Or, late Thursday night, if you prefer, as we can't sleep...for reasons having nothing to do with OMW... THE WNIR DRAMA: A MUST READ for anyone interested in recent WNIR events, by former local newspaper columnist Stuart Warner in one of his old newspaper haunts, the Akron Beacon Journal via Ohio.com. Retired WNIR morning man Stan Piatt opens up to Warner about how his exit from the station was handled. The details are (nearly) identical to unconfirmed rumblings we've heard for months now. It's … [Read more...]
An Experimental Blog Post
Posted on October 10, 2013 · 10 Comments
We've received a very mixed response to our "move" to social media. While we've received a flood of new Twitter followers, others are openly hostile to that being the only outlet for Ohio Media Watch. And hostile may not be a strong enough a word. So, we'll try this: copying and editing our Twitter posts to a blog post, without all the responses, tags and whatnot. -------- CRONAUER BACK TO RADIO, STILL ON TV: Joe Cronauer is now PM drive at Salem CCMer 95.5 The Fish. Still on WKYC, too, … [Read more...]
The Move
Posted on October 9, 2013 · 2 Comments
As explained below, for now, all Ohio Media Watch activity will take place on our social media presence (Twitter/Facebook). The ohiomediawatch.com domain is forwarding to our Twitter page, which you can see here: http://twitter.com/OhioMediaWatch As a reminder and clarification, you do NOT HAVE TO JOIN TWITTER to read that page. There is a sign in link and a "Follow" area, but you can just ignore them if you aren't on Twitter, or don't want to be on Twitter. Just read the page that comes … [Read more...]
A Different Kind Of Hiatus
Posted on October 2, 2013 · 7 Comments
Yes, we're going on hiatus again. (Don't tell us you didn't expect it!) But this is an experiment. We've often considered if this blog will remain in its current form, or if a blog is really a necessary online publishing form in 2013. For the immediate future, we'll not be publishing here. Instead, the OhioMediaWatch.com domain will be set to forward to our Twitter account, and visitors here will get a link to that page at the top of this scroll. We will continue to update as frequently as … [Read more...]
Piatt, Fuller Out At WNIR
Posted on September 17, 2013 · 22 Comments
We already knew Stan Piatt wasn't long for Broadcast Park...the home of talk WNIR/100.1 "The Talk of Akron". After weeks of rumors that even reached this corner, the station announced recently that the 36-year ringleader of its four person morning drive show would retire "between now and July", and that WNIR was actively seeking a "funny person" to replace him. The weather's kind of cool for July, and it's even colder on Route 59 between Kent and Ravenna. Piatt and morning co-host Maggie … [Read more...]
John Hambrick Passes Away
Posted on September 11, 2013 · 5 Comments
The anchor who started a family brand name in Cleveland TV news has passed away. John Hambrick, who came to Cleveland in 1967 and helped steer Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 to local TV news dominance in the early 1970's, passed away Tuesday in a Texas hospital after a battle with cancer. (Photo by NewsNet5.com) "TV 5 Eyewitness News" went from the local news cellar to the penthouse with Hambrick and co-anchor Dave Patterson, with household names in local TV news by their sides...sports director … [Read more...]
Help Wanted – IT/Engineering
Posted on September 2, 2013 · Leave a Comment
As a reminder, OMW regularly prints both Help Wanted and Job Wanted ads linked to the media industry or people in Northeast Ohio, free of charge. This below ad comes to us from NextMedia's WHBC/1480-WHBC-FM 94.1 in Canton. We have had it for a while, but haven't been able to put it up until now due to our irregular publishing schedule. If you're interested, we strongly suggest that you get in touch with the station as soon as possible. ------ Title: I/T & Broadcast Engineer WHBC and Mix … [Read more...]
Stan’s Exit? On The Way
Posted on August 27, 2013 · 5 Comments
OMW readers have known since last week that Media-Com talk WNIR/100.1 "The Talk of Akron" morning host Stan Piatt was headed for retirement after a 36 year run at the station. Now, WNIR listeners know, officially. The station aired a news story Monday, starting at 12 noon, that Piatt is indeed retiring "sometime between now and July". (Yes, July. More on that later.) The announcement was immediately followed by a call for "a funny person" to fill Piatt's shoes on the station's morning show, … [Read more...]
Updates And More Updates
Posted on August 24, 2013 · 1 Comment
In which more is revealed, and new things come out... WKNR CHANGES: The Semi-Extreme Makeover of Good Karma sports WKNR/850 "ESPN 850" has some more details attached to it. For that, we thank two people...Good Karma boss Craig Karmazin, and Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter George M. Thomas for writing about Karmazin's appearance Wednesday afternoon on his station. And the lineup changes prompted by the dismissal of 21 year veteran Kenny Roda, along with Will Burge and T.J. Zuppe and the … [Read more...]
UPDATE Departures And, Uh, Departures
Posted on August 20, 2013 · 9 Comments
UPDATE 8/21/13 8:30 AM: The always plugged in Bob Finnan sheds more light on WKNR's Tuesday talent purge, where veteran personality Kenny Roda and the station's Will Burge and T.J. Zuppe were let go in one day. The News-Herald sportswriter says that Michael Reghi will have a more limited role as well, appearing only on the station's official Cleveland Browns programming...as host of "The Rob Chudzinski Show" with the Browns head coach (also appearing on co-flagship CBS Radio sports WKRK/92.3 … [Read more...]
