Long-time Chicago Sun-Times media columnist Robert Feder takes another shot at formerly Cleveland-based morning doggie Rover, known in the non-canine and non-radio world as Shane French.It's not like Feder has ever been a fan of even the IDEA of Rover taking over morning drive on former Howard Stern Chicago affiliate WCKG/105.9, now sporting CBS' "Free FM" moniker for its FM talk stations. When it was announced Rover would get the gig after a successful stint at then-WXTM/92.3 in the CBS Radio … [Read more...]

ABC Radio's anointed successor to veteran commentator Paul Harvey had his first on-air fill-in for Harvey on Saturday. We missed it, but got a chance to hear actor/former Senator Fred Thompson's first ABC broadcast online this afternoon via PaulHarvey.com...it was the Saturday "noon visit", which will be archived the rest of the week.We normally don't unload on someone who's doing his first show, but...wow. It's so bad, you have to hear it. THIS is who is going to replace a radio icon? This … [Read more...]

Regular OMW readers have read of impending changes at Cleveland's FOX owned-and-operated WJW/8 and other FOX O&O's across the country. Here's another one, once again with the heads up to Dave Hughes' DCRTV.FOX is apparently rebranding its O&O websites, and has registered a number of domain names in the format of "myfox(city).com". Sure enough, they've registered "myfoxcleveland.com", according to a WHOIS lookup:"Registrant: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (DOM-1472842) 10201 W. … [Read more...]

Just some stuff both old and new:* In our recent interview with SportsTime Ohio president Jim Liberatore, we asked him about the prospect of HDTV games being made available to satellite subscribers. The HD Tribe games - all of the 63 home games carried by STO - are only available on cable for now. Liberatore tells us that the HD games are indeed available to the satellite folks, and a game or two could show up at some point on DirecTV or Dish Network. DirecTV, in particular, carries HD MLB … [Read more...]

Since announcing to the world - and probably to newspaper reporters in New Philadelphia - that the FCC approved Clear Channel's request to move WJER-FM/101.7 from Dover to North Canton, we've done a lot of thinking.We've also gone diving back into our very own archives, in specific this item from September 2005. (Scroll to the bottom of the long "Trip Through Southeast Ohio" item for the WJER stuff.)We haven't changed our collective editorial mind on any of this in the nearly seven months since … [Read more...]

Oddly enough, we were just talking about this in the Mighty Blog of Fun(tm) this week.The FCC has approved the requested move of WJER-FM/101.7 Dover's community of license to North Canton, step one of a process that will eventually bring it into Clear Channel's Akron/Canton cluster.In agreeing to move the 101.7 allotment from Dover to North Canton, the FCC did note some opposition, from local resident Edward Cox and in a petition from 12 Dover residents. It notes that it didn't directly … [Read more...]

OMW has occasionally passed along word that FOX's local stations division, now under the management of FOX News Channel chief Roger Ailes, would mold the O&O's local newscasts in the style of FNC. It looks like it's starting to happen.The TVNewser blog reports on a major rebranding at FOX's O&O flagship station, WNYW/5 in New York City. Along with a new searchlight-laden logo that apes the style of FNC, the station is using FNC-style graphics for its news shows, and is even using the … [Read more...]

The latest FM station to convert to a news/talk format really isn't a new "conversion", but a return for them.Radio & Records Online reports that Entercom talk WWL/870 New Orleans has returned to having an FM simulcast. It's now promoting "WWL on FM" on former oldies outlet WTKL/105.3 Kenner LA.We call it a return, because the station was a vital link for news and information in the period immediately after Hurricane Katrina...when WWL's programming, coming out of a Clear Channel studio in … [Read more...]

Some more sports media related stuff today...* This time, it wasn't just DirecTV everyone sharing the televised pain with SportsTime Ohio, as the network went dark as a whole last night for about a half-hour of the Indians' 11-9 loss to the Seattle Mariners. (A running joke we heard with the unscheduled TV blackout - "maybe the Indians won't show TV games when they're losing!")OMW hears (unofficially) that the feed to STO's satellite uplink went on the fritz. We haven't bothered STO's Jim … [Read more...]

This time, it's Clear Channel talk WLW/700 Cincinnati mid-morning host Mike McConnell's signature weekday program which goes national.McConnell already hosts "The Weekend" for Premiere on Saturdays, but Radio & Records Online reports it'll be in-house Clear Channel Programming handling distribution for the syndication of his existing WLW Monday-Friday 9 AM-noon show starting July 31st."The Weekend With Mike McConnell" airs on a reported 120 stations across the country, and even on WLW from … [Read more...]