Gannett NBC affiliate WKYC/3 Cleveland could be looking within the company for a replacement for VP/news Dick Moore, who is leaving the station to take a teaching position at the University of South Carolina.Buffalo News media writer Alan Pergament reports that WGRZ/2 Buffalo news director Ellen Crooke "would appear to be a possible candidate" to replace Moore at WKYC. Pergament says Crooke has been at the helm during "ratings successes" at Channel 3's Gannett sister station. (Those are words … [Read more...]

This time, it's Akron Beacon Journal TV writer R.D. Heldenfels weighing in on the issue of the Cleveland Indians' new in-house TV network, in an article to be published in Thursday's Beacon.Rich sits down for a talk with Jim Liberatore, the veteran sports TV executive ("SpeedChannel") tasked with running the new venture...which will air its very first pre-season game less than a month from now.There's not much new on the "where" part of the network's operation. Heldenfels notes the Time Warner … [Read more...]

When you think of a new phenomenon such as blogging on the Internet, perhaps newly-minted WARF/1350 "Radio Free Ohio" midday host Joe Finan isn't the first name that pops into your head. Though Joe's had and used E-Mail for a while now, you don't expect him to direct his thoughts onto a blog.But sure enough, Joe Finan has joined the blogosphere. And in true blogging tradition, we link you to his blog on the "Radio Free Ohio" website.In it, Finan notes that Clear Channel Akron/Canton approached … [Read more...]

We almost missed this in Roger Brown's latest column in the Plain Dealer. Perhaps we're not used to actual NEWS being contained among Brown's musings and reports of Ronnie Duncan's real estate dealings, but, anyway...Brown reports in Wednesday's column that the Cleveland Indians have been rebuffed in their attempt to sign up Cox Cable to carry the new team-run TV network. Brown quotes Cox's local general manager as saying the Indians want "200 percent more" than (presumably) what FOX Sports … [Read more...]

Broadcasting & Cable magazine reports that some 200 local TV stations have received first contact from "The CW Network", the newly-created network that'll be formed from the remains of UPN and The WB this fall. The letters mainly went to current WB and UPN affiliates, along with some pure independent stations.B&C reports that CW officials expect to move quickly to sign up affiliates in markets that are not already set as far as the new 5th network goes. A deal between The CW and … [Read more...]

The NBA Cleveland Cavaliers and FOX Sports Net Ohio opened up their 9 game schedule of high-definition broadcasts tonight, as LeBron James and the Cavs easily beat the San Antonio Spurs.The feed was "easily" available on all major local cable systems except one, Adelphia. OMW reported exclusively earlier today that the Cavaliers were working with Adelphia to air the game on cable channel 798 (for HD viewers) tonight. It appears, at least at OMW World Headquarters here in Northwest Akron, that … [Read more...]

Updates to previously posted items:* Congratulations to Clear Channel Akron/Canton hot AC WKDD/98.1 for a very, very successful Children's Hospital Radiothon over the weekend. The final total for the weekend-long fundraiser - $842,098. That includes well over $200,000 of "change bandit" collections, which brought in loose change from collections all over the area. OMW couldn't help but notice that the WKDD/Children's Hospital figure was the largest in a group of fundraiser radio events from … [Read more...]

Later today, veteran radio host Joe Finan takes the microphone again...returning to the airwaves with a new show on Clear Channel liberal talk WARF/1350 Akron ("Radio Free Ohio"), 11 AM to 1 PM weekdays. Finan's new program comes a year and change after he retired, with much fanfare, after nearly 20 years at Media-Com Akron market talk WNIR/100.1.Not many expected Joe to "cross the street" and get back behind the microphone, even after Clear Channel flipped sports WTOU to a liberal talk format. … [Read more...]

From OMW's "did you ever notice?" department:* Did you ever notice...that Clear Channel talk WTAM/1100 Cleveland never gives exact time checks? Oh, sure, there's "The 3:30 Report" or the "The 6 O'Clock Report"-type names for its news updates. But "The 6:30 Report" could air as early as 6:25 PM before Cavaliers or Indians games, and "The 3:30 Report" could air as late as 3:35 PM if a certain WTAM afternoon motormouth can't get to the news on time...but they'll still call it "The 3:30 Report".We … [Read more...]

Listeners in the Cincinnati market report that former Salem talk WBOB/1160 Florence KY has flipped to oldies, playing "10,000 oldies" under the name "WDJO". The station was sold by Salem recently as part of a swap with Christian Broadcasting System, which picked up WBOB and WTSJ/1050 in the Cincinnati market in exchange for a Detroit AM station.The new owners hinted at a change in that September article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, while saying WTSJ will keep the Christian talk … [Read more...]