OMW hears that new SportsTime Ohio host Bruce Drennan will be on WTAM's Bob Frantz show Friday at 9 AM. We hear he will answer 'all' questions, in what's billed as his first "all calls" appearance after his release from prison... … [Read more...]

Just days after WYTV/33 news director Pat Livingston announced his move to Toledo's WNWO/24 - in the wake of pending changes at the Youngstown ABC affiliate that could decimate that station's newsroom - two other bombshells have dropped.If CBS affiliate WKBN-TV/27 begins producting news content for WYTV in that FCC-tipped "shared services agreement" filed by new WYTV owner Parkin Broadcasting, you won't be seeing "27 First News" mainstays Robb Schmidt and Sarah Eisler on 33.You won't even see … [Read more...]

Though it's pretty much a "long tradition" here that we're away when news breaks - it just happens that way - we apologize for this one.AllAccess reports that CBS Radio hot AC WQAL/104.1 Cleveland "Q104" middayer John Conner is exiting the station, as Q isn't renewing his contract when it expires on March 31st. Evening host Tim Richards moves into the daylight hours to replace him, starting April 1st.Richards joined the station last year after a stint as morning co-host at D.A. Peterson top 40 … [Read more...]

And the first one out the door at Youngstown ABC affiliate WYTV/33 is...news director Pat Livingston.OMW hears via the folks at NewsBlues that Livingston stays in the state, taking the open ND post at Barrington Broadcasting NBC affiliate WNWO/24 "NBC 24" Toledo.Our headline, of course, refers to the fact that Livingston is exiting WYTV before he, and likely the entire station newsroom staff, will be pushed out the door.Most market observers expect that a planned "shared services" agreement … [Read more...]

As we look forward to March, and the eventual return of Spring to Northeast Ohio - which is usually closer to mid-to-late April in actuality...SOME PRE-WKNR FLIP ITEMS: As Good Karma sports talk WKNR/850 becomes "ESPN 850", and sister WWGK/1540 becomes "KNR2", we have some related and semi-related items.First up is a directly related item: Akron Beacon Journal sports/media columnist George M. Thomas' take on the situation, in an article in Saturday's ABJ.The article is a pretty comprehensive … [Read more...]

So, the OMW inbox was peppered with notes from folks telling us about the streaker who interrupted a "19 Action News" live shot in snowy downtown Cleveland during this past week's storm. The clip made it onto, among other places, ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live", and MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann".Basically, a large, apparently naked man cavorts around 19's Jon Loufman as the weather forecaster interviews someone else in the snow out at East 12th and Chester Avenue.That's otherwise known as … [Read more...]

The folks at Clear Channel's Akron/Canton Southern Command pass this along:The 8th Annual "Have a Heart - Do Your Part" Radiothon on hot AC WKDD/98.1 over the weekend broke a record. The total raised for Akron Children's Hospital this time around: $858,376.98.The money raised includes over $141,000 raised by some 1400 "Change Bandits", who have spent the past few weeks collecting spare change for the effort.Congratulations for a job well done. And, for the folks who don't believe Clear Channel … [Read more...]

Kudos to one of the most dogged reporters in the entire Youngstown market, Andrea Wood at the Business Journal, for uncovering THIS little gem.As it turns out, the announced sale of Chelsey Broadcasting ABC affiliate WYTV/33 in the Valley to Parkin Broadcasting has more to it than meets the eye.Wood and The Business Journal dug into FCC records for the proposed sale, and found this gem...we'll quote the last part of it, since the FCC's all-upper case style in the online database is hurting our … [Read more...]

Former Cumulus rock WRQK/106.9 Canton "Rock 107" program director Garrett Hart, who was one of those leaving the station after Clear Channel took over operations last month, has a new gig.AllAccess reports that Hart has been named Format Manager of two Sirius Satellite Radio channels, "SIRIUS Gold" and "'60's Vibrations". He'll also be in charge of Sirius programming produced out of Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and will remain in Ohio... … [Read more...]

OMW hears from a reliable source that WEWS/5 sports director Chris Miller is leaving the Cleveland ABC affiliate at the end of this month.We hear Miller is leaving the station for a new gig at Comcast SportsNet, a regional sports network in Washington DC.Like Cleveland-based FOX Sports Net Ohio, Comcast SportsNet is in a very heated battle with a new competitor. In the Washington/Baltimore area, that competitor is the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network - the new network started by the owners of the … [Read more...]