It'll be a busy weekend not for us here at OMW World Headquarters, but for some local radio folks...CAVS SATURDAY: Your Cleveland Cavaliers are, at this writing late Friday, on the cusp of Something Big...an NBA Finals appearance that the local franchise has never made since entering the league in 1970 or so.And the local sports media atmosphere is starting to resemble the mid-1990s, when the Cleveland Indians made it into two World Series...in 1995 and 1997, if you're new to town and don't … [Read more...]
Legendary Local Sports Voice Retires
Posted on June 1, 2007 · Leave a Comment
When you've been doing something for a long, long time, and are good at it, that's when labels like "legendary" get applied to you and your work.Thus, we haul out the word this morning, as today is the last day for veteran Canton radio sports director Jim Johnson, who's retiring from NextMedia news/talk WHBC/1480.Johnson was born in Coshocton, and started his radio career back in 1964 in Miamisburg, Ohio. After stints in Indiana, and at Uhrichsville's WBTC/1540 and Akron's WCUE/1150, he spent … [Read more...]
New Landings
Posted on May 31, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Our title this Thursday is appropriate, at least, for the first two items:A NEW KLEON: WRQK/106.9 nighttime personality Joe Kleon exited the Canton rock station shortly after Clear Channel took over the station's operations from Cumulus.AllAccess reports that Kleon has landed at crosstown D.A. Peterson top 40 WZKL/92.5 "Q92" and sister soft AC WDPN/1310 Alliance as that station's new promotions manager.Yes, that's the same job once given to a Louisville KY radio guy now better known in his home … [Read more...]
An Early Midweek
Posted on May 30, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Thanks to the Memorial Day holiday and a relatively slow local media news pace, this is our first update of the week...THE CAT HAS LANDED: Those who remember the old top 40 format on Cleveland's "Power 108" - known today as Radio One urban WENZ/107.9 "Z107.9" - might remember Cat Thomas.Thomas was PD at then-WPHR, and was originally heard in nights. Though he was apparently nudged into morning drive at one point, most people who remember the station at all remember John "Records" … [Read more...]
Packaging Up The Week
Posted on May 25, 2007 · Leave a Comment
This update will hopefully clear out the ol' inbox for the weekend.We're not going on an official "hiatus" over the holiday weekend, and will update anything major (format changes, major personnel changes at local TV and radio outlets and the like). But since it will be a holiday weekend, we don't expect much...WJW MOVES COMING: We have no idea why, but we get at least a handful of E-Mails out of nowhere every single week asking us when FOX O&O WJW/8 "FOX 8" Cleveland will adopt the … [Read more...]
No Longer “Free”
Posted on May 24, 2007 · Leave a Comment
A format flip in New York City may have minor, or future, effects on Cleveland.CBS Radio talk WFNY/92.3 "Free FM" in the Big Apple has dumped the talk format. AllAccess reports that later today, the station will return to its old "K-Rock" slogan and rock format, focusing on 90's rock and "some currents and 80's titles".At least for now, morning drive team Opie & Anthony - normally shared with XM Satellite Radio - remain in the new "92.3 K-Rock" lineup...staying in mornings on the otherwise … [Read more...]
My 1-0-OOPS
Posted on May 23, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Clear Channel Canton market AC outlet WHOF/101.7 "my 101.7" is a family-friendly, female-friendly standard-issue AC format station.Which is what makes what happened there Monday all the more out of place.Canton Repository entertainment writer Dan Kane reports that a "string of profane words" aired during a recorded segment at 6:30 on Monday's morning drive show - by the timing, it was presumably a newscast.And as a result, WHOF news anchor and co-host Jesse Johnson is "no longer with the … [Read more...]
Tuesday Night Musings
Posted on May 22, 2007 · Leave a Comment
Some stuff to get out of the hopper, so we can work on other things...BLAME LEBRON: As OMW - thanks to an Orlando newspaper writer - reported back in April, Raycom Media CBS affiliate WOIO/19 "19 Action News" is losing weekend sports anchor/reporter David Pingalore to Orlando's WKMG/6, the CBS affiliate in that Florida city.Well, eventually.OMW hears via Orlando blogger Roger Simmons' TV blog - which quotes TV news/gossip site NewsBlues - that Mr. Pingalore hasn't left the North Coast yet for … [Read more...]
BREAKING NEWS: WKYC Hires New Sports Reporter
Posted on May 21, 2007 · Leave a Comment
There's a new sports reporter joining up with a local TV station - but it's not the station which is down to the bare minimum in that department.WKYC/3 has announced that Joe Brown joins the "Channel 3 News" sports department alongside sports director Jim Donovan and reporter/anchor Brian Colleran. The first heads up, as usual, comes from WKYC senior director Frank Macek's "Director's Cut" blog.Brown has an extensive resume, but was most recently the studio pre-game/post-game host for Denver … [Read more...]
A Newsy, Newsy Week’s End
Posted on May 18, 2007 · Leave a Comment
(Our apologies for posting this without allowing comments...it's a mistake that has been corrected. Thanks! -- The Management)Local media news items are stacking up like so many planes trying to land, so we'll try to close them out as we close out the week. And since we've done a lot of TV items recently, let's start on the radio side...WERE, WJMO SWAP: Radio One, on the heels of selling off its Dayton stations (we'll revisit that below), has announced major changes in Cleveland involving its … [Read more...]
