We had an item ready to post on Tuesday, but THIS JUST IN, as the saying goes...it's time to scrap the Digital Front Page. The other items are still here, and will follow... ROBIN LEAVING: There's been a lot of talk over the past few years in Cleveland about Robin Swoboda's career moves, exits and returns. Looks like she's exiting again. Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 has announced that Swoboda, co-anchor of the station's 7 PM newscast with sports director/anchor Jim Donovan, is heading … [Read more...]
Yet Another Retrans Battle, And A Bit Of Football
Posted on August 1, 2013 · 4 Comments
The latest retransmission consent battle (read: over money) has left Dish Network subscribers in the Cleveland TV market without CBS or MyNetwork TV programming...since early Thursday morning. The dispute between the nation's number two satellite TV provider and Raycom Media removed WOIO/19 and WUAB/43 from the Cleveland local channels lineup. So, since we've been down this road before, let's bring in both sides...first, the local TV stations: For months, we have been working to resolve this … [Read more...]
Not Rumors, For The Most Part
Posted on April 27, 2011 · 3 Comments
We generally deal in facts here at the Mighty Blog of Fun(tm), give or take an occasional rumble. And at this juncture, there are a LOT of rumbles out there, and nearly all of them haven't been confirmed to our satisfaction yet. The item just before this one is just one example...there are more hot-and-heavy rumors out there. So, if you're looking for the answer to "who's about to be fired", after hearing it on a certain morning drive show...not yet. We'll pass along changes as soon as they … [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...]
Those “Block”-heads at WUAB Return
Posted on April 4, 2011 · 1 Comment
It's baaaaack. Raycom My Network TV affiliate WUAB/43 Lorain has apparently decided to revive their former "43 The Block" branding - nearly six years after dropping the name the first time. The new "My 43 The Block" logo is not shown on WUAB's website yet - a new www.wuab.com URL redirects to the current my43.net site - but all promos and station IDs have been redone to feature the new-old logo (shown in a screen capture to the right below the original "Block" logo). For those who don't … [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...]
TV People Changes
Posted on December 15, 2010 · 1 Comment
Some exits at local TV operations... END OF HIS ERA: OMW has confirmed a tip we received Tuesday about Time Warner Cable's management locally. Vin Zachariah has resigned as head of Time Warner Cable's Northeast Ohio division for "personal reasons". He took over the local arm of the cable giant in September 2009, taking over for long-time TWC NEO boss Steven Fry. We're told that Doug Whiting, the company's Midwest Regional Vice President for Customer Operations, will step in on an interim … [Read more...]
WJW Grabs an “Antenna”
Posted on October 26, 2010 · 1 Comment
No, it's not the antenna that Local TV Fox affiliate WJW/8 has sorely needed for their signal-plagued VHF digital TV signal (real channel 8/virtual channel 8). It's "Antenna TV," a new Tribune programming service that will launch this coming January. WJW has been cleared as an affiliate, mainly owing to the managing relationship between the two companies... for now, at least. Antenna TV will offer a combination of movies and classic television shows including: Burns & Allen, Hazel, Father … [Read more...]
WKBN’s New Evening Anchor
Posted on September 28, 2010 · 1 Comment
New Vision CBS affiliate WKBN/27 Youngstown has found a new co-anchor for Dave Sess on their 6:00PM and 11:00PM broadcasts, after Whitney Ward left the station last month to be closer to family in her native Washington (joining KEPR-TV Pasco in the process). It's Teresa Weakley, who comes to WKBN from Young Broadcasting-owned (and Gray Television-managed) ABC affiliate WKRN/2 Nashville, where she was that station's live morning reporter and fill-in anchor. She formally debuted on WKBN's 5:00 … [Read more...]
