of OMW, Kent State University WKSU/89.7-and-its-many-simulcasters marketing guru Ann VerWiebe, points out that the WEAO outage is also affecting other occupants of that tower, including WKSU, Rubber City Radio country WQMX/94.9 and the University of Akron's WZIP/88.1. Ann tells us that WKSU's Akron signal has to be shut off for obvious reasons when workers are on the tower (ZAP!), so the station switches to its backup tower in Kent. That means … [Read more...]
The King Of All Cleveland Media
Posted on July 14, 2014 · 4 Comments
No, it's not Howard Stern, the SiriusXM star once heard on CBS Radio classic rocker WNCX/98.5. If you're just rejoining us from a vacation under a rock, we're talking about "King James"...Akron superstar basketball player LeBron James, who announced last week that he would be rejoining his close-to-hometown Cleveland Cavaliers four years after the infamous ESPN-televised "Decision". And just about anything with a transmitter, a printing press or a presence right here online has been LeBron … [Read more...]
Before LeBron Decides
Posted on July 11, 2014 · 1 Comment
Northeast Ohio basketball fans and media outlets have basically focused on one thing the past few days...whether a certain Akron native would bring his talents back to the North Coast. And though it has mainly played out on Twitter, local media outlets and personalities have been right in the middle of the commotion surrounding LeBron James' next move...whatever it will be. It started on Sunday, when a tweet from CBS Radio sports WKRK/92.3 "The Fan" weekend host Joe Lull started the ball … [Read more...]
Professor, Former Akron Newsman Heading To “Show Me State”
Posted on June 26, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Phil Hoffman has done a lot over his career in Northeast Ohio, specifically in the Akron area in the past 30-plus years. He was known for his "Untold Stories" series at the former "23 Newsday" at WAKC-TV/23, Akron's former ABC affiliate (now Cleveland-focused ION O&O WVPX). He worked in radio in Akron at WAKR/1590, then-WSLR/1350 and WKDD/then-96.5 and WCUE/1150. But for the past few years, Phil has been the "Media Doctor"...Dr. Phil Hoffman has been a professor in School of … [Read more...]
Working For The Weekend News
Posted on June 19, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Local TV news used to live and die by what happened at 6 and 11 PM weeknights. As audience habits changed, weekday mornings became very important. A big part of that came from the success of non-"big three" station local morning news and talk shows, successfully competing against the network shows after 7 AM. Here in Cleveland, that's more than evident at the powerhouse that is Tribune Fox affiliate WJW/8's "Fox 8 News in the Morning"...a combination of news, weather, traffic and chat … [Read more...]
